Of course there are a few rather large problems with the
alternative, copper tubing. Most of these revolve around the fact that it’s
best soldered, which in turn requires a modicum of skill and risks burning down
your home. Reducing your home to smouldering rubble is known within the
plumbing trade as “a bad thing”... and so the heat mat was invented.
In the bad old days I suspect that heat mats were made of
asbestos and lasted a life time – partly because they killed you early. These days
they may be safer but they have the life expectancy of a Mayfly with a chesty
cough, mainly because they can’t cope with direct heat.
This is a real same
because more often than not the time you really need a heat mat is when you
have no choice but to aim your blowtorch directly at a flammable surface.
However there is an alternative to the heat mat, which is a
spray on gel called “La-Co Cool Gel” which I’m fairly certain I failed to
mention in the book - It’s only writing this up now that I’ve realised it’s not called LL Cool Gel.
Which is a shame as that is what I always ask for.
Cool Gel is known as a heat barrier spray and from what I
can make out it’s basically water made firm by holding it in gel form.. and it’s
superb! I wouldn’t spray into on carpets and the like – although it would
probably work - but, aside from that it can be used everywhere else you might
want to use a heat mat.
It’s also very handy if you have to heat up a pipe that is
very close to a valve. The valves themselves often contain rubber washers which
melt or deform when heated. To prevent this just spray the pipe with the cool
gel between the valve and where you’re heating. The heat now travels as far at
the gel where it is miraculously stopped in its tracks, preserving the valve
whilst you solder your joint.
Alas, it’s not cheap but it is well worth the investment as
it’s still considerably cheaper than a new home.
