NOTE: The sponsor of this content may contact you with more information on this topic. Click here to opt out from sharing your email address with this sponsor. (This link will not unsubscribe you from any other BIC email list).
Thin blanket insulations have unique installation requirements that set them apart from traditional pre-molded insulations, like calcium silicate or expanded perlite, and even other blanket-type insulations, like mineral wool blankets. There are two common thin blanket insulations, Johns Manville’s InsulThin® HT and silica aerogel, and they are both great materials for space-saving thermal performance. That said, the materials are decidedly different from one another and in some circumstances, they may need to be handled differently on the jobsite.
The silica aerogel blanket insulation that offers competitive thermal performance to InsulThin HT is a hydrophobic, felt-type blanket insulation. By comparison, InsulThin HT is a microporous, quilted blanket insulation with the insulation stitched between two pieces of high-temperature glass fabric. The stitching helps reduce insulation fall-out during fabrication and installation. Even though the materials are both high-temperature, industrial blankets, their different structures make for unique fabrication and installation practices that installers should be aware of on the jobsite. Below are 5 details to ensure you are optimizing the fabrication and installation of InsulThin HT thin blanket insulation:
- Lighter Weight Packaging on the Job-Site: Contractors working on the jobsite need to be able to maneuver materials easily, and often, they need to be able to do it as a one-person job. This is why InsulThin HT is available in 50-pound rolls. It is designed so that installers and plant personnel, taking the appropriate safety precautions, can move the material relatively easily as the jobsite requires. We discuss this topic with a contractor – watch the video on a contractor’s perspective
- Better Flexibility Out-of-the-Box: InsulThin HT is a flexible quilted material that doesn’t need to be “broken-in.” In comparison, felted silica aerogel blankets can be stiff and somewhat rigid. As a result, when using a felted silica aerogel blanket insulation on smaller pipes, some installers may wrap the material around the pipe and rigorously pull it back and forth to “break-in” the material for easier installation. This helps improve the flexibility and is typically only done with felted silica aerogel blanket insulation on smaller diameter pipes. Since InsulThin HT is a quilted product, it doesn’t have the rigidity of a felted silica aerogel blanket insulation, and it does not need to be “broken in” prior to installation. For more information on the performance and technical aspects of specifying InsulThin HT, please visit our InsulThin HT Resource page (Click Here).
- Use Cardboard to Make Your Cuts: InsulThin HT should be cut on a firm surface that is topped with cardboard. The cardboard provides a surface that allows installers to cut through the insulation and into the surface below. This ensures that the knife cuts through bottom fabric of the InsulThin HT in a single cut. On a harder surface, the installer may have to run the blade across the material multiple times to ensure the blade slices through the high-temperature glass fabric on the opposite side of the insulation.
- Pencils Work Best: Since InsulThin HT is hydrophobic, the best way to mark measurements on the material is by using a simple, graphite pencil. The hydrophobicity has no impact on the effectiveness of the graphite, and the light color of the insulation makes it very easy to see any markings left by the pencil.
- Keep Your Blade Sharp: InsulThin HT is easy to cut with a sharp knife and installers will optimize their efficiency by ensuring that the knife edge they are using to carefully cut the insulation is honed. This will slice more cleanly through the material in a swift, easy cut that creates a nice, clean edge. When using a dull blade, the material will still cut; however, installers may find that they have to run a dull blade over the surface of the insulation multiple times to cut all the way through both layers of fabric. When making smaller, more intricate cuts, sharp industrial shears or scissors, like carpet shears, are great for providing more dexterity and maneuverability than a knife. Watch this demo on how a contractor suggests fabricating InsulThin HT. (Click Here)
InsulThin HT is a unique thin blanket material, and by utilizing the appropriate tricks-of-the-trade, installers can optimize their installation methods and techniques, saving time and money. For more information about how InsulThin HT compares to other thin blanket insulation, register for our upcoming webinar (Click Here) “Considerations for Thin Blanket Insulation” to be presented live on Wednesday, December 5 at 2pm ET by the industrial technical team at Johns Manville.
