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Near Boiler Pipe Insulation

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acl10
acl10 Member Posts: 349
in Strictly Steam
What is the best thing to use for Near Boiler Pipe Insulation and where can I get it?

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  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,478
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    pipe insulation

    See crash2009's reply to this question in this thread -



    http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/132995/What-type-of-pipe-insulation-should-be-used-on-the-near-boiler-piping



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,478
    edited November 2010
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    Duplicate

    Duplicate posting
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Jean-David Beyer
    Jean-David Beyer Member Posts: 2,666
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    That is for a steam system.

    I have a hot water system with outdoor reset. One zone runs between 75F and 120F; this is the zone that requires the most heat. A smaller zone runs between 110F and 135F. These ranges assume the temperature outside goes don to 0F, and since the design day is 14F, the water temperatures will tend to be at the lower end of these ranges. There is also an indirect-fired hot water heater that runs with 170F water. My (former) contractor put no insulation on any of the pipes.



    I went to a big box store and bought 1/2", 3/4" and 1" black foam insulation for these pipes. I also got some  1 1/4" fiber-glass stuff for the largest pipes. These seem adequate for my system; it certainly heats my garage less than my old oil burner did. These are all 1/2 inch wall thickness and I imagine they would be inadequate for steam systems.
  • acl10
    acl10 Member Posts: 349
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    How thick shoud the insulation be?

    How thick shoud the insulation be? Is 1 inch fiberglass adequite for 2 and 2 1/2 inch pipes
  • Charlie from wmass
    Charlie from wmass Member Posts: 4,322
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    Best bang for the buck

    is 1". More is better but cost of product out weighs gains in efficiency. Fiberglass will not harden as foam insulation does.
    Cost is what you spend , value is what you get.

    cell # 413-841-6726
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
  • crash2009
    crash2009 Member Posts: 1,484
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    1" seems to be the most popular

    I used 1" on all the pipes in the boiler room (including the returns)  I wanted to let some heat get through to heat that room, but more importantly I wanted to keep the steam hot while its on its way to the upper 4 floors.  I also like the concept of keeping my condensate hot too (boiler steams faster, uses less gas, and there is a corrosion reason too).  Most of our walk-out basment (my living quarters) is done with 1".  1" allows a comfortable amount of heat out while at the same time keeping the steam energy in.  I did use a bit of 1/2 " here and there in places that I wanted more heat.  We ended up with a good balance.  I can always add another layer if I want to reduce the heat some more.  Next time I think I would use 2" on the boiler, header, equaliser (our boiler room is a little too warm).

    You guys think you got problems, try balancing the heat with insulation.
  • acl10
    acl10 Member Posts: 349
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    Pipe size

    How do you size thediameter of a pipe? If my pipe mesures 3 inches is it a 3 inch pipe for insulataion purposes? If my pipe mesures between 2 1/4to 2 1/2 what size is that pipe?
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,478
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    Pipe size

    This chart should allow you to figure out what your trying to insulate.
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • crash2009
    crash2009 Member Posts: 1,484
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    Circumference

    Ther is a couple ways that I can think of. The easiest way for me was to take a cloth tape measure and measure the circumferance, then look it up on a pipe chart.  The second way is to look on one of the elbows, it usually is stamped on it what size pipe its connected to.
  • crash2009
    crash2009 Member Posts: 1,484
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    wow

    Just what I was looking for Bob. 
  • acl10
    acl10 Member Posts: 349
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    Batt Insulation

    Can you just wrap fiberglass batt insulation around the pipes?
  • Big-Al_2
    Big-Al_2 Member Posts: 263
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    Yes

    Fiberglass batt insulation will work fine.  I've used duct wrap insulation . . . the kind with the foil facing.  If you wrap it neatly and use silver duct tape to seal it up, it can look OK too.
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