Posted Sun Jul 24, 2005, 12:10am Subject: Boiler insulation?
Where can I get boiler insulation like that which is mentioned in this post? It hit 103' here today and the thought of one more heat source in the house for the A/C to contend with doesn't sound appealing! Or if there are any other types - please pass them along. Cheers, Geoff
Really? Our Home Depot / Lowes stocks foil-backed and plain fiberglass rolls for insulating piping. It's in the same aisle as the heating vents, register covers, plumbing wraps, etc. Another option is ceramic fiber blanket insulation. More expensive, but easier to work with. Call around locally, fireplace and patio / barbecue speciality stores stock it (extremely temperature tolerant).
There's certainly precedence for the "pink fluffy stuff"; here's the Expobar Lever insulation. The advantage of the ceramic fiber blanket is that you can cut it into pieces and resew it around the boiler. Someone posted a picture of a Cimbali Junior insulated with it and the job was super-neat (sorry, can't find it right now).
I would wager that adding the insulation, not so much the materials but the work involved would add costs and therefore the price of the machine...
I also heard someone claim that insulating the boiler would result in higher temperatures in the grouphead and this could undermine the longevity of some of the components therein. This was an interesting claim, especially since the boiler of my machine is insulated, but I have not seen anything to back that claim up and cannot quite figure why the insulation would do so (or what components it would harm even if it did)...
Wouldn’t the insulated boiler increase the dead band on the P-stat? The increased insulation would keep the boiler from cooling as fast; it would spend more time in limbo between the top of cycle and the minimum pressure to kick on your heating element. If that is an issue, you could fool you P-stat into cycling by cracking your steam valve to artificially lower the pressure.
I have been thinking long and hard about insulating my boiler to reduce the excess heat venting into my house and to conserve energy. I almost did another article for HB’s swagfest on this subject. I figured Dan would be doing a 06 fest (I hope you will), have to keep something to do for next year.
I think one reason is that I believe it would defeat / decrease effectiveness of the cup warmer.
On the expobar picture above, is the foil back of the insulation on the boiler side? I wasn't sure if you would want the foil on the boiler or the fiberglass.
Hmmm... just thought of another idea - some auto muffler exhaust heat wrap... wouldn't get little bits of fiberglass anywhere either.
I have insulated my last two machines, I have lost cup warming temp, but I think it has been worth it considering the hot summer we have had. I also think the heat might not be the best thing for my kitchen cabinets. my machine seems to go longer between cycles,over all I think it is a good thing to do and would do it again.
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