insulation on outdoor wood boiler

[mikey ny]

Hello,

    Before the heating season begins again i need to re-insulate my hs tarm wood boiler. Since it is actually designed to be indoors it does'nt seem to be insulated very well. The boiler is in my detached garage where it is very cold. I think I will use 3 inch rockwool insulation. Anyone got any other cheaper alternatives??

[tinker]

I don't know if it would be any cheaper but "ICR" would be more durable with higher insulating properties.

Check out this link   http://www.john-wasser.com/NEMES/MakeICR.html

[TimV]

Hello

Which model Tarm have you got?

How far away from house is it located? You have used this set up already? I fund a Tarm and would like any info you can share on it. How much wood did it use ,do you get  domestic hot water from it etc. Are you heating a tank  of water in house to from which to circulate through radiation ? Or are you piped directly to a existing  boiler? Any suggestions at all welcomed. Tim V

If you like I can be reached email  (take out the obvious extra words

 nospamWELDINGRODD@HOTMAIL.COMnospam

[mikey ny]

for some reason the link did not work. what is icr and is it avialable through building supply houses.

[mikey ny]

   tim,

    last oct. i aquired my hs tarm 502 multifuel boiler, vintage 1982.It is in the garage about 60 ft.from the house. I set it up in a hurry with 2 inch steel pipe (salvaged from an old building) layed above ground, Insulated with foam and feberglas wrapped in plastic.I ran 3 forced air convectors with it, and saved about 1300 bucks on nat.gas.I have a small 110 gal steel tank indoors ( not nearly big enough, 600 gal would be better). It is completely separate from my existing heat system.I get domestic hw from it through the top half of an old oil fired boiler with a coil in it, which is in my basement. On 10 degree days i had to reload every 4 hours. I have a lot of room for improvement this year ( As i said before i literaly threw this together on a cold weekend in oct.) But anyway since it is outside in the garage  i need to heavily insulate it to get better efficiency. I will also build a schroud around the metal chimny as a heat exchanger to draw fresh air through to preheat combustion air, since it draws in outside (freezing) air for combustion. You can e-mail me for more detailed info at mkortz@nycap.rr.com. buy the way, I am no expert on any of this , just a bit crafty thowing  junk together to save a buck

                                           mike

[tnkr]

http://www.John-Wasser.com/NEMES/MakeICR.html

Material you will need:

    * High Temperature Furnace Cement (hardware store)

    * Perlite (garden store)

    * A little water.

    * A rubber spatula.

Making Insulating Castable Refractory

It was easier than I thought to make insulating castable refractory for a foundry lining from material available from local hardware and garden stores. I got this idea from a web site about making a natural gas forge http://www.spacelab.net/~swage/forge.htm by Raymond "Swage" Maiara, Aurora Forge, New York, New York). The trick is to glue Perlite beads together with Furnace Cement (a.k.a. Furnace Mortar or Refractory Mortar). The material is slightly sticky and holds its shape well when packed. After it is set you can cut it with common woodworking tools.

The Perlite comes from the garden supply section of your local store and is used as a "soil conditioner". The price for a two gallon bag of Perlite was less than $3 in the garden section of my local hardware store.

The Furnace Cement comes from the furnace or fireplace section of your local hardware store. Look for Furnace Cement (or Furnace Mortar or Refractory Mortar) that says something like "Withstands temperatures to 3000¡F" and "Contains Silicates". It generally comes in "11-ounce" tubes (like caulk) and 32-ounce (1 quart) or 64-ounce (half gallon) plastic tubs. The price of a 32-ounce tub of: "Worcester Brush HIGH TEMP Furnace Cement (Black)" was less than $4 at my local hardware store.

You will need about 1 part (by volume) of Furnace Cement for each 4 parts (by volume) of Perlite so for a two gallon bag of Perlite you will need a half gallon of Furnace Cement. If you use much less than four volumes of Perlite for each volume of Furnace Cement all of the passages between Perlite beads will be sealed and it will take a long time for the cement to set (it needs contact with air). If you use much more than five volumes of Perlite for each volume of Furnace Cement the resulting material will be quite weak. You will also want to have some Furnace Cement to use as a sealing coat on your lining.

The Furnace Cement has about the consistency of roofing tar and is very sticky. It is MUCH easier to work with if you add about 2 cups of water per gallon of cement. This makes it more like a thin plaster. A rubber spatula is good for getting the cement out of the plastic tub.

You can mix a large quantity and keep it in a sealed container for a long time. A 5-gallon bucket is ideal for mixing a two-gallon bag of Perlite with 1/2 gallon of Furnace Cement.

[Oso]

I would not insulate the boiler.  That may cause over temps inside the boiler. It will also make access for maintenence more difficult.

I would build an enclosure around the boiler and insulate the enclosure. Or I would just insulate the garage.

If you really want to proceed with insulation on the actual boiler, I would suggest you contact the MFG for his recommendations on product/amount of insulation that can be added.