underground pipe insulation

[Mr Goodwrench]

I have 6 pex lines bundled together with foam insulation around them inside a sdr30 pipe. I part of it exposed this summer while putting in a sewer and noticed when I stepped on it it squished like it had water in it, I have noticed it melts snow in the winter, not alot but some, I'm getting a 24hr burn time even in very cold weather so I'm not too concerned but would like to attempt something. I was thinking of slipping a tube like the plastic line used on ice makers or 5/16 copper tube insid the 4" from the basement where the end of the pipe is open then rigging an adapter to connect to the straw on those spray cans of foam pulling the tube out as I fill the pipe???? think It will work?? will the foam cure inside that pipe? will there be enough pressure inside the cans of spray foam to squirt that far (50ft) anyone have a better idea??? yeah I know I should have used thermo-pex but I didnt know about that stuff and went with what the guy that sold me the furnace did.

 

[rick2752]

Im gonna guess no, the can wont have enough pressure. You may be able to call an insulation company that sprays foam. How big is the pipe? My guess is your gonna have to deal with the heat loss unless you could pull thermopex or logstor inside it to replace the pex. It would be a bear, but it depends on length of run and curves..

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

yeah I know I should have used thermo-pex but I didnt know about that stuff and went with what the guy that sold me the furnace did.

Sue him. That's inexcusable. It's one thing for Joe Redneck to think he can save a few bucks by inventing his own insulated pipe, but someone in the business of selling the stuff should know better.


Spray foam isn't going to do you any good. It's all wet now, it's not going to get any better.


Do it right and cry ONCE, or mickey-mouse it and cry forever.

 

[Jsheds]

When I installed my furnace I used the 1" pex, wrapped in pipe insulation inserted into 4" pvc drain pipe and then filled the whole thing with spray foam. That was 3 years ago. Before I buried the pipe, snow that fell on the pipe didn't even melt. This past winter, with 3' of snow on the ground, I had a 3' wide strip of green grass for the 200' from my house to the furnace and I burned through 2 years worth of firewood. I finally decided to investigate yesterday and dug up the pipe to see what happened. I was surpised to find that the spray foam insulation was saturated. I could cut chunks of it out and wring it out like a sponge. I expected to find water in the pipe, but not saturated foam! I knew this was a shortcut when I installed it, but I had some of the material on hand expected to replace it someday. I guess today is the day. So... having just gone through this, I would recommend you spend the cash now, unless you really like to split wood and want to have an easy walk to the furnace in the winter.
Jim

 

[PURPLEBOWYER]

When I put my furnace in I had 4 runs 2-3/4,and 2-1"I got 4 wraps of solar guard around the whole run,sleaved it in 4"pvc got good glue joints and sealed both ends,im pretty sure shes waterproof,I did the install in Mar.,and had it up and running for about a month,I had a one deg diff tween house and stove.This winter will be the test,got my fingers crossed,but I think itll be fine

 

[boyland]

i am not sure the walk is that easy kind of soggy and muddy

 

[johnnylabguy]

When I installed my furnace I used the 1" pex, wrapped in pipe insulation inserted into 4" pvc drain pipe and then filled the whole thing with spray foam. That was 3 years ago. Before I buried the pipe, snow that fell on the pipe didn't even melt. This past winter, with 3' of snow on the ground, I had a 3' wide strip of green grass for the 200' from my house to the furnace and I burned through 2 years worth of firewood. I finally decided to investigate yesterday and dug up the pipe to see what happened. I was surpised to find that the spray foam insulation was saturated. I could cut chunks of it out and wring it out like a sponge. I expected to find water in the pipe, but not saturated foam! I knew this was a shortcut when I installed it, but I had some of the material on hand expected to replace it someday. I guess today is the day. So... having just gone through this, I would recommend you spend the cash now, unless you really like to split wood and want to have an easy walk to the furnace in the winter.
Jim

I dug this thread back up for a reason; old JSHEDS posted one time(one time!) and gave me the info I was looking for. I will not skimp on the pex even though a good friend of mine owns a spray insulation business. Just not worth it to have to do it twice and use 2 years worth of wood to find out if it works to save a couple hundred bucks.

And I did give Jsheds his first and only rep too!

 

[deutzman]

When I installed my furnace I used the 1" pex, wrapped in pipe insulation inserted into 4" pvc drain pipe and then filled the whole thing with spray foam. That was 3 years ago. Before I buried the pipe, snow that fell on the pipe didn't even melt. This past winter, with 3' of snow on the ground, I had a 3' wide strip of green grass for the 200' from my house to the furnace and I burned through 2 years worth of firewood. I finally decided to investigate yesterday and dug up the pipe to see what happened. I was surpised to find that the spray foam insulation was saturated. I could cut chunks of it out and wring it out like a sponge. I expected to find water in the pipe, but not saturated foam! I knew this was a shortcut when I installed it, but I had some of the material on hand expected to replace it someday. I guess today is the day. So... having just gone through this, I would recommend you spend the cash now, unless you really like to split wood and want to have an easy walk to the furnace in the winter.
Jim

Was this open or closed cell foam? Sounds like open cell.