How To Insulate Plumbing Pipes
October 22nd, 2008
Pipe Insulation
When the colder months of the year start coming around you will want to protect your plumbing pipes from freezing by insulating them with pipe insulation or maybe even heat tape if need be.
Let’s first talk about the different ways that you can insulate a pipe and what types of insulation there are.
Most pipe insulation that is made for residential use is made from either a foam or a lightweight rubber material. This insulation usually comes in 5 foot stick sections and has the option of a split seam or no seam at all.
You will want to use the pipe insulation with the seam on existing plumbing and the non seam pipe insulation on any new installation of plumbing pipes.
You can find most many types of pipe insulation at your local plumbing supply house or hardware store and the nice part is that pipe insulation is not that expensive in price, its usually around $4 a stick and up depending on what your pipe size is.
The other type of pipe insulation or actually a method of insulating a pipe would be to use something called heat tape. Heat tape is exactly what it sounds like, its a tape that you wrap around your plumbing and then you power it with electric and it will keep your plumbing warm enough so that it does not freeze.
Pipe Insulation Installed
The proper way to insulate your plumbing is to cover all the areas of the pipe so that none of the pipe is exposed. You will want to cut your corners of the pipe insulation on a 45 degree angle so that they can match up with each other for the best seal and to keep that cold air out.
Wrap On Heat Tape
Plumbing heat tape is used to protect pipes from freezing in extremely cold locations were normal pipe insulation is just not enough. Heat tape looks like a tape but has an electrical wire that runs through it and gets plugged in to a normal 110 volt outlet.
Heat tape comes in many lengths and different wattage because some locations are simply colder then others and will require more heat.
Installing heat tape can be very simple if you have access to the pipes that you need to insulate. You will simply just wrap the area of pipe that you want to insulate and then plug the other end of the tape in and your pipe will stay warm.
Heat tape is very inexpensive to run and is a great way to keep your pipe from freezing. If you have a cold area were your pipes keep on freezing and the normal pipe insulation is just not working it might be time for you to switch on over to some heat tape to protect that plumbing.
Heat tape can be found at many home centers like Home Depot, Lowes and off course your local plumbing supply house. If you are not sure you can handle this type of job yourself then you may want to hire a licensed plumber to come and do the job for you.
