Spray foam pipe insulation

OVERVIEW: As to the use of chemical based products just remember: 1) pressure treated wood was exposed as having carcinogens that included "arsenic" that poisoned the ground underneath decks where small children played and became a health issue ( but of course it was reformulated to be safe -haha) 2) urea formaldehyde was ingredient in foam insulation used to insulate homes back in the 70s to tighten them up - guess what, that was exposed to release harmful gas into the home, and 3) don't forget about Teflon coated cookware exposed as leaching harmful chemicals into food, but again that was allegedly reformulated to be safe a few years ago…..

As I said already to OP - spray away! I propose a Holiday Toast " a Votre Sante' "

Regards,

RTW

No, that is incorrect. Foam, like steam pipes, have been around forever and maybe a couple people have tried to marry them but it never became the popular thing to do; therefore, it isn't good practice because it isn't practiced.

As a fellow landlord, and user of spray foam, I like your idea. Like you, I don't see how, from an air quality for fire prevention standpoint, foam on the pipes is any worse than foam on any other house surface. FYI to all the fiberglass adherents, who are afraid of foam offgassing, many fiberglass products use phenol formaldehyde as a binding agent to hold the fibers together, so you're not avoiding formaldehyde by going that route. Similarly, a google search for fiberglass insulation air pollution will bring you to a number of websites detailing the concerns about the inhalation risk of friable fibers from the "safe" fiberglass insulation. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather use no foam OR fiberglass but given the options and climate we we have here in the North East, we need to make some compromises.

I used 2 of those Handi Foam kits last year to insulate the masonry foundation walls in a gutted basement apartment that had suffered from chronic high humidity, and high heating bills, with its previous fiberglass batt insulation (which I'm sure wasn't great to begin with, and had been further compromised by waterlogging at slab level and rodent damage/nesting). So far, 18mos in, it's been working great. Personally, I used Roxul mineral wool when re-insulating my attic, where I wanted it to be vapor open, but in the basement apartment setting I wanted the extra vapor retardation of the Handi Foam (which does come with multiple nozzles). Just in case you need to do a small area here or there, there is also a 1-part sort of cheap spray foam product called Kraken Bond, which is kind of halfway between Great Stuff Pro and Handi Foam. Basically, it is a 1-part moisture cured product like Great Stuff Pro, and it comes with a similar gun, but it has fan nozzles that allow you to spray it on a wall like Handi Foam, which Great Stuff will not do. For small areas, and areas where you want to be able to start and stop without a care, it is a decent option, however if you try to apply it too thickly in 1 layer something weird happens to it and all the little cells combine into a big bubble, so in that regard, Handi Foam is the more user friendly product in terms of being very tolerant of a variety of application thicknesses while maintaining optimal R-value.

if there is a leak, will it show up at the leak's location? Or, would it flow to a pin hole in the foam five feet away?

I'd like to clarify a couple of my points above. First, I am not opposed to spray foam in general. I have used a good bit of it on various applications where it is appropriate and safe.

Unprotected spray on foam is neither appropriate nor safe in an occupied space. If it can be protected with a fire resistant or retardant barrier, smaller amounts of it may be suitable — if there is no product with a superior fire rating to use, such as fiberglass.

On the other hand, perhaps the concern is misplaced, since the load in most occupied spaces has a good proportion of foamed products all of which produce similarly toxic gasses and a tendency to flashover when exposed to excess heat…

All of that will have to be sprayed with an intumescent ignition barrier. Good luck getting the appropriate coverage to achieve that.

Class A fire rating doesn’t mean non-flammable, it just doesn’t produce as much smoke or spread fire as fast as other flammable materials.

I dont believe foam insulation for steam pipes was ever mentioned in any of Dan Holohan's books or by the Dead Men as an alternative and doubt founding father and innovator, Ben Franklin, would approve - just sayin

Regards.

RTW

While it's not really worth my time to comment further — @leaking 's mind is well and truly made up — just two thoughts. First, he notes that lighting foam board, particularly isocyanate foam, with a cigarette lighter is difficult. Quite true. So, however, is lighting a southern pine 2 x 4. Once lit, however, they both burn — and the smoke from the foam is lethal, but the pine isn't. For what it's worth.

The other comment is the one where he states that "steam temp drops as it travels". Really?

And thank you, @PC7060 , for the excerpt from the Code.

sounds like a plan. Let us know how it works out.
Hope you have a great holiday.