09-03-2014, 08:18 PM
JoeM wrote:
I'm starting to have second thoughts about the ice melting system. I've read if not done correctly there's potential for a black ice problem at the overhang edges when then step might look melted. Might be best to just get out the old shovel and deal with what can be seen.
This was my concern, and a question I've had about these systems (I'd love to have my whole property done up like that, but considering what that would cost, it's just a passing curiosity in the whole thing).
The question is: Where does the melted water go? At some point it leaves the heated surface and will freeze somewhere. Drain pipes clogged with ice? Big pile of ice at the bottom of the driveway where it meets the street? I'm assuming it's channeled underground and eventually meets up with a storm sewer somewhere, but what keeps it liquid on it's way there and once it arrives?
Just on your steps, I'm sure it would either just evaporate or run off, but how do they get rid of the water in larger systems?