Do I need a hot water tank/cylinder jacket?

jonny2510

The house we recently moved into has (what I believe to be) a new hot water cylinder, which has a blue foam type material surrounding/stuck on to it (approx 20mm thick).

Do I need and/or will I benefit from one of those big red "puffer" hot water tank jackets too (or is that what the blue foam is doing anyway)?

karl-123

the insulation on copper hot water cylinders is fine,
i make home brew wine in my cylinder/tank cupboard and the temperature recorded is 30 degrees centigrade,
adding a jacket is a good idea especially for me as a wine brewer, 20 degrees c is best,
if you have a " red jacket " non " ASBESTOS" fit it but do make sure any thermostats are clear of insulation,
use curtain wire to secure it,if you are worried about using it send it to me i need a red jacket on my cylinder cupboard ..........to save money £ and reduce my wine " house of beaverdale " kit to the 20 c rather than 30 c

muddyl

You dont have to fit a jacket, but its a good idea.
Helping the tank to retain more heat will help it heat up faster, reducing the cost to heat it. It will also stay warm for longer, again reducing cost.
According to the energy saving trust, you could save £40 a year, more than the jackets cost.

Canucklehead

Hi,

Blue insulation is about as good as it gets.

If you want to make a difference insulate the pipework into, and out of, the cylinder for a minimum of one metre.

Third bullet point down


GSR

karl-123

canuck is right

insulate all pipework if you are on copper

jg geust speedfit fittings are expensive

but save " a fortune " in the corect " enviroment "
i love there stoptaps they work easily for years
and speedfit pipework saves the planet,
the internal " bore " of speedfit is less than copper and needs a specialist in hot water cupboards,
but generally,when using a " good heating engineer " to install the heating system industrially and domestically jg geust " speedfit " is no 1

grizzly1911

If it is an airing cupboard and intend to air you might benefit from a little warm air circulating. Luckily we have a good sized airing cupboard and can even fit a clothes horse in there. Dries stuff overnight - got to be cheaper than the TD especially on timed.

Our water tanks sit above the airing cupboard and whilst the loft is insulated at least some heat getting up their in the winter freeze is of benefit.

Ours is the thick foam BTW.

Does the heat loss gradient not shelve off at some point? i.e. initial insulation very good, extra = less of an advantage.

27col

You have only to feel the outside of the sprayed insulation to know just how good it is. It will hardly be warm. Try doing that with a loose jacket and you soon feel the difference in insulating efficiency between the two.

jonny2510

Canucklehead wrote: »

Hi,

Blue insulation is about as good as it gets.

If you want to make a difference insulate the pipework into, and out of, the cylinder for a minimum of one metre.

Third bullet point down


GSR

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Touching the blue insulation, it's slightly warm but not hot.

I hadn't even though about insulating the surrounding pipes (which I'll arrange this weekend), though I assume they act like a large heat sink if not insulated. Any recommendations for pipe insulation, or shall I just purchase whatever the local independent hardware store stocks?

Canucklehead

jonny2510 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Touching the blue insulation, it's slightly warm but not hot.

I hadn't even though about insulating the surrounding pipes (which I'll arrange this weekend), though I assume they act like a large heat sink if not insulated. Any recommendations for pipe insulation, or shall I just purchase whatever the local independent hardware store stocks?

Hi: we use Climaflex (from plumbing merchants) but you can buy it at B&Q.

GSR

brig001

If you have an old quilt, pillows, coats etc., you could wrap those round the back of the cylinder. Won't make much difference, but if it's free, it pays for itself instantly. Insulating the pipes will make a much bigger difference though.

HTH,
Brian.

jonny2510

Apologies for reviving an old thread (with what is possibly a stupid question), but is it just the hot water pipes around the boiler that should be insulated, or all of them?

Also there seem to be 6 pipes going into/coming out of the tank (as follows):

1 x plastic pipe
1 x 15 mm copper
2 x 22 mm copper coming off a thermostat and into the tank
2 other pipes, one on the left the other on the right going into the tank

Just out of curiosity, why are there so many pipes? I assumed the plastic is an overflow, and I there should be a cold in, and hot out, but what about the others?