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Pipe Insulation

Mopar1973Man
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Mopar1973Man

Mopar1973Man

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I know there is a few of you that might use your RV's through the winter time or just in cold temperatures. Like myself I wanted to keep propane bills low as possible, save water by not having to warm the pipe up again, and just prevent freezing if used in cold temps.So I went down to the local hardware store (C & M Lumber) and picked up several lengths of foam pipe insulation for the RV. You want to look for the insulation that has adhesive on the split part also RV you want 1/2" pipe insulation. It a pretty basic install cut cut to fit, slide the foam over the pipe, pull the cover tape and stick together.Now when it comes to cutting corners it will take some practice of cutting 45* angles and getting them to fit properly.

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flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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I haven't done the pipes in my new (used) Tahoe Toy Hauler trailer. There is access to very little of the piping including the cross over ducking under the floor. The underneath has a stiff fabric which I've supposed was for wind drag.My old 5th wheel, Scamper camper came with all the copper piping freeze cracked. (Trail had been owned by my inlaws previous to that. The seller said he'd "Never used the camper"... neglected to say he'd filled it with water & let it freeze!) I replaced the piping with Quest which I'd had good luck with on boats. The cross over was through the step to the gooseneck. That fall I had the water system freeze over night even with the heat on, I was living in it the year I got divorced. The next day, I didn't use the water before leaving for the day... I returned "home" to find the water a foot deep, running out the door (after the pipes thawed). I found the ice had pushed the fittings apart in the rear bathroom. I successfully reassembled & it never leaked again. I did shut the water off when I left the trailer after that. The camper was active until Dec 30th when I remarried... I had the trailer tires on planks & down off the jacks. The RV park owner thought I was stuck, going to have to pay rent all winter. I fired up the Chevy C30, Camper Special, built 454... pulled it out through 11 1/2" of snow. The lessons are that there just isn't enough heat in the cabinettes & cubbyholes to keep the pipes from freezing... even with the doors open, there are dead spaces. Where mine was forced apart was in the open though, under the bathroom sink against the wall.

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Mopar1973Man

Mopar1973Man

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That's the thing I know the bathroom happens to be the coldest room in my RV plus like you mention about freeze ups I've bee there done that with my old Dodge Jamboree. Needless to say I don't wan't to repeat that either. But like my orignal post I do see a conciderable waste of water trying to get hot water bathroom since its the longest run.

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ISX

ISX

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I had to put that on a couple hundred feet of pipe where I work. My 45's sucked as well. I looked at it and finally figured out the problem. I imagine like everyone else the piece ended up too long. This is because you measured from the end of the last piece (straight cut) to the inside of the next pipe, which is the shortest part of the 45 so you got your angle finder and started the 45 at that point. You cut it and....damn the thing overhangs on the corner so you have this big lip sticking up on one piece and an undercut on the next. Looking closer you might notice that the lip juts out the same amount as the thickness of the insulation. The insulation moves the distance to the bottom of the next pipe back exactly the thickness of the insulation. So if its 1/2" thick and your measuremen was 30", you should actually start the cut at 29 1/2". Then it will ne dead nuts. Another trick with cutting the insulation is to mark it at 29 1/2" then on the other side mark it 29.5 + the diameter of the insulation, this will make a perfect 45 when you match marks with the saw, just make sure you have a good eye to match it at the very edges of the insulation. All of this crap just involves the fact that a 45* triangle has 2 equal length sides (hypotenuese is longer, 60* is the one with all 3 being equal)

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ISX

ISX

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What? I hate having to "make it work" like so many people do. This was 3" pipe with 1" thick insulation so when it didn't work it was very obvious and it just sucked looking at it. I like to take pride in my work which is why I got math involved. When I bend conduit I try for 1/16" accuracy without having to even tweak the pipe. It's a lost trait in this world, everyone just wants to bang it out and move on to the next job. Getting off topic again. But you get the picture and now you know how to get it dead nuts.

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flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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I had a easier solution... when I was much younger, I insulated the piping in my first house. I made the cuts in a mire box. Did the corners first. Then measured & added the straight runs, only needed to read the tape!

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