Skip to main content

The Beginner's Guide to Pipe Insulation: Mineral Fibre

This latest entry in our "Beginner's Guide" series looks at the two kinds of mineral fibre generally used for heating and ventilation applications; Glass fibre and Stone / Rock fibre.

The two are often viewed as the same material; whilst very similar in some ways they are different in others and thus each is better suited to certain applications.

Both products can generally be used for very high temperatures, with rock wool having the edge in this area. But due to the slightly different characteristics of each material, the thermal conductivity of these two different kinds of mineral fibre are also slightly different.

Glass tends to be more efficient for temperature ranges below 100C whilst rock is better suited to those above 100C. This means for example that glass wool is very slightly more efficient for say heating and plumbing applications, whereas rock would be more suitable for applications such as use on steam pipes.

Both products also lend themselves to noise reduction due to their relatively high densities (the mass of an insulation product has a significant effect on its usefulness in reducing noise). In essence the higher the density, the better the product is for noise reduction; rock wool would have the edge here.

Both products are also most commonly sold with foil facing and a self adhesive overlap for use in HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) applications. We are also able to provide these products with additional coatings such as PIB or Ventureclad but these are "made to order" so the price will vary according to the size of the order.

In the words of the manufacturers:




Glass fibre insulation for pipes

Simply better insulation with the new Sager Foil Faced Fibreglass pipe insulation! As leading Swiss producer of fibreglass, SAGER produces innovative pipe insulation by the name of PIPELANE. The new, flexible PIPELANE fibreglass pipe insulation is produced in Switzerland according to Swiss quality standards and distributed throughout Europe. PIPELANE is available in all standard insulation thicknesses and pipe diameters. PIPELANE pipe insulation offers outstanding thermal and sound insulation and is applied wherever pipes have to be optimally insulated.

Application field / properties:

PIPELANE convinces with easy handling thanks to the gridded aluminium lining with overlap and self-adhesive strips.

Technical parameters: 

Thermal conductivity                                0.034 W/mK @ 40°C 
Reaction to fire                                        Not flammable 
Application temperature                           ≤ 300 °C

Processing instructions:

For the application of the insulation on the pipe, do not damage the aluminium lining         
Seal fully pounded longitudinal joints with self-adhesive overlapping tape         
Carefully mask all joints, seams, penetrations and pipe ends

Rock wool insulation for pipes:



RockLap H&V Pipe Sections are strong lengths of pre-formed insulation with a one piece, factory applied foil facing with integral self-adhesive lap. The Sections are designed for thermal and acoustic insulation of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning pipe work operating in the temperature range 0°C to 700°C. Rockwool Rocklap Pipe Insulation is one of the most enduring and well known brand names in the industry. 


Insulating the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems with ROCKWOOL®HVAC insulation can improve the energy efficiency, fire safety and acoustic performance of a building.  


In addition to the fire protection benefits, ROCKWOOL® HVAC insulation products offer excellent thermal and acoustic insulation.

ROCKWOOL® insulation products are made from stone wool – a blend of naturally occurring volcanic diabase rock. It’s the special ingredient that ensures ROCKWOOL® insulation protects against unwanted noise, fire, and provides unrivalled durability at no cost to the environment. It’s a 4-in-1 solution.

If you are looking for more information you can get in touch with us in the following ways:

Online: www.insulationandlagging.co.uk
Telephone: 01942 295 926
E-mail: info@insulationandlagging.co.uk


We will be doing a range of entries on the various kinds of products available as well as jacketing in the coming weeks so watch out for these for more detailed information. If you want to know more about any of the products we offer, we have a handy reference table below as a quick guide.

Product
Internal Use
External Use
Key Benefits
Polyethylene
a
r
Cheap, Easy to Use, Flexible
Nitrile Rubber
a
r
Class 0 / Euro Class B, Very Flexible
Rock Mineral Wool
a
r
Foil Faced, High Temp, Good for steam pipes
Glass Mineral Wool
a
r
Foil Faced, High Temp, Good for heating pipes
Phenolic Foam
a
r
Foil Faced, Very Low thermal conductivity
High Temp Rubber
a
a
Can be used up to 150°C, Can be used outside
Coated Nitrile Rubber
a
a
Protective plastic skin, waterproof, UV resistant
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Beginners Guide To Pipe Insulation: Getting to grip with the basics

Our Beginners Guide series of blogs will look at the common areas of pipe insulation lagging that you will want to look at when choosing your product. This guide will be of most interest to the DIY installers, but some of our later guides will cover more complex products and areas of application.

One of the things we get asked about a lot is what the dimensions quoted for pipe insulation actually mean. You will always see three measurements quoted when describing pipe insulation; Wall Thickness, Bore Size and Length.

In the below diagram, A is the "Bore" and B is the "Wall".

Wall thickness is very simply how much insulation you have; so for example if you have 13mm Wall pipe insulation, then that means you have 13mm of insulation on either side of your pipe. This thickness is very often one of the most important part of your decision; too thin and you might not get the results you are looking for but too thick and it might not fit between your pipe and the wall.

If…
5 comments
Read more

The Beginners Guide to Pipe Insulation: Flexible Foams

Next up in the series we are doing on pipe insulation is "flexible foams"; a category that includes polyethylene and expanded nitrile rubber.


Polyethylene Pipe Insulation
Climaflex pipe insulation is the UK's leading brand for polyethylene pipe insulation. This is the grey foam that most people are familiar with, the kind you would traditionally find in garden centres for example. Polyethylene is the cheapest, widely available product in the market. People very often wrongly assume cheap means poor quality, this is not the case with a brand such as Climaflex. It has a thermal conductivity of 0.034 W/m.K at 0°C which is broadly equal to that of any other flexible foam, and it also has a much higher "μ factor" than other foams, making it more resistant to moisture ingress. These facotrs make it ideal for use around the home, being easy to work with and providing good insulation. 
The material can be purchased in 1m and 2m lengths, and is available in wall thicknesse…
8 comments
Read more

Frost protection for domestic pipes

With the cold weather approaching we thought it would be a good idea to touch on how best to protect your pipes from frost this winter.

When dealing with frost protection on pipes inside a building your aim with insulating them is to delay the onset of freezing for as long as possible; it is not possible to guarantee a pipe will not freeze by insulation alone. The better the insulation, and the thicker the insulation, the longer you will give yourself. Under normal circumstances you aim to give yourself about 8-10 hours protection against sub zero temperatures. With pipes inside a home this is usually long enough to be sure the pipes will not freeze.


Ice formation inside the pipes will lead to an increase in pressure. As the water tries to flow this pressure will increase, and eventually will lead to the pipes bursting. A burst pipe can cause a lot of problems, not least of which is a lot of damage to your property and a lot of expense incurred.

Water regulations state that all water …
20 comments
Read more