Are ice dams more likely to occur when using gutter guards?
997394
I added gutter guards when I had a new roof put on 6 months ago. I don't have a good answer to your question. However, I didn't notice any particular difference this winter.
1117015
it's cold here, so I don't have them in use. I believe it has a locking mechanism, but I was not overly impressed with the water sprayed. I had several inexpensive ones from lowes that were better performers.
20300
I have two of them, they melt the snow and make a channel to the gutter-down spout, melt water is gone. We are in Florida, but my daughter stops by our northern residence in the Buffalo, NY area and turns them on when we get snow which Buffalo gets on occasion.:) No icecycles since the installation which used to be a big problem.
772037
Can't really say. We use ours to just go a few miles and have no gutters. I suppose if you have gutters and you crank down the straps, it could harm the gutter. So it kind of depends.
1381778
Our house has a metal roof (standing rib type) and the gutter guard works OK but, at least in our case, the design of the gutter guard is such that the gutter guard is totally within the gutter itself. So, in my opinion, my answer to your question depends mostly on the way in which the roof's flashings and the back side of the gutters work together: if the edge of the roofing or the flashing doesn't overlap the gutter, then I doubt that the gutter guards will work very well.
974423
ROG is correct. I have a plastic windshield and "carefully" drilled a hole in the top middle of my UTV. Does work very well for keeping snow off.
1247612
As far as I have been able to tell the only thing it changes is no leaves in the gutter. The snow and ice may melt a little faster because it isn't as dense.
1103955
I believe the instructions suggest letting the cable drape into the gutter when installing it on the roof, so that it breaks the ice in both the gutter and roof edge. This can be used in just the gutter OR just the roof. I even read a review where the guy draped it on his sidewalk and/or driveway to melt things so he didn't have to shovel....then coiled it back up when everything was melted. I use it for bottom heat to grow plants in my greenhouse. I find these cables useful for more than their listed purpose.
2189061
Lock is a cheap lock. I've had no problems with rain getting inside. Should hold up to snow OK although I guess it depends on weight of snow/ice. There is a seal around the lid. Diamond plate aluminum construction.
1895921
I've used mine several times and that hasn't happened so I would say they have reinforced pockets that contact the ice. Its a good shelter
1752733
Never mind the gutter. There is a design defect. The square design apparently cannot withstand the water pressure and hence cracks have developed. Don't buy this design. Look for a circular water barrel.
252436
Mine is in a tree so it's protected from total exposer. However the snow can freeze and cause a small layer of seed to fuze together. Not really an issue. I still love mine - tried many and this is the best one!
1949287
I have the exact same issue as you described and will replacing the auger housing and belt cover because the plastic parts have worn far enough to the point where the lowest bolt sandwiching those two pieces together has been ground down to nothing causing a gap where snow can ingress into the belt/pulley area. When this happens the snow comes into contact with the moving belt and melts/freezes causing the belt to slip.
565079
The leaf guard system doesn't affect ice sickles. If you have ice sickles now, you'll still have them, and vise-versa. Ice sickles happen because there's either too much heat in your attic (not enough insulation to keep the heat in your house), or your roof doesn't stay cold enough (not enough ventilation from your over hang or up on your ridge vents). Snow melts on the roof, the water runs down until it gets to the gutters, then freezes again. If you keep the snow cold and in tact until the temps rise it all melts together and BOOM, no ice sickles. So anyway, yea, this doesn't affect it. I installed it in Northern Ohio with no ice sickles before and don't have any now.
258401
I think that would depend on a lot of factors like the thickness of the ice dam, amount of water behind it, and the outside temperature. In my case, I started to see water breaking through the dams in about an hour after I used it. Now I generally toss a couple of the pucks on the roof when I see the conditions that are likely to create ice dams. And they work to prevent the dams from forming a solid enough dam for water to collect behind it.
1248829
I purchased these last year. They are great holds. They are made of some type of mortar based product. They are porous so I would be concerned about cracks from freezing temperatures. I hope this helps
1621522
I can't answer either of your questions because I don't know. I just know that we had some problems with gutters overflowing at a couple of spots, so we installed these. Problem solved. They divert what would otherwise flow over a perpendicular corner junction so that it now flows through the gutters and downspouts.