Jump Start Soil Heating Cable 48 ft | 140W, Built-In Thermostat

What the Jump Start Soil Heating Cable Does

The cable runs 48 ft and heats 12 sq ft of growing area. Rating is 140 W at 120 V, drawing 1.17 A. A thermostat is built into the cable itself, rated to hold soil between 77 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. That band is where most seed and most cuttings want their root zone. Cooler than that and germination slows down; warmer and the medium dries faster than young roots can drink. Construction is water resistant, which counts for something in a propagation area where everything gets wet. The cable is flexible rather than fixed in shape. It lays into an irregular bench, around a corner, or along a row of pots in whatever pattern the space allows. A bench that is not a tidy rectangle can still be heated end to end. Instructions and the power cord come with it. Shipping weight is 1 lb, and the packaged unit measures 9.5 by 4.8 by 6.0 in. Part number is JSHC48, with UPC 638104013451 and GTIN-14 10638104013458. The heat goes where it is useful, which is underneath. Warming the air above a tray warms the leaf, and the leaf is not the part that needs convincing.

Laying a Greenhouse Heating Cable Under a Bench

A greenhouse heating cable earns its keep in the shoulder seasons and on cold nights. Lay it in a serpentine pattern with even spacing across the area being heated. Spacing is what decides whether the heat arrives evenly or in stripes. Keep the runs from crossing or touching. A cable laid over itself concentrates heat in one spot, and that is how a cable fails early. Cover it with sand, perlite or medium rather than leaving it in open air. A covering layer spreads the warmth and shields the cable from feet and tools. Set the pots or trays on top once it is covered. Let the thermostat do the work. It is built into the cable, so it reads temperature where the cable sits rather than where a plug is. Give it an hour to settle before judging how warm the bench has become. Keep the cable clear of standing water even though the construction resists it. Water resistant is not the same thing as submersible. Walk the full length before each season and check for nicks, kinks or crushed sections. A damaged cable is not one to run and hope on.

Key Features

• 48 ft of flexible cable: Heating 12 sq ft, laid to whatever shape the bench is.
• 140 W at 120 V: Drawing 1.17 A from an ordinary outlet.
• Thermostat in the cable: Rated to hold soil between 77 and 85 degrees.
• Water-resistant build: For a propagation area where everything gets wet.
• Heat from underneath: Warming the root zone rather than the air above it.
• Instructions and cord: Both supplied in the box.
• 1 lb shipping weight: Packaged at 9.5 x 4.8 x 6.0 in.

Technical Specifications