Copper pipe insulation

Putnajo

I have a 5 - 10 year old Burnham IN-5 boiler. The near boiler piping is all copper (it was there when I bought the house). The basement piping has no insulation. Outside of the near-boiler piping, the rest of the piping is black iron. I have three questions:



1. On the copper piping, can I use fiberglass insulation?



2. How much of the near boiler piping can I insulate? I've read that I should only insulate the header, but can I also insulate the pipe coming out of the boiler?



3. My wet return runs along the outside of the basement wall. Can I insulate the wet return or should I leave it uncovered?

Hap_Hazzard

I would use something that can be removed easily.

Steam boilers should never be piped in copper. Leaks are inevitable, and the only way to fix them is to disassemble, clean and re-solder the joints. Since you will need to do this repeatedly, you will need to be able to remove and re-apply the insulation--assuming it isn't destroyed by the steam and hot water that comes in contact with it. You might want to use pipe-wraps with self-adhesive seams and apply velcro strips instead of sealing them directly.



Whatever you do, don't spend a lot of money on it. You'll probably end up throwing it away inside of three years anyway.



Insulating return pipes is less critical than insulating steam pipes because there is less heat lost through them due to the lower differential and because the heat loss does not result in steam being condensed before it reaches the radiators. The cost of heating cooled water back to the boiling point is much lower than the cost of producing steam.



The most important consideration in determining whether or to what extent return piping should be insulated is whether or not they run through living space and what the current comfort level in that living space is. If the return piping is warming that space to a comfortable level, insulating them will make it necessary to provide an alternative source of heat, which usually turns out to be more expensive than simply not insulating the pipes.



One thing to keep in mind, however, is that during the summer, condensation frequently forms on the outside of wet return piping, which is seldom drained of condensate even when the system is not in use. Because this condensation contains no buffering solutes and there is an abundance of oxygen available, this often causes the piping to rust very aggressively. When wet returns need to be replaced, you'll often find that the attrition to the outside surface is at least as severe as that of the inside.

nicholas bonham-carter

Copper piping

Why not post some pictures of the supply piping, so we can see if the piping is at least configured properly.

Fiberglass batts would probably be the cheapest way to get the temporary insulation you need.--NBC