Englert Leaf Guard Gutters (or any other brand)

[brad_oatley]

I live in a stand of Connecticut white pines and I'm thinking about the no clog gutters. Anyone know how they handle;
1) pine needles
2) valleys
3) 6/12 pitch
4) snow and ice

Thanks alot

 

[GaryM]

I had the LeafGard on our old house on a roof with about a 4/12 pitch. In general they worked well.

If the rain was really heavy it would sometimes overshoot the gutter. In other words it moved fast enough it couldn't make the turn and go into the gutter.

They also iced up one time when conditions were just right.

 

[brad_oatley]

Gary,
How often would they overshoot? Once every couple of years or once every couple of storms?
Thanks, Brad

 

[GaryM]

Every couple of storms. Just depends on how much rain is running off the roof. It's a function of how fast the water is moving. If it's nice and slow, the water "sticks" to the curved cover and flows into the gutter. If it's moving really fast it can't 'stick" and make the 120 degree or so turn.

Obviously the steeper your roof pitch the faster the water will be moving for a given rainfall. I'd guess the roof covering will play a part too. Shingles=slow, metal=faster.

Over all I was quite happy not to have to clean them out. A little overflow once in a while was OK with me.

On the new house we have a different system. Works the same way, just applied to the existing gutters. http://www.leafproof.com/ These seem to work very well.

 

[kenmac]

I asked that same question to the leaf guard man. I have 8 & 12 pitch ( I think) roof.The water runs off very fast .T he leaf guard salesman said the gutter would handle the water & not over shoot the gutter . I didn't believe him & didn't buy.They wanted $600.00 for 60 ft of gutter only straight run with no down spouts !! That was 5 yrs ago.

 

[GaryM]

You'd need speed bumps in front of the gutter with a pitch like that! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The slower the water flow, the better they work. The water flows around the bend into the gutter because of surface tension. Just like when you pour from a glass and the liquid runs down the side of the glass instead of cleanly separateing into the stream you want. Pour fast and it's not a problem.

 

[kenmac]

The salesman did a demo. for me & it worked well but, not on a pitch roof like I have /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif .I stayed with my open gutters.

 

[brad_oatley]

Thanks for the input. I think I'll try them on the 2 sides of the house where there are no valleys. These are also the high sides, and harder to get to to clean. I'll put standard gutters on the sides with 2 valleys. The water coming off those copper valleys is really moving and iI can't see it making the bend.

 

[v8dave]

I have a 4 in 12 pitch roof and have leaf guard (or something similar, can't remember brand). It's been up a year. So, far it handles the pine needles and oak leaves (and twigs and berries) just fine. Only in the heaviest rain, approaching an inch per hour, do the valleys have so much water that it overshoots the gutters.

But, there is a concern you ought to look out for. I live just below the snow line here in the California Sierras. Which means we get snow once in a while and regularly get hail from the T-storms that go through. Last year we had a hail storm that produced about 1/2 inch of pea sized hail. It rolled off the roof and accumulated on the top of the gutter guard/top. Some hail also flowed over the edge and plugged up the small gap between the cap and the gutter. The rain that came with the hail wasn't warm enough to melt the hail for several hours.

So, with the water gap frozen shut, all the rain that also came with the storm overshot all the gutters along the whole length of the gutter. This then splashed in the yard and kicked up mud on the lower house walls-an event we never had before. Previously, when the drains plugged we had water over flowing in one localized area--not the whole length. Only a small amount of the water flowed around the curve and into the gutter when the hail was stuck to the top and gap of the gutter. I'd suspect the same would happen with snow.

I'm still happy with what I've got, we only get that much hail once in a while. But for you in the snow belt, I'd ask a few questions of the salesman.