ᐅ Insulate water pipes running from underground to the building through the air
Created on: 9 Mar 2021 07:27
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Nordmanno
Hello,
I am currently renovating my newly purchased mobile home (50 years old), which is located on wheels in a holiday area; the “building” is essentially elevated on supports. This past winter, we had about four weeks of frost in the lowland region of northern Germany, with temperatures dropping to -20°C (-4°F) under the mobile home. The copper pipe that was previously installed in the ground (currently under approximately 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) OSB panels; soon to be covered by 10 cm (4 inches) of extruded polystyrene insulation plus underfloor heating) inside the (currently unheated) mobile home froze and burst. As part of the renovation, I am now extending the underground PE pipe into the home and installing a branch underground for garden irrigation.
The setup is as follows:
00 cm Lower edge of the mobile home
35 cm Soil
60 cm PE pipe, outer diameter 25.3 mm (1 inch)
A branch for garden irrigation is being installed underground using compression fittings: PE pipe T-joint, double nipple, angled seat valve DN20 with drain; double nipple, PE pipe T-joint.
Normally, I am not on site for weeks at a time during winter. The heating is set to run in “frost protection” mode, but there is a risk of a power outage, especially since the main power supply in the control box in front of the home can be switched off by anyone.
I am trying to be as cautious as possible to avoid problems. To do this, I want to protect the pipes against freezing as well as possible — I am considering insulation and electric trace heating. If rodents tend to damage the insulation, I will also need to protect the insulation from them.
How would you insulate the pipe against frost and protect the insulation from rodents?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.
Best regards,
Andreas
I am currently renovating my newly purchased mobile home (50 years old), which is located on wheels in a holiday area; the “building” is essentially elevated on supports. This past winter, we had about four weeks of frost in the lowland region of northern Germany, with temperatures dropping to -20°C (-4°F) under the mobile home. The copper pipe that was previously installed in the ground (currently under approximately 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) OSB panels; soon to be covered by 10 cm (4 inches) of extruded polystyrene insulation plus underfloor heating) inside the (currently unheated) mobile home froze and burst. As part of the renovation, I am now extending the underground PE pipe into the home and installing a branch underground for garden irrigation.
The setup is as follows:
00 cm Lower edge of the mobile home
35 cm Soil
60 cm PE pipe, outer diameter 25.3 mm (1 inch)
A branch for garden irrigation is being installed underground using compression fittings: PE pipe T-joint, double nipple, angled seat valve DN20 with drain; double nipple, PE pipe T-joint.
Normally, I am not on site for weeks at a time during winter. The heating is set to run in “frost protection” mode, but there is a risk of a power outage, especially since the main power supply in the control box in front of the home can be switched off by anyone.
I am trying to be as cautious as possible to avoid problems. To do this, I want to protect the pipes against freezing as well as possible — I am considering insulation and electric trace heating. If rodents tend to damage the insulation, I will also need to protect the insulation from them.
How would you insulate the pipe against frost and protect the insulation from rodents?
Thank you very much in advance for your help.
Best regards,
Andreas
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Nordmanno9 Mar 2021 09:17Thanks again for your responses.
Regarding the insulation, I just spoke with the company Kaimann: the correct product is Kaiflex Protect Aluminium-TEC (KKplus), primarily to improve the efficiency of the required pipe tracing heating.
Regarding the system separator: nobody here has one. On the consumer side of the meter, the landlord installed a KFR valve. That should prevent backflow, right?
Regarding the insulation, I just spoke with the company Kaimann: the correct product is Kaiflex Protect Aluminium-TEC (KKplus), primarily to improve the efficiency of the required pipe tracing heating.
Regarding the system separator: nobody here has one. On the consumer side of the meter, the landlord installed a KFR valve. That should prevent backflow, right?
Regarding the system separator: Nobody here has one. On the consumer side of the meter, the landlord installed a KFR valve. That should prevent backflow, right? As a non-expert, I would say yes, but I don’t really have much knowledge about this. I just wanted to point it out because my plumber mentioned it during my planning...
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Nordmanno10 Mar 2021 23:16I recently contacted a professional insulation supplier who wants to put together a custom solution for me. Once it’s installed, I can provide an update.