Help! How to insulate a fortic / combination cylinder

[boilingpoint]

Hello all.

I was wondering if anyone good give me some good advice on how to go about insulating a Fortic / combination water cylinder.

A problem I have is that a "standard" cylinder jacket isn’t long enough. The panels barely cover the full length of the cylinder and there's nothing left to cover the flat surface on top. In fact, the plumber who's (tried to) fit the jacket pulled one of the panels up and across the top, leaving part of the side of the tank bare. :/

Do they make jackets designed for combination cylinders? I've tried Googling but nothing's coming up. Help--and any other tips--would be appreciated.

 

[dancinplumba]

Have used a continental quilt before

 

[Rickster123]

24 cans of expanding foam and close the door quickly!

 

[townfanjon]

If you are having to insulate that cylinder it's a old one !!!
The only thing you can do is try cable tie sereral insulation jackets together and wrap it lol

 

[Ray Stafford]

Hello all.

I was wondering if anyone good give me some good advice on how to go about insulating a Fortic / combination water cylinder.

A problem I have is that a "standard" cylinder jacket isn’t long enough. The panels barely cover the full length of the cylinder and there's nothing left to cover the flat surface on top. In fact, the plumber who's (tried to) fit the jacket pulled one of the panels up and across the top, leaving part of the side of the tank bare. :/

Do they make jackets designed for combination cylinders? I've tried Googling but nothing's coming up. Help--and any other tips--would be appreciated.

WHy would you want to cover the flat part on top?

They used to make jackets called HPO (hot part only), but I haven't seen one for years, since all new combination cylinders have been foamed.

 

[stevetheplumber]

doesnt matter what you use old blankets or bags of lagging every little will help

 

[boilingpoint]

I want to insulate the top (cold water) storage section to keep the heat within the system as whole. Since the cold water storage feeds into the hot water section, it makes sense to retain any heat it picks up. I don't think there's any insulation between the hot and cold sections, so heat leaks upward pretty badly... or so my plumber says. :/

Yes, it IS an old cylinder. Overlapping jackets is the best solution so far. Keep the suggestions coming...

 

[Mike Jackson]

Cheap duvets from the local discount store.

 

[AWheating]

Build a box out of 50mm kings span? Pegged together.

you could use that multi layer foil stuff they use to insulate roof voids but it's quite expensive.

 

[boilingpoint]

A duvet or two for the top is an idea. It would be easier than trying to overlap panels and with it being one piece it would mean no heat escaping any the gaps. I'll have a look at the figures and report back.

 

[boilingpoint]

Okay, if my sums are right, duvet material is actually much more effective (per unit thickness) than than fibreglass fill. Assuming a 13.5 tog winter duvet is 30mm thick, the same insulation provided by a decent 80mm fibreglass cylinder jacket can be achieved with duvet layers to a total of thickness of 44mm. (I know that cheaper duvets can be notorious for patchy heat loss, so this figure might need to be adjusted upward for quality.) Does anyone know what the situation is with using a duvet and any fire safety requirements?

A Kingspan box is a thought but I imagine that sealing the box airtight around the cylinder would be a challenge. I've read online that bubble wrap is a "free" and effective form of insulation.

 

[Ray Stafford]

Or cut a circle of celotex to cover the top?