Measring diameters for insulation -- need translating

JamesC in Stamford CT

Hello board,



I am about to buy insulation for my pipes. It will not be cheap, so I want to make sure I get the right sizes the first time. I do not know enough to be able to look at the pipe and know what the size is. So I measured the circumferences of the various pipes, and then calculated diameters. The results are below. Can anyone tell me what these translate into so I can order the right insulation? (I may have been a little off with the measurements, but was very close)



<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Pipe:.....Material..........Outside Diameter</span>

A............Iron.................1.33 inches (approx 1 1/3 inches)

B............Iron.................1.92 inches (approx 1 15/16 inches)

C............Iron.................2.39 inches (approx 2 3/8 inches)

D............Copper...........0.96 inches (approx 1 inch)

E............Copper...........2.12 inches (approx 2 1/8 inches)

AlexR

measure twice, order once

I think the wrought iron table on this page should help

http://www.gizmology.net/pipe.htm



Searching for "iron pipe size chart" turns up lots of choices; someone else may have a different or more trustworthy source.

crash2009

Here

is another chart James.  Also, I posted my entire insulation file here  http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/137178/Insulation

Rod

Copper Pipe Type L Measurements

Hi James - Attached is a table of Copper Pipe Type L measurements. Quite often they have measurement tables on the insulation website.

- Rod

JamesC in Stamford CT

insulating pipes but not the fittings?

Thanks everyone for the help, and esspecially, thanks crash2009 for the link to your tutorial. I am almost ready to insulate -- just wondering if there would be a problem insulating the pipes but not the fittings . . . .



Part of the reason for insulating at all is to see if that will solve a balancing problem, i.e. the furthest radiator takes a long time to heat while the closer ones heat quickly (and before you ask, yes, I have vented the mains pretty well). And I am thinking that if insulating the pipes (without the fittings) fixes my balancing issue, then why spend the extra money to insulate the fittings. Besides, I need some heat in my cellar, so leaving off the insulation at the fittings would transfer some heat, maybe just enough, to the cellar.



So, all to say, is there a problem insulating only the pipes? (And then, I could always insulate the fittings down the road if I decide later to do that).



Thanks,

James

crash2009

Do what you can

Not doing the fittings would not cause any problem that I know of. 

JamesC in Stamford CT

still questions steel vs copper diamter

I was about to order the insulation. But I still am not understanding something. I've got mostly 2" steel pipe mains, and a prior owner replaced a section of the mains in copper. So I have these two types of pipe:



A) 2" Steel Pipe, actual outside diameter 2.375." So seems that, per the website I am ordering from, I should be ordering 2" size insulation.



2" Copper Pipe, actual outside diameter 2.16." But the website wants me to order 2 1/8" size insulation!



So, the copper piping has a smaller outside diameter than the steel. But the website wants me to order a larger size insulation for the copper pipe (2 1/8" size insulation) than for the steel pipe (2" size insulation)! (see http://www.buyinsulationproducts.com/Nominal_Pipe_Size_to_Outside_Diameter.html )



I must be missing something, if anyone can explain, that would be great.

Thanks,

James

crash2009

Contact John

That is confusing.  You got me too.  JohnL represents Buyinsulationproducts.com I bet he would have a good explaination.  http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum/profile/5505945/JohnL

JohnL_2

Explanation for Insulation Size Confusion

James emailed us last night and I wanted to write to this forum to explain for future customers with the same question.

James is correct:

2" Steel Pipe he should order 2" on our store

2" Copper Pipe he should order 2-1/8" on our store

And no, the 2-1/8 is not larger than the 2" pipe insulation.

The OD of the 2" pipe insulation is 2.375" and the OD of the 2-1/8" is only 2.16"

The reason for this is that the fiberglass pipe insulation manufacturers make most of their insulation pipe sizes in IPS and they use substitute pipe insulation sizes for copper (ex: 1" pipe insulation fits 1"IPS and 1-1/4 Copper).  The 2-1/8" is one of the few ONLY Copper pipe insulation sizes made because it cannot be subsituted with any IPS sizes.