|
Posted by Bob F on May 15, 2008, 12:05 pm
Please log in for more thread options
>
>>I am remodeling a bathroom, and have inserted a couple copper pipes from the
>>basement to the attic for use in the possible future addition of solar water
>>heating. I am wondering what insulation would be most appropriate to put
>>around
>>these pipes before I wall them in. I understand these heaters deal in pretty
>>hot
>>water, so I am not sure that the standard foam insulation would be
>>appropriate.
>>Any experience in this?
>
> Unless you plan on running a highly pressurized system (15 psi is only
> something like 245 deg), you're not going above the boiling point of water
> regardless of the efficiency of the collector. Therefore the standard black
> foam sleeving from the big box stores will work fine.
>
> I hope this plumbing is going through an inside wall. If you live in cold
> country and the pipe is in an outside wall the insulation won't keep it from
> freezing. It'll only slow it down a little.
>
> If we'd talked earlier I'd have suggested PEX instead of copper. Cheaper,
> easier to install, tolerant of moderate freezing and infinitely more durable
> in the face of contaminated water, what will be eventually circulating in that
> system unless you pay attention to water chemistry.
If I were to replace this with PEX, what diameter would you recommend? Any
special precautions to guarantee compatibility in the future. It seems that PEX
is not standardized, the ends and crimping methods vary among manufacturers. I
wouldn't want to end up not being able to terminate it in the future when I
actually try to hook it up.
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap