Schluter®-DITRA-HEAT Repair procedure for the DHE-HK Heating Cable 555758 03/2018 © 2018 Schluter Systems L.P.
CONTENTS 3 List of tools required and contents of the repair kit 4 Freeing the cable at the location of the break Types of repairs covered in this guide 4 Heating portion of the cable 7 Transition splice (between the gray cable and black power lead) 10 End splice (end of gray cable) Appendix: 12 A-1: Repair technician data table (Indicate the cable product no.
DITRA-HEAT-E-HK Heating Cable Repair Kit 1) TOOLS REQUIRED KIT CONTENTS • Heat gun for shrink tubes Item Description • Hot glue gun and hot glue A Heat shrink solder sleeve (small) • Wire stripper 10 AWG to 20 AWG B Heat shrink solder sleeve (big) (D>d)1 D (only available in repair kit DHE-HK-SK) C Copper foil • Safety glasses D Heat shrink with sealant Ø 1/4" • Utility knife E Heat shrink with sealant Ø 1/2" • Piece of cloth F Insulated wire (heating wire)2 • Ohmmeter or multimeter G
REPAIR PROCEDURE Before starting the repair procedure, ensure the circuit is turned OFF! Note: The repair cannot alter the resistance greater than 3% of the nominal resistance of the heating cable. 2) FREE THE CABLE WHERE THE BREAK IS LOCATED Wear safety glasses. Cover the tile with a piece of cloth and break it with a hammer. Remove the broken pieces of tile to locate the break in the heating cable. Note: At this stage, determine the cause of the cable failure.
• Make sure that the joint does not exceed the membrane height so as not to interfere with the installation of replacement tiles. • Cut the heat shrink tube Ø 1/2" (item E) to a length at least 4" (101.6 mm) longer than the length removed (LR). For example, if a section of 2-1/2" (64 mm) was removed from the heating cable, a heat shrink tube of at least 6-1/2" (165 mm) long will be required. (See Fig. 3.2).
• Item G (See Fig. 3.8A) must be prepared as follows: total length of cable = LR + 1/2". Using a wire stripper, remove 4" (102 mm) of the gray insulating jacket from each end of the cable segment. Next, roll back the ground braid as shown in Fig. 3.8A and strip 1/4" (6 mm) from each of the conductors. Fig. 3.
F) Re-establishing the continuity of the ground braid • Pull the tinned copper braided ground wire, covering the conductors on each end of the heating cable, towards the center. (See Fig. 3.12). • Align the end of the copper foil (Item C) with the gray sheath on both ends and cut. (See Fig. 3.13) • Remove the paper back protective layer, if any, from the copper foil, and slide it under the repaired joint, with adhesive on top (if any), and fold it tightly around and over it. (See Fig. 3.15) • Fig. 3.
3.2) REPAIRING THE TRANSITION SPLICE (BETWEEN GRAY CABLE AND BLACK COLD LEAD) LR 3-1/2" LR + 9-1/2" Fig. 3.21 A) Preparing the heating cable and the cold lead Cut and remove the faulty section of the cable to obtain two intact segments. • Free the cable to a length at least 9-1/2". (241 mm) longer than the length removed (LR) on one side, and 3-1/2" (89 mm) on the other side. (See Fig 3.21) For example, if the length removed (LR) = 5" (127 mm), the cable must be uncovered LR + 9-1/2 = 14.
Note: Undo the thermostat connections to the heating cable in the junction box, in order to verify the repair. Fig. 3.27 (Item F) • In order to assure that there are no additional faults in the heating cable, perform an insulation resistance test using a megohmmeter (range set to 1000 volts) between the ground braid and each conductor on both sides of the exposed cable. A successful test will provide a measurement equal to or greater than 1 Gigaohms (1 Gigaohms = 1 G ohms = 1000 Mega ohms = 1000 M ohms).
wire. (See Fig. 3.29A and 3.30A) • Using a heat gun, adequately heat the shrink tube with integrated solder ring. The solder ring will melt and bond the two conductors together and the heat shrink will shrink completely. (See Fig. 3.30B) • Slide a 2" heat shrink with sealant (item D) over the heat shrink installed in the previous step and protect it with a damp cloth.
(range set to 1000 volts) between the ground braid and each conductor. A successful test will provide a measurement equal to or greater than 1 Gigaohms (1 Gigaohms = 1 G ohms = 1000 Mega ohms = 1000 M ohms). • 1/2" Fig. 3.36 Placing the heat shrink. (item E): Using a felt pen or marker, mark a distance of 1/2" (13 mm) on the gray sheath of the heating cable from the beginning of the repaired joint. (See Fig. 3.36) Fig. 3.
• Using a heat gun, adequately heat the heat shrink and integrated solder ring making sure the solder melts and the shrink provides a good seal. • Pull the tinned copper braid ground wires over the the heat shrink solder sleeve which was previously heated and shrunk. (See Fig. 3.45) Fig. 3.45 1/2" D) Verify the repair • Before continuing, verify the repair. Fig. 3.46 Note: Undo the thermostat connections to the heating cable in the junction box, in order to verify the repair.
Appendix A-1: Repair Technician Data Table SUMMARY OF WIRE SIZES (AWG) Supplied with the repair kit Cable being repaired Item F Cold lead (black) 14 AWG 20 AWG Utility knife Be careful not to damage the braid Item G Heating cable (grey) 10 AWG 10 AWG 20 AWG Be careful not to damage the braid Varies depending on product.
Appendix A-2 CABLE PRODUCT NO.
