Boiler insulation

Mike AK

I was afraid it might be asbestos. It's actually in decent condition, and there's not much of it, so I don't think I need to remove it.

That said, is there any hope for adding fiberglass insulation over and around the asbestos (?) that is already there? Or should I just give up on this idea, and do something else to entertain myself? : )

Mike

Mike AK

steam boiler insulation

Hey all:

I have added insulation to most of the steam pipes in the basement of my 90 year old house, and fixed the vents in the house. As many of you have suggested, this has helped a lot.

Now I'm looking at the boiler, and thinking it could certainly use more insulation than it has on it. The boiler is probably at least 40 years old, and appears to be cast iron. The only insulation for the boiler is the steel casing around the boiler (which is quite loose and not at all air tight) and sheets of what looks like white corrogated cardboard (I'm not sure what the material is). These sheets are between 1/4 inch, and maybe an inch thick, and are attached sporadically to the inside of the steel casing.

So the point is: the boiler is, by my eye, terribly underinsulated. I haven't seen much about how this might be fixed, and there is only a small space between the casing and the boiler, so it would be hard to fit much insulation into the casing. Is there a way to fix this problem? How might I reinsulated the boiler? Or would this not be helpful?

Thanks,

Mike

powerhead

White "corragated cardboard" is most likely asbestos.
Do not disturb it.

chris_86

asbestos...

Or perhaps if it is already flaking off and exposed it sould be carefully removed by an abatment company? The costs for removal have dropped dramaticaly in the last few years.