In the cold winter months, problems with water supply in the private sector — the phenomenon is not so rare. The reason for this is trivial — the lack of insulation on pipes and, as a result, the water frozen in them. And, meanwhile, the path of preventing this “surprise” is obvious and easily accessible — consisting in the purchase and completely simple installation of one of the types of pipe insulation. The fact that their installation will give, what operational characteristics should they have, what options for materials are offered and how to mount the insulation for pipes with their own hands and will be discussed in this article.
Why is it necessary to warm pipes
First of all, once again we recall that the lack of insulation on pipes can lead not only to the cessation of water supply due to freezing, but also to a complete break in the site where it occurred. As a result, the breakthrough will have to be eliminated by the complete replacement of the node (at the same time globally the problem is not eliminating).
At the same time, in time the installed insulation will completely change the situation, and, protecting the pipes from freezing, will ensure reliable operation of the entire water system, regardless of temperature outside the window. At the same time, not the entire water system is the most vulnerable, but only areas laid, firstly, on the street, and secondly, in rooms without heating.
In the latter case, the insulation for the water supply pipe is mounted quickly and simply. On the contrary, insulation for open -air heating pipes requires a much more attentive attitude both to the choice of material for him and the installation method. It is obvious that the maximum set of technical requirements must not meet the insulation for pipes in the ground, but for some reason, located openly. First of all-due to a much greater influence of extremely low temperatures on it.
Requirements for insulation
Since the stable presence of water in the house is directly related to the comfort of living in it, a breakthrough of the pipe at -20 ° C outside the window is unlikely to delight its inhabitants. Including — and because of the enormous complexity of the repair and what its price will be in this case. In this regard, the list of requirements for modern quality heaters is much longer than it might seem at first glance. These include:
Lightness of installation: not every owner of a country house has skills in carrying out complex construction work — and therefore the absence of difficulties in installing the insulation will definitely be a considerable plus;
durability (operation for a period of 1-2 years is unlikely to serve as a positive characteristic for the material claiming the quality adopted in the 21st century);
a significant level of fire safety (expressed either in complete non -combustibility or in the ability to self -adjust — without provoking the further spread of the focus of the fire);
tightness (otherwise, any thermal insulation qualities will turn out to be useless and the pipes will not be saved from freezing);
admissibility of multiple use (often very convenient);
The most acceptable cost for a good level of quality (especially since it is extremely recommended to save on the latter — otherwise the annual replacements of the material will ultimately make the thermal insulation of “gold” pipes).
Technical and operational characteristics
In addition to the above properties (which are more likely parameters of the reliability of pipe insulation), their compliance with the main, thermal insulating purpose requires the presence of the following technical and operational characteristics:
the highest level of heat saving;
minimum thermal conductivity (next from the previous paragraph);
high chemical resistance (and, therefore, resistance to any adverse atmospheric phenomena);
the ability without a deterioration in operational properties and the use of an additional insulating layer to withstand the operating temperatures of the insulated pipes.
Warm materials
Obviously, the imposed requirements for physical and technical characteristics significantly reduce the circle of materials suitable for the manufacture of high-quality heater. As a result, in modern industry they are used only 4, namely:
Fiberglass (or glass wool) — the most widely used in the USSR for thermal insulation of heating pipes.
The main area of use is metal pipes and metal -plastic;
Advantages — high porosity and lightness;
Disadvantages — the need for additional isolation (for example, roofing material), a result of which is the rise in the cost of the thermal insulation layer as a whole, as well as the complexity of installation and time for its implementation.
Cylindrical basalt insulation
scope — industrial pipes;
Advantages — a high level of thermal insulation, convenience and ease of installation;
Disadvantages — a high price, the need for an additional external protective layer (roofing material, ordinary or foil pergamine, etc. D.).
Polistyle foam (foam)
The main area of application is water pipelines in the private sector (country houses, cottages, cottages, etc.);
Advantages — a polystyrene foam insulation is inexpensive, universal (can be used both indoors and under the ground), economical (can be used reusable), does not need an additional protective layer (although it allows its use) and laying trays;
Disadvantages — in comparison with previous options, has a shorter service life (from 6 to 8 years), weak vapor barrier and lower mechanical and chemical resistance.
Foam polyethylene (foamed polyethylene, sewn/non -eared foam)
The main area of application is due to the magnificent set of operational qualities, insulation for pipe from foamed polyethylene is used not only for any types of water and heating pipes, but also in air conditioning, ventilation, as well as other construction sectors in general;
The advantages are not a grief, it practically does not form smoke, excellent heat — and a sound insulator (due to the cellular structure of a closed type), light, inexpensive, is available in various forms (harnesses, sheets, sheets, rolls), it is elementarily easy to install;
There are practically no disadvantages — in the role of a heat insulator (with the exception of relatively low durability — about 10 years).
Thus, all types of assuming materials can be divided into 2 classes-the basis of which are natural substances (glass, basalt) and artificial polymers (polystyrene foam, polyethylene foam). The advantage of the former is mainly in higher resistance and durability — but they are more complicated in installation, are quite expensive and therefore most often used in large -scale industrial projects. But the latter are inexpensive, convenient, are not inferior (and sometimes surpassed) the first in thermal insulation properties and are so easy to install that even a person who is very distant from construction can cope with the insulation of pipes with such materials.
Installation of insulation
It is advisable to consider the process of installing insulation on the pipes of water supply or heating (for the above reasons) on the materials of the second, polymer group. The most popular of them is the “shell” of polystyrene foam. Its installation is extremely simple, does not require any professional knowledge and skills from the contractor, and consists of such stages:
1. Half of the “shell”, which is something like cut along a flexible hollow tube, put on the insulated pipe.
2. A rather significant (usually 10-20 cm) overlap is ensured, required to achieve good isolation.
3. The overlap places (for the reliability of the adjoining) are glued with tape.
4. The halves worn on the pipe are fastened with the same tape.
5. In places of turns, units/discrepancies, angles and other deviations from strict horizontal, it is better to use the shell of the style — for greater convenience when installing and a denser and more high -quality fit of the insulation to the pipes.
This is where the instructions for insulation (in more detail and clearly depicted in the photo and video in this article) ends. It is only worth noting that during dismantling all operations occur in the reverse order — removal of the protective layer (if any), then tape and only then — polymer shelling.