beatstanfurd wrote:Anyone tried radiant barriers for insulating the boiler? Reflectix is one brand that is carried by big box stores. I'm assuming the instructions they have on their site for insulating water heaters can be easily modified for boiler application.

water heater application instructions

The polyester used for heat mitts (as described above) has radiant barrier in it. Look at the picture of the wrap and there is the hint of the inner radiant barrier
The bubble pipe insulation carried by the big box stores was not spec'd to handle the 300F temps, so I did not test it. There is a foam sandwiched in reflective material used to insulate metal buildings that is spec'd to >300F but the sample arrived (50ft sq min to buy) after using the polyester and I did not feel the need to test it.
Floyd

floydo wrote:I found polyester batting at the local fabric store in various thicknesses, as well as a inner foil laminated thin version that was used to make hot mitts.

floydo wrote:The polyester used for heat mitts (as described above) has radiant barrier in it.

+1 for this stuff!

If anyone's in the UK, you'll find several suppliers of this stuff just by searching "insul-bright". (That's the brand of mitt batting, with the mylar layer). I saw it on ebay, but it's cheapest from a fabric supplier - pm me and i'll dig out which i used.

I found it easy to work with (scissors), and thin enough to put a double layer round the boiler. It definitely cycles less now!

The melamine foam works really well, but it is brittle. My Epoca boiler is a bit tight to squeeze the foam around, and I found that it tears easily.

I also used it to insulate the top, avoiding wires but wrapping things like the steam pipe and making a "hat" for the vacuum breaker and safety valve. I now get 15-20 seconds on, 5 minutes off - which is nice!

Hello, When I replaced the insulation on my machine I used the melamine foam, but as previously posted, it tears easily, so ended up wrapping the outside of the foam with the adhesive backed foil heating duct tape.
Was hoping the foil would improve the insulation abilty of the foam, and it is not close to any electrical . There are also several different foam carpet pad underlayments that could possibly work just like the melamine, and available very cheap if not free from a carpet dealer.
Dennis

denniskeating wrote:Hello, When I replaced the insulation on my machine I used the melamine foam, but as previously posted, it tears easily, so ended up wrapping the outside of the foam with the adhesive backed foil heating duct tape.

This was my exact experience, and the adhesive backed foil tape looks good in the end. It doesn't make the insulation as mobile as using zip ties, but it provides for a good additional seal.