A Plumber Told Me

fxrgrunt

A plumber was in my house working on something and when he looked at my steam boiler he said I shouldn't have the near boiler piping insulated down to the T because it is a fire hazard. Any truth to this?

Jamie Hall

Depends on what it's insulated with, of course. Old newspapers? Might be. Fiberglass? No.

fxrgrunt

@Jamie Hall it's fiberglass

mattmia2

Depends on there the vent is too. Ordinary fiberglass should be considered a combustible material for clearance to the vent. The outer jacket and binder are flammable.

jacobsond

Now what is the temperature of the pipes with steam in them? Pressures your running less than 300. Probably less than 250. Your insulation going to catch fire at 250 degrees? Not very likely. Tell your plumber to just deal with gray water.

dopey27177

Typically in a home type steam boiler the pressure is set well under five psi. At 5 psi the temperature of the steam is 227 degrees. That temperature is far less than the combustion of paper which is 480 degrees.

The fiber glass insulation will not burn or melt until the temperatures reach 1000 degrees f.

Your plumber is some what in the dark about the safety of the use of fiber glass insulation.

To kinda prove my point, when the boiler is operating and making steam touch the covering near the T that is in question, you will be surprised at how little heat is given off by the covering.

Jake

fxrgrunt

I figured he was not correct but I wanted to make sure I wasn't just being ignorant.