Installation Guide

Heating Cable Tests
To qualify for resolution for failure of the Schluter
®
-DITRA-HEAT-E-HK heating cables within the Schluter
®
-DITRA-HEAT &
Schluter
®
-DITRA-HEAT-TB Limited System Warranty for ten (10) years, complete the following tests:
• Test 1: Conductor Resistance
• Test 2: Conductor and Ground Braid Continuity
• Floor Temperature Sensor Test
(Test 3: Insulation Resistance is recommended, but not required)
To extend the term for resolution for failure of the Schluter
®
-DITRA-HEAT-E-HK heating cables within the Schluter
®
-DITRA-HEAT &
Schluter
®
-DITRA-HEAT-TB Limited System Warranty from ten (10) years to fifteen (15) years, complete all tests as follows:
• Test 1: Conductor Resistance
• Test 2: Conductor and Ground Braid Continuity
• Test 3: Insulation Resistance
• Floor Temperature Sensor Test
Please refer to the Heating Cable Tests Log on page 30 of this Handbook and Warranty on page 31 of this Handbook for further information.
Test 1: Conductor resistance (required)
In order to perform the resistance test, you must set your multimeter for resistance measurement
and take an ohms reading between the two power leads. If the ohms reading taken on the two
power leads varies significantly (10% or more) from the value printed on the spool, it either means
that the cable has been damaged, or that the measuring instrument is not set properly, or that it
is simply out of calibration. The ohms measurement must be recorded in your heating cable tests
log (page 30).
Test 2: Conductor and ground braid continuity (required)
The heating cable is protected by a ground braid. An electrical insulator prevents any contact
between the braid and the two conductors. To make sure there is no contact between the braid
and the two conductors, you must perform a continuity test. Using the continuity test (buzzer
logo) function of your multimeter, test your cable between the braid and one of the two power
leads. If there is no continuity (if the test is successful), the multimeter will display, depending on
the instrument used, either “OL ” for “over load” or “I” for “infinity”. Otherwise, if the test fails,
neither “OL ”, nor “I” will be displayed and a warning tone will be heard. The test result must be
recorded in your heating cable tests log (page 30).
Test 3: Insulation resistance (recommended)
This test is meant to detect very small breaks throughout the cable insulation. These breaks often
remain undetected during the continuity test since they are not necessarily short circuits between
the conductor and the ground braid. Even though they are small, these breaks are likely to cause
a current leakage to ground. Such a leakage is usually detected by the mandatory ground-fault
circuit interrupter “GFCI” (thermostat with integrated GFCI or panel mount GFCI). When a current
leakage is detected, the GFCI trips the circuit, thus disabling the floor heating system. In order
to perform the insulation resistance test, you must, using a megohmeter (Mohm logo), take an
insulation measurement between the braid and one of the two power leads. Make sure the
megohmeter range is set at 1000 V. The insulation resistance measurement must be equal to or
greater than 1 Gigaohms (1 Gigaohms = 1 G ohms = 1000 M ohms = 1000 Mega ohms). The
insulation resistance measurement must be recorded in your heating cable tests log (page 30).
DITRA-HEAT Thermostat Floor Temperature Sensor Test (required)
Test the floor temperature sensors using a multimeter to verify accuracy of the sensors. Set the
multimeter for resistance at 10K Ω +/- 2 (at room temperature) and take a reading between the
sensor leads. The resistance will vary according to the temperature (i.e., the colder the sensor, the
higher the resistance). Compare the measured values with the table of expected values and record
in the heating cable tests log on page 30.
INSTALLATION 17
To avoid damaging the DITRA-HEAT-E-HK heating cable spool due to handling, we recommend turning the box over to
remove the spool from the packaging box. Then pick up the spool from underneath the heating cable coil, but not by the
cardboard washers.
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