simple question about pipe insulation

johnw

just got asbestos removed from all my steam pipes and I am currently putting on fiberglass insulation. I don't know what to do with the pipe bends and joints. Do these need to be insulated and if so how do I do it? Also, how close to the furnance shoud I be insulating?

Al Letellier_9

pipe insulation

Insulate all the piping for best results. You can buy pre-molded fitting covers for els and tees. Best that you cover all of the piping to save on heat loss.

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JimGPE_3

100% insulation

100% coverage is a must if the piping/fittings/valves are accessable and could burn someone.

Having said that, it is questionable if you can make an economic case for payback by insulating fittings. Especially if the space in which the piping is run will be heated by the piping anyway.

michael_15

specialized pieces

You can use special fittings for joints, but I found this to be a bit expensive. It definitely looks nicer, though.

My insulation gave with a huge surplus of ASJ "stickers" which I think were to seal up the cracks between two tubes of insulation. I found that you can just buy a bag of unfaced fiberglass insulation, wrap it around the joints, and then wrap the thing in the ASJ tape. This helps it look quasi-decent, since it's the same outside material as the rest of the pipe insulation.

Alternatively, I suppose you could get some (white) mastic/duct tape to hold the insulation in place around the joints.

-Michael

Harvey_8

insulation zestons

The fittings are called zestons, and correct they are expensive. I have seen some commercial insulators use a foil faced duct wrap on fittings, then paint the liquid mastic over the foil back, doens't look the best, but better than unfaced insulation and white tape. My 2 cents.

JackFre

Did a job once with glass Ins

Did the pipe joints in correct pipe diameter. got a couple lengths of larger diameter (Large enough to fit the od of the fitting) ins for the fitting, mitered the ends and fit it up. Actually worked out pretty well. Time consuming though!