Phone: (800) 324-1551 Fax: (918) 251-6079 www.trasor.com Page 8
INSTALLATION GUIDELINES
Project Coordination Meeting:
Before the project begins, a project coordination meeting
should be held with all trades that will be involved with the
installation of the heating cable, pouring of the slab and
cutting or drilling into the slab. Coordination of these
trades is extremely important. It can be catastrophic for a
heater to be cut through with a saw or drilled into for a rail
post. The following topics should be covered:
1. Review of all layout drawings and instructions.
2. Review slab construction and support media for
cable. Confirm cable depth and cable spacing.
3. Confirm all expansion and construction joint locations
and mark in the field on the slab forms so they are
apparent to all crafts.
4. Confirm all locations of rail supports, doorstops, signs
or drains.
5. Confirm heating termination method to be used. See
pages 10 thru 13.
6. Confirm junction box and control locations.
7. Confirm locations and make provisions for slab
sensors or warning markers.
8. Coordinate testing and record keeping between
installation procedures. See pages 21 and 22.
General Installation Notes:
1. Follow all installation and layout drawings. Verify
heated areas match what are shown on layout
drawings and confirm that all dimensions on drawings
match field dimensions.
2. Unpack and test all heaters to verify there was no
damage from shipping. Reference testing
procedures on page 21 and record values in table 1
on page 22. Make copies of table 1 for each heater.
Test heaters again before installation, after they are
secured to the reinforcement media, while the heaters
are being embedded in slab and after slab is
complete.
3. The heater, cold lead termination and pigtails must be
kept dry, protected from weather and mechanical
abuse before, during and after installation.
4. Protect heating cable from being walked on, driven
on, sharp materials, weld slag or being cut.
5. Verify proper heater is selected for area shown on
drawing. Heaters cannot be randomly switched. All
heaters are provided with a stainless nameplate. The
nameplate will have tagging information and
electrical ratings.
6. Confirm proper slab reinforcement is in place and at
proper depth. Heating cable must be secured at a
minimum depth of two inches from slab surface. It is
not recommended to exceed a depth more than three
inches. This will extend the heat up time and reduce
heat getting to the surface.
7. Prepare area for heating cable. Follow layout
drawings for proper cable spacing and routing path.
Mark cable paths with chalk or spray paint. Do not
locate heating cable within six inches any future slab
penetrations, such as handrails, drill holes or drains.
8. If layout drawings are not provided calculate cable
spacing using equation 1 on page 7.
9. Uncoil or roll out the heater. Do not pull cable from
center of coil into a spiral.
10. Minimum bending radius of heating cable is 6 x the
cable diameter.
11. Do not bend the cable within 3” on any hot to cold joint,
termination or splice joint. Almost all heaters that are
broken during installation occur at the hot to cold joint
due to mishandling.
12. Do not repeatedly bend and straighten the cable.
13. Do not install cable so that it may touch or be within 3”
of another cable pass.
14. Do not pass heating cable through expansion, control
or construction joints unless using methods shown in
detail 9, 10 or 11 on pages & 10 on page 18.
15. If any cable is damaged or broken, stop installation
and seal break with silicone and contact the factory.
16. Start heater installation with the first cold lead.
Secure with nylon ties three inches from each side of
the hot to cold joint.
17. Handle hot to cold joint carefully. Support both sides
when moving and positioning cold lead.
18. Secure heating cable to rebar or reinforcement mesh
every 12 to 18 inches with nylon ties. Do not use steel
ties.
19. When approaching the end of a heater installation,
adjust the last few passes as need so the end of the
heater is at the point specified in the layout drawing.
20. Note any variations of cable routing or termination
locations on project drawings and return to owner and
factory. This is valuable information if repairs or
trouble shooting is required in the future.
21. Terminate heaters to junction box as shown on pages
10 or 12.
22. IMPORTANT: The termination gland fitting is the
grounding mechanism for the heater. This must be
connect by an NEC approved grounding method.
23. Junction boxes and enclosures for electrical
connections to the heating cable must be listed and
approved for the environment in which they are
installed.
