A while back I had a Y strainer fitted on the external side of the heat pump, during this installation the pipe insulation was cut and put back rather poorly, my service guy said when he was next in the area he would redo and told me to buy the insulation and just keep it ready, but as a temp he told just tape up the existing insulation with some armaflex tape and buy armaflex pipe insulation.
So my question is that the right stuff to buy and do?
13.6kw Solar, 40kw Battery, 10kw Heat Pump and EV Cars
Have a look at this previous post where I talked about Armourflex lagging with some photos.
Kaiflex is similar, and I mention it here with links to thesupplier, BES.
The sections of pipe insulation should be glued together using a contact adhesive. That's the type where you apply it to each face and then wait until it's touch-dry before pressing then together.
You absolutely must have rain-tight seals to prevent water running between the pipe and the outer insulation.
Where the insulation stops at the rear of the heat-pump and where it enters the house, use CT1 or Plumbers Gold mastic to make it weather-tight.
Question the current insulation you see, does that look like Primary Pro? If yes what are your thoughts on that it looks like all the joins have been sealed with some kind of glue/liquid
I'm asking because if it is that then I may be able to buy a new length, they also do ball valve cover although not sure yet how I would get that on, and then for the Y strainer portion I have seen these insulated jackets and so I would replace that section and glue to join together. Just a thought.
13.6kw Solar, 40kw Battery, 10kw Heat Pump and EV Cars
I don't think we can tell from a photo whether your existing pipe insulation is Primary Pro or not.
It may be another brand. The main point is that it must be UV-proof. Primary Pro has an external UV-resistant coating, whilst other manufacturers use a material which is resistant to UV all the way through.
Nor can I tell if the 'filler'/glue used in the existing joins is UV-resistant, or merely a silicon mastic. The black mastic used for guttering repairs is UV-proof, of course.
The wall thickness shouldn't be reduced by the use of nylon cable-ties to hold the insulation in place.
I don't resort to buying specialist insulation to match particular fittings. Instead I buy 1-metre lengths of insulation with larger bore-sizes and cut them to fit around valves and connectors.
Where insulation of different diameters join together, they can be over-wrapped with Armourflex tape or similar.
Your existing lever-valve is tricky because it's been orientated with the handle facing upwards though a hole in the insulation.
I would slightly loosen the nuts at each end and rotate the entire valve so that the handle exits below the pipe. That will prevent rain entering.
But you may not have the necessary spanners to achieve that of course.
So I did find out that the insulation is Primary Pro and the joins are used the Primary Pro bond and seal. The insulation comes in different sizes, so I have ordered the size up and the bond, also watched there tutorials as they have quite a lot of handy tips.
13.6kw Solar, 40kw Battery, 10kw Heat Pump and EV Cars
Thank you @david-s. Just for context, if anyone has questions about Primary Pro, please tag David. He is the creator of Primary Pro and Condensate Pro.
The products you mention are very good for inside but not for external.
If you look, they have a low water diffusion resistance and will absorb moisture, water over time
This increases the thermal conductivity and so reduces the efficiency of the insulation
1% of moisture can increase the thermal conductivity by 7.5 %
damp/wet insulation
on contact adhesive
This is very useful internally, as the temperature and atmosphere are dry, so it works very well
externally is the temperature is lower than 10 degrees, or the humidity is higher than 80 %, then it is virtually impossible to use
So on winter or rainy days, you can't use it
Then there is the sealing around the holes where the anti-freeze valves are and other exsternal fittings, they all need to be sealed
So for external insulation you need
a good thermal conductivity
high water diffusion resistance ( over 20,000 MU )
all joints and gaps must be sealed to stop energy for getting out and moisture/water getting in
This is where Primary Pro worked over three years on issues , looked at all the issues and found solutions, and then made all the products and tools to help the Professional installer, as it needs a skilled professional to fit is corectly
A while back I had a Y strainer fitted on the external side of the heat pump, during this installation the pipe insulation was cut and put back rather poorly, my service guy said when he was next in the area he would redo and told me to buy the insulation and just keep it ready, but as a temp he told just tape up the existing insulation with some armaflex tape and buy armaflex pipe insulation.
So my question is that the right stuff to buy and do?
Oh Dear! that's appalling pipe work, should've been in trunking to start with, and ideally not go through the ground, such odd bends! The industrial brackets look poor on a home, I'd consider boxing it all in with a removable cover, the unit is too close to the wall which means the fan draws even more air through over the pipe work.
if anyone has questions about Primary Pro, please tag David. He is the creator of Primary Pro and Condensate Pro.
Thanks.... ... and to @david-s for your useful comments.
I fear that many contractors not only fail to buy the right pipe insulation hardware, but also rush through the job on the same final-day as they're meant to be commissioning the system and writing instructions for the customer.
What we really need is someone with OCD who understands the need to get this right, and will actually put in the effort to properly cut and install pipe insulation with the required bore.
What happens to all those school-leavers with OCD who have been let down by inadequate education?
County Councils are very concerned at the increasing funding required for SEND and adult social care... ... whereas we could actually do with employing those young adults in order to get insulation done properly!
There's a gap in the market here, for specialist pipe insulation installers who can be brought onto site whilst the MCS-approved contractor moves on to the next installation. ... or am I about to be shut down for not being politically correct?
