Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
All-Purpose OWF Discussions => General Outdoor Furnace Discussion => Topic started by: victor6deep on December 29, 2013, 04:40:35 PM
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Just curious where others are on this topic involving insulate or don't insulate exposed pex in basement. I insulated mine with some self seal foam wrap and noticed my wood usage went down from it. I can't say I ever noticed warmer floors when it was exposed in the basement so I figured insulating it wont catch all the heat rise.
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I insulated all mine in the basement.
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I should because the room that the pex is under is so hot but that is where my recliner is so I dont
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I insulated all of mine, cause it goes thru the same small room the deep freezer is in.
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Left mine uninsulated it heats up the floors nice.
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insulated mine, the room got way to hot on the mild days
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My pipes are uninsulated..keeps the basement warm and the upstairs floor warmer than if I had nothing in the basement…To me it helps heat the house
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My basement stayed at 45 to 50 in the winter before I got my boiler and now it's 65 to 70
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Not insulated.
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I have 4 lines of 1" Pex exposed for about 25' in my garage and they are not insulated. When the outside temps are in the teens, my garage stays in the 50's! If I ever install an exchanger in there, I will insulate them in order to be more precise in my heat delivery.
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I have my lines in my basement and garage insulated. Before I insulated them, my floors were very warm above them, but it wasn't in a good spot to be warm. The lines run right below my thermostat, and it would radiate through the floors and the hallway where the thermostat was running about 3 degrees above rest of the house. Not a huge difference, but enough to make my kitchen not pleasant on the very cold days. I also insulated the lines in my garage that runs to my garage hanging heater to reduce heat loss. I gained about 2 degrees on my return temps after insulating them. Once again, not a huge difference, but enough that it might help just that little bit.
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I insulated mine last year. I would like to think I noticed a difference in my wood consumption but I really don't know. I guess it's not really lost heat if it's going into your house. I just wanted to retain as much heat as I could in the water lines so the air from my vents would be warmer.
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Insulate - help push the heat where you want it, I have a small mechanical room (PACKED under a stair well in Garage) before insulation it would get super hot; after insulation still above average but considerably warmer than rest of building.
P.S. In same cramped space is Hot water heater and pressure tank for well, so in winter time "Cold" water is 70F or warmer
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For short runs insulation probably won't save any wood, but it will keep you from saying "darn thats hot" should you accidently touch the bare piping.
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Insulated, but installed a unit heater.
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I insulated my main lines (1-1/4") and 3/4" lines going to my coil in the ductwork, but didn't insulate any other line I have running through the basement. They keep my basement warm without overheating the first floor.
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It's always a good idea to insulate the lines, this helps too keep zones operating the way they were intended. But on the other hand pex doesn't radiate anywhere near as much as copper does, pex pipe in itself is an insulator. It is always good when a run can have multi purpose or heating more than one space...
Long runs are a good idea to control where the btu's go....
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I have a open basement and my furance/ pex is right in the middle of it. I have 1" logster that I took the wrap off of to run the indoor stuff or most of it. None of it is insulated and you can't tell its giving off any heat standing by it. No hot spots in my basement.
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I did not insulate anywhere where I was going to heat anyway.
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For short runs insulation probably won't save any wood, but it will keep you from saying "darn that's hot" should you accidentally touch the bare piping.
Yes I got a temporary big red tattoo one day then I insulated the ones I can touch. Said about the same thing when it happened.
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Most of mine are 3 wrap that come in basement. I put foam wrap around the exposed pex. I also went threw and put foam wrap around all my copper heating lines. I also went threw and stuffed insulation in the basement around the outside where the baseboards are located. I felt some draft so I figured by wrapping the pipe and stuffing with insulation it would help get more heat where I wanted it. Seems to have helped. Its -6 this morning in PA my house temp set at 73 or 74 and its 70 in the house. Thank god I found a new blower last night! Would suck today if I didnt!
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I didn't insulate in the basement. Sure I might lose a degree or two before the hx, but losing heat in the house really isn't heat loss is it? Plus it warms the kitchen floor above it, gives the dog a warm spot, too, lol! I can see the points of those that did in small rooms, that would get pretty warm. I think I would do the same in that scenario.
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Almost forgot, bare lines are great hand warmers when coming in from the cold! And I also hang wet gloves on them to dry.
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I'm glad mine are not insulated it keeps my basement warm and the floors nice a warm.