A home inspector said we need insulation on our HVAC coolant line? Can we do this ourselves? Or hire a pro?
Answers:
You can do it. Measure coolant line pipe thickness. Often 1/2inch piping.
At Lowe's, go to the aisle where they have pipe insulation. Often near plumbing, of course. Sometimes near the furance filters. Also purchase some metal duct tape.
Get enough to travel from your AC coil (inside) to the outside condenser unit. Wrap the insulation around the pipe -- being careful not to bend or kink. Wrap metal duct tape around the insulation to keep it intact. and around the pipe. Do your best to even insulate the part of the pipe that goes through the wall to the outside. Caulk any remaining gaps with silicone caulk or electrician's clay.
At $100+ HVAC bill complete by YOU instead.... for $20 and an hour of your time.
Good luck.
Other answers:
It should be a matter of buying pipe insullation for the size of pipe you have and wrapping it around the pipe. When in doubt ask the inspector.
It should be a matter of buying pipe insullation for the size of pipe you have and wrapping it around the pipe. When in doubt ask the inspector.
Yes do it yourself.
listen to firm_shake
Of the two air conditioning lines, most air conditioners are made so that the technician only insulates the suction line (bigger line). Of the two, this is the only one that will sweat when it's opperating. Check to make sure that it is even necessary to insulate the line that the inspector is talking about. You can do this by turning the unit on and feeling the line that is not insulated. If it gets cold, you need to insulate it. If it feels room temperature or even a little warm to the touch, you do not need to insulate it and will in fact reduce its efficiency to have it insulated. If you find that you do in fact need to insulate the line, you can do it yourself. I would suggest going to an air conditioning supply house to buy your insulation and glue. You should buy aerocell, aeroflex or rubatex insulation. These brands make good foam rubber insulation. You can also buy the glue from any of these companies. To install the insulation, you may want to buy pre split insulation. If you don't, you will have to split it yourself and will have to sharpen your knife often. Wrap the insulation around the pipe. Then apply glue to the faces of the seam. Wait about 30 seconds for the glue to set up a little before putting the seam together to set the insulation. That's about it. If you want it to look really good, hire a professional. Believe it or not, there are guys out there that just do professional insulation for a living. Those guys are really good too. If you're going to try it on your own, expect to get dirty and have a good knife and sharpener. You're going to have to sharpen your knife constantly. Especially if you have to cut your own seam. I hope that helps.