insulating steam piping

Roy

I 've been visiting here for a long time reading and learning all I can and am finally getting around to insulating my pipes. My questions is can i just wrap them with fiberglass or should I get the preformed kind? Thanks all and Thanks Dan for this forum,

kevin coppinger_4

I suppose....

anything would be better than nothing...but the preformed is beat.

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Constantin

Just have a look....

...and make sure that the insulation is rated for the temperatures that your steam heating system can develop. Some thermoplastic insulation sleeves are (at best) for hot water.

I prefer sleeved insulation over the wrap-and-wrap-and-wrap type for two reasons. For one, it can be bloody difficult to get the fiberglass to wrap around steel pipes hung overhead and close to the ceiling. Secondly, it's not trivial to get a consistent thickness on the wrap.

Sleeved insulation pieces don't have to be thermoplastic, BTW. Some have appliance-grade fiberglass liners in them.

Joel M

I was looking for the preformed foam insulation for my hot water main, but I could only find max size of 1 inch pipe, I need 1.5 inch. Home Desperate had some 30 inch lengths of insulation, it is rigid and cost about $6.00 each, too expensive I think.