Insulation Thickness For Residential Steam Mains

[Deleted User]

we generally use fiberglass pipe insulation, usually 1'' thickness...i dont think we have ever SOLVED a problem with it, but rather look to avoid a problem by using it..we try to do all the visible basement piping..alot of times the homeowner will do this (and they actually do install it) if we deliver it to the job..

Tom_22

Insulation For Residential Steam: Thickness & Other Stuff

Do you like to install pipe insulation, sub it out, or leave it for others?

If you look at a job to replace a steam boiler and there is no insulation on the main line, do you recomend it be installed and try to get that part of the job also?

What kind and thickness of insulation do you like to recommend. Do you consider using more thickness on near boiler piping than down by the end of the main worth it?

Do you recomend the same thickness for every every job? If you vary, how do you figure it? Length of main? Customers budget?

Do you think it's worth insulating the branch lines to the first floor radiators or is it too much trouble, not worth the effort or the price you can get for it? Leave them bare to warm the basement or provide some underfloor heating?

Have you ever solved a problem just by insulating the pipes?

Tom_22

Insulation For Residential Steam Pipe: Thickness & Other Stuff

Do you like to install pipe insulation, sub it out, or leave it for others?

If you look at a job to replace a steam boiler and there is no insulation on the main line, do you recomend it be installed and try to get that part of the job also?

What kind and thickness of insulation do you like to recommend. Do you consider using more thickness on near boiler piping than down by the end of the main cost effective in the long run, or not an issue?

Do you recomend the same thickness for every every job? If you vary, how do you figure it? Length of main? Customers budget?

Do you think it's worth insulating the branch lines to the first floor radiators or is it too much trouble, not worth the effort or the price you can get for it? Leave them bare to warm the basement or provide some underfloor heating?

Have you ever solved a problem just by insulating the pipes?

Mad Dog

I concur with Gerry

It will not usually solve a problem, but be part of the solution. Whilst experimenting not too long ago, I did not use a pick up factor and thought that insulating the heck out of everything would make up for the lack of btus....NOT!!!!!!! It always helps to insulate everything you can get to. The thicker the better. We usually tell them to do it themselves, hire it out. If they want to pay plumbers to do simple laborer-type work we will be glad to do it. When we give them a price, they usually opt to do it themselvbes and we are glad to give them the few pointers to insulating. Mad Dog

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Wethead7

insulation

We use 1" or thicker fiberglass. We use in house people for small stuff, but if it is a drop header or something with lots of cuts, we hire an outside insulation firm. We work with this firm almost constantly. We have had the HO cover some straight mains, but that does not always work out. If we need to do alot of pipe covering in a job we inform the HO that. We break the price out and state we recomend pipe covering, and will not do thier job without it. Several times in the past that has been the primary reasons for us getting the job.

We recomend insulation on hot water systems also. Not only for burn protection but tempature control.

Mike

Dave DeFord

Just did my house

It's not hard just a pain to work with fiberglass. I used insulation designed for walls (I think it was R13) 3.5 inches thick 7 ft. long and designed to fit in the cavities formed by studs on 16" centers. Cost about $ 15 at the local Lowes. Also bought a $ 2 mini stapler at the local Staples so if I trashed it I wouldn't be out much. Don't use a good stapler as you WILL drop it! The stapler is used to staple the flaps on the side of the insulation to each other after you wrap it around the pipe. The trick to getting this to work is to cut about 3" of the glass off along the edges at a 45 Deg angle so it doesn't bunch up where you want to staple it. Tried the duct tape method first and it didn't work too well. Just doing part of the mains and a couple of returns dropped the temp in the basement from intolerable to tolerable. This was enough reason for me without any fuel savings. All in all the basement went from a sauna to useable for less than $ 20. BTW you should probabl wear a respirator to keep the glass dust out of your lungs.

Tom_22

An insulation guy I know likes to use 2" thickness on steam lines. He says it costs only pennies more than one inch and it don't leak heat. Tom