Insulation?

Brad White_151

Knauff, Certain-Teed, Manville among others, represent about 95% of the insulation used on steam lines in residential and commercial work. Above and beyond this is Foam-Glass, Calcium Silicated ('Cal-Sil') which are more industrial in nature. Fittings are wrapped in fiberglass or with moulded fitting covers then covered in either cement or PVC covers moulded to fitting dimensions.

Typical thickness by code (here in MA) is 1.5" thick up to 1.5-inch iron pipe size and 2" thick for piping 2-inch to 4-inch size. Lesser thicknesses will work in most applications but the code lists what I just mentioned.

Stan_9

Steam System Insulation for Mains

Any suggestions as to what kind of insulation I might need for the mains of a steam system (thickness, brand, etc.). Thank you.

Stan

Stan_9

Thank you for the quick response. By the way, does the material of the pipes matter (one is iron, the other one is copper).

Stan

Brad White_151

When you buy

the insulation, you specify the pipe type, size and thickness of insulation so yes, the sizes are different.

Often but not always, some pipe manufacturers offer dual size such that a single insulation size will fit, for example, 3/4" copper and 1/2" iron, both of which have similar outside diameters.

A typical insulation designation might be '2" IPS x 1.5", meaning "2 inch iron pipe size, 1.5" thick insulation wall".

Hope this helps.