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Thermal insulation of pipes or 6 ways to keep warm in winter

July 28, 2016
Specialization: master of interior and exterior decoration (plaster, putty, tile, drywall, wall paneling, laminate, and so on). In addition, plumbing, heating, electrical, conventional cladding and balcony extensions. That is, repairs in an apartment or house were done on a turnkey basis with all the necessary types of work.

To begin with, the thermal insulation of pipelines of heating networks according to
SNiP does not have any clear characteristics, and, perhaps, this is at least strange. However, this is not the point - I want to tell you how to insulate pipes and not freeze in winter in a private house. I will support my words with the help of a visual video in this article. So, on the way...

We heat pipes

Pipes can be heated not only with passive heaters, but also with active devices. But I will talk about this below.

6 types of insulation

Now we will briefly consider 5 types that SNiP allows for thermal insulation of equipment and pipelines:

1. The most offered and advertised option that you can find on the Internet is shells that are made from mineral wool, polystyrene foam or extruded polystyrene foam.
2. Further in popularity, one can distinguish mineral (basalt) wool with waterproofing from roofing material or dense polyethylene.
3. In addition, thermal insulation of equipment and pipelines can be made with materials such as sand or expanded clay - the main thing is that such pillows are dry.
4. The best option for pipe insulation is a warm room - a basement, a room in an apartment, or just a closed box.
5. A heating cable that can be led directly into the pipe or wrapped around it from above - the effect, in fact, will be the same as in the case described in paragraph 4.
6. And, finally, liquid insulation and paints that simply cut off cold air to the pipes. There can be many options here, but in my opinion, liquid foam is best - and the price will suit, and it's easy to do.

Insulation material	Thermal conductivity (W/m⁰C)	Application temperature (⁰C)	Flammability group
Stitched mineral mats	0,041-0,032	From -180⁰C to +450⁰C for a fabric base and up to +700⁰C for a metal mesh base	non-combustible
Mats and wool from basalt thin fiber without binding elements	0,031-0,24	From – 180⁰C to +600⁰C	non-combustible
Extruded polystyrene materials	0,032	From – 180⁰C to +70⁰C	G3, G4
From foam polymer minerals	0,044	From – 180⁰C to +150⁰C	G2
From armored concrete	0,05	From – 180⁰C to +180⁰C	G2
From armored concrete	0,029-0,024	From – 180⁰C to +130⁰C	G2-G4
Made of polyethylene foam	0,05	From – 70⁰C to +95⁰C	G3, G4

Various pre-insulated pipes for heating networks

My best option

Double insulation - polyethylene foam and mineral wool

So, this is not an instruction, but just my opinion, but, nevertheless, I have used this method for more than one year - mineral (basalt) wool. Let's start with the definition of mineral wool - it can be glass, slag or stone (basalt). The packing density directly depends on your efforts, and, in fact, this does not really matter (unless, of course, you compress the cotton wool).

There are three types of mineral wool - glass, slag and stone or basalt. In our case, it is best to use the latter option - such products are made from melts of volcanic rocks.
It is very inconvenient to work with glass wool, but iron particles remain in the slag, which rust when dampness enters, which leads to material subsidence.

I usually use two options for thermal insulation of pipes - polyethylene foam and mineral (basalt) wool. Of course, you can buy shells from this material in the store, and even with a foil surface, but it will be quite expensive.

It is much easier to use roll material, the thickness of which can be from 20 mm to 200 mm. You need to choose this parameter depending on the region of residence, that is, on the possible decrease in soil temperature in winter.

For underground pipe laying, of course, it is best to use the method of deepening, rather than insulation. If the pipeline runs 50 cm below the freezing point, then you do not need any insulation.

But there can be a real problem here - in the northern regions of Russia, the depth of soil freezing sometimes reaches more than 2m, so this option will not always be convenient.

As you understand, moisture in any case will be an excellent conductor of cold, therefore, without waterproofing, insulation of pipelines is only allowed indoors, as in the photo above. It can be either basements, but even there, in some cases, waterproofing is indispensable due to the same condensate.

Ruberoid is an excellent waterproofing

In order to insulate a pipeline with underground or air laying, I wrap it with basalt wool, trying not to compress the material too much. The looser the material, the better the protection from the cold and the warmer in winter.

To fix the material, it is very convenient to use a nylon thread - such a coil can be purchased, probably, in any store that sells building materials. But roofing material is best wrapped with any soft wire - the cheapest is steel knitting, but if you have stocks, then it can be aluminum or even copper.

In addition, it is best to make a sand cushion for underground laying of the pipeline and also fill it with sand 50-60 mm from above. Such a measure will protect the shell from sharp stones of various objects that may be in the ground - glass, wire, and so on.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I want to say that it is quite simple to insulate any pipeline (water supply, sewerage) with your own hands - the main thing is not to compress the material very much. When compressed, the density increases, therefore, the thermal conductivity also increases. If you have other suggestions on how to insulate the pipeline so as not to freeze in the cold - write about it in the comments.

July 28, 2016

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