Steam pipe insulation

leaking

I see alot of 2” thick steam pipe insulation, no 3” or thicker . Is 2” normally what is used not 3–4” ? Where is the best place to get insulation? Thicker holds heat better 2” is about R 13. My house ceiling has R 60!

Jamie Hall

On low temperature steam, such as we use for residences, in my humble opinion 1 inch is ample. Two inches is more than enough, and anything else is overkill.

bburd

People forget that adding insulation is greatly subject to the law of diminishing returns. The first inch achieves most of the savings.

leaking

R 6.5 is less than your 10$ beer cooler . It equals 2” fiberglass batts . The temp difference of steam to a cold room takes a lot of extra BTU to overcome .. Pipes get hot faster, at less cost. Warm pipes reheat quicker and at less cost . That’s where you save $ . It’s long term . Maintenance free savings. It raises property values by using less energy heat. 3” is better

Larry Weingarten

Just to help muddy waters, I like to consider the cost of energy towards the end of the life expected from the insulation. Say you expect to replace the insulation in fifty years. How much will energy cost then? To me insulation is an inexpensive hedge against future energy price increases. Also, when the property is sold, the heavy insulation will be a plus rather than a minus. 🤔

Yours, Larry

leaking

I can’t find 3”, I guess I shop for 2” Are there any places with “better deals “ ? Thanks

ethicalpaul

where have you looked?

Since you seem convinced that more is better, this place has 2-1/2”, go wild. As for me, I’ll be buying stock in Owens Corning

https://www.buyinsulationproductstore.com

leaking

ok thanks , it’s the R value that is important. 2.5” could have less R value if it’s not made as well as Owen’s Corning. And yes the final cost has to be fair . I really have not priced anything I was looking for 3” first . Amazon, HD, Google , is where I started looking . I’m sure there is a warehouse distributor that has better deals, I know of none. I would appreciate any info of where to buy I’m in Chicago Thank you

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1826579#Comment_1826579

Where have you seen a modern refrigerator or a freezer with 2" or 3" thick insulation?

I have a few with 3" thick with a total R value of 9.6, but they aren't modern and they aren't common.

Beer coolers, or any coolers are designed to stay reasonably cool for a long time with no source of cooling. It's not the same as steam pips or a refrigerator that have a source of cooling or heat. Things tend to be engineered to be practical for their application.

R value of fiberglass pipe insulation is :

1" R4.3.

2" R8.7.

3" R13.

I determined 1" is plenty for my steam piping, but you do you. Have you looked into aerogel insulation?

delcrossv

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1826586#Comment_1826586

https://bayinsulationsupply.com/

JUGHNE

Having installed a fair bit of FG pipe insulation, there are places where even the 1" thick has issues when the pipes cross close together. Also if close to the ceiling there are clearance problems.

As mentioned above 1" is the best bang for the buck.

Also, any heat loss is usually within the envelope of the house (basement) and not really considered lost forever……..that is what that R-60 in your attic is for.

As far as increasing property value, any future buyer would not apricate the extra effort you have went thru.

And ROI, for even the 2" FG, would be years away, IMO.

Waher

1” from
https://buyinsulationproductstore.com/
is what most people use along with the pvc John Mansville Zeston fittings and covers.

Energy code in some locales for over 200f pipes is 1.5”, but the return on investment for that in non institutional or industrial settings is so long it’s not worth doing more than 1” in residential.

delcrossv

@Waher . OP is in Chicago. Shipping will be a killer from them.

Bay is local here. Take a van. :)

EBEBRATT-Ed

@leaking

Why are you asking how thick to install the insulation if your mind is already made up?

Everyone is telling you more than 1" will be a big hassle to install and will require more cutting around hangers and obstructions and will end up looking like a hack job.

Do you realize putting 3" wall thickness on a 2" pipe will give you a total outside diameter of 8 3/8"?

1 1/2" pipe will be just under 8".

You will run into more obstacles and cutting which will lower the R value

1" is the way to go.