Sat dishes vs snow (was "Re: [BC] KFI Tower replacement ?")

[Fee Lee]

If you want something cheap, you might try silicone spray on the cover
though I don't know what the cover is made of, I don't know if the spray
will damage it or not.  I use silicone spray on my snow shovels and snow
blower every winter to keep the snow from sticking to them.  It makes it
much easier move the snow around if it isn't sticking to the shovels.

There is a heating tape made for the refrigeration industry that may be an
answer for people who may want to "roll your own" dish deicing system.

It comes on a big roll and if you stuck some of it behind a dish on the
lower half of the dish and then cover the heating tape with some foam
insulation you can make your own version of some of the dish heating systems
that I have seen in the catalogs.  The tape comes with a end cap and a feed
end with a thermosat that you put on the ends of the tape.  The tape is
designed to be cut to almost any length that you may need.  The only
limitation is that you can't shorter than a certain minium length.  The more
tape you use the more power it draws.  You just want to keep the dish above
freezing, not boil off the snow as soon as it hits the dish.  In fact I
think the tape really requires a thermosat, now that I think about it, I
think the tape self regulates.  It becomes hot below 40 degrees and shuts
off above that.

                            Fee Lee