your house turns on. See your controller manual or consult an expert in this area. You can also
leave the outdoor pump on 24/7, since it only uses 80 watts of power – less than a 100W bulb.
The outside furnace has a hot water thermostat that senses the water temperature of the unit. If
the water is not as hot as the thermostat setting, the combustion air blower is automatically
turned on (building a hotter fire by feeding oxygen to the base of the fire) and remains on until the
desired (set) temperature is attained.
Insulated Pex Pipe
We highly recommend that all Pex Pipe be insulated. You will burn less wood because there will
be virtually no heat loss through the Pex pipe. ALWAYS bury it below the frost line for less heat
loss and to avoid freezing. The ground temperature below the frost line will be 50-55F or more.
You can purchase insulated pipe in 4” black drain pipe with
two 1” Pex pipes and simply lay it in the trench, hassle–free.
You can also get premium, insulated pipe with 4 Pex Pipes
inside a 5” pipe (Two x 1” and Two x ¾” in) for approx.
$14 a foot. The 5” pipe has 50% more insulation than the
4” pipe and it has an R value of 14.
With a little effort, you can save a lot of money by insulating it yourself. Try to keep the Pex
pipe underground as it enters the house. A 4” or 6” hole in concrete block, is easily made for
the PVC pipe. If it has to come above ground, go through the sill plate or attic, it MUST be
well insulated, as well as if running through an attic or crawl space or any non-heated area.
The insulation of choice is Solarguard
™
(or Microfoil or Reflextix if Solarguard is unavailable).
You can find out where to purchase Solarguard locally (close to you) by calling 1-800-231-6200,
or you can purchase it from us. One roll 4’ x 50’ will do approx. 80 linear feet of Pex pipe.
http://www.silvercote.com/solarguard_reflective_insulation.php
It is a state-of-the-art insulation that is only ¼” thick, yet yields an R value just shy of R12 – with
one layer. It deals with the following modes of heat transfer: CONDUCTION, CONVECTION or
RADIATION. Fiberglass insulation alone only addresses the conduction and convection modes of
heat transfer. Solarguard uses a fiberglass core to slow heat transfer through conduction and
convection but also has a highly reflective foil backer film to address the
RADIATION
mode of
heat transfer. 50-93% of heat loss is through radiation.
Simply cut the rolls into strips, for easy wrapping. Use 6” PVC pipe for easier pulling through of 4
runs of insulated Pex and the wire. Be sure to wrap it inside the back of the furnace as well.
Cut a 4’ x 8’ sheet of blue Styrofoam into 2” strips, 4 feet long. This
will give you 24 pieces, 4 feet long – sufficient for 96 feet of pipe.
Place the Styrofoam strips between the hot and cold Pex pipes. Tie it
all together with plastic wire ties.
Wrap loosely with Solarguard™, to create an air barrier, overlapping
as you go. The air gap will add extra R value. Tie it all with wire ties
again, using tape the seal the ends, with a wire tie over the tape to
hold it secure, so that when it dries out it doesn’t fall off.
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