J. Martin
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On New Year's morning I looked out, saw heavy snow falling, and remembered I hadn't turned on the HeatTrak mats I had installed a few days earlier on my front steps. They were already mostly covered with snow—particularly the one on the left that isn't under the porch roof—and the snow was still falling. I turned on the mats, and within ten minutes the snow was gone, as you can see in the video (speeded up for your convenience, but you can follow the time in the upper right corner). It was 23°F outside at the time. I didn't sweep, shovel, set foot outside, or even open the door, and there was no sun to help melt the snow; the mats get all the credit.
Written review:
The two slate steps leading from my sidewalk to my front porch are nine feet wide, two feet deep (front to back) and only five inches tall (so short they look like they're on the same level from the overhead camera, but they're not). The HeatTrak HR10-30 Residential Snow-Melting Stair Mats (for some reason "Insert a product link" can't find it, although it's right here on Amazon, ASIN B00421AHY2), at only 10 by 30 inches, would look like a joke, like tiny toe pads hidden in the snow. I can imagine their just forming little rectangular lakes of melted snow surround on all sides by walls of unmelted snow, and they might well be more dangerous than nothing at all.
Although I put the stair mats in my shopping cart, I'm very glad I replaced them with these walkway mats before I placed the order. Although these are more expensive and require several extra HeatTrak extension cords to connect them, they work perfectly, as the video shows. The mat covers an ample five-foot width and all but the back few inches of the step, which is partly overhung by the step above and rarely actually stepped on anyway. The total cost came to a little over $300, but it's worth it to me never again to have to clear snow off the front steps.
Details:
I used the following:
* two of these walkway mats,
* one of the HeatTrak HR-P Power Units (ASIN B00421AHXI, also not showing up in "Insert a product link"),
* three of the HeatTrak HR-EXT20 Watertight Cable Extenders, 20-Inch (ASIN B004BX8XNI) (I realized later I really needed only one),
* one Woods 32555 Outdoor Remote Control Outlet Converter Kit (a link at last!), which is what let me turn on the mats on New Year's morning without stepping out in the snow, and which cost a fraction of the HeatTrak HR-Wireless Remote Control Outlet and Switch for Snow Melting Mats (ASIN B008HCS01Y) and gets better reviews,
and
* four strips of Velcro Extreme Indoor/Outdoor Rough Surface Fasteners, 1 inch x 4 inches, 10 per pack (90812), since I wasn't about to drill holes in my steps to fasten down the mats; I put one Velcro strip under each end of each mat.
I had to use the three extension cords because the connectors on these mats are laid out for end-to-end connection, and to connect them side-to-side on steps required running the cord between the two mats all the way across both mats and up the step. I probably could have done it with only two extensions, but the extra length let me run it out of the way. (I actually could have done it with only one extension if I had laid the mats down differently. Using these mats on steps really is a trial-and error undertaking. Maybe someday HeatTrak will sell a version with the connectors oriented for steps. Deep (front too back) outdoor steps really aren't that unusual.)
The Velcro is working great so far, although the mats are big and heavy enough, and the bottom (and top) are rough and rubbery enough that they don't move much on the fairly rough stone anyway. By the way, the mats are great also when just wet (which they normally are since they melt whatever snow falls on them)—they're not slippery at all when wet.
Installing the mats was easy; although they're stiff, rolled up pretty tight for shipping, and heavy, they flattened out quickly when warm, and the weather-tight connections really are secure but easy to plug and unplug. The lighted plug at the far end of the last mat (it comes with the power unit) gives a nice visual confirmation when the power is on.
I'm delighted with this product.