Nyitra I

[Lopez Mike]

I've had problems with plaster of paris getting wet even with a good paint overcoat. Water seems to get in everywhere. There must be a better gunk of some sort to use.

[DetroiTug]

I just wrap it with clothes line and paint it. I did all that insulation mess under the rope the first time, when I removed it, the pipes were rusty and if it gets wet and it will, it's ruined.

-Ron

[cyberbadger]

I'm gone from Chautauqua for a few days so I can't take a picture of the black fiber wrap I did. I was thinking the fiber can handle water.

The idea with denim was that it should be able to handle water ok till it dries and is a tough material. (Think of a pair of jeans hanging out in the rain and sunshine. I think you could get a few years out of that)

I hang wet gloves and rags on a hot steam pipe and they can dry quite quickly.

I just wrap it with clothes line and paint it. I did all that insulation mess under the rope the first time, when I removed it, the pipes were rusty and if it gets wet and it will, it's ruined.

-Ron

It looks nice, what kind of paint do you use ontop of the rope?

I have been experimenting with no coatings and different coatings directly on pipes. Rustoleum self etchinging primer and rustoleum flat black seems to fair quite well. Other things I've tried: smear a thin layer of ptfe pipe dope on pipes does surprisingly well as a corrosion inhibitor covering. The experiment started when I was pipe fitting and got excess pipe dope on my hands and started depositing it onto unpainted pipe. I'm just tried a similar idea which is stove polish (Which is like soot+grease) rubbed onto a pipe.

-CB

[Lopez Mike]

Hmm. I've been wrapping the pipe with fiberglass insulation before wrapping the rope over it. I had been assuming that the cotton rope would char without the insulation under it. The whole thing turns out all lumpy and uneven. Like most of my handiwork!

All of the clothesline I can find around here has a polyester core. I wonder if will melt with the heat? This is on my steam pipe from the boiler to the engine.

[cyberbadger]

Hmm. I've been wrapping the pipe with fiberglass insulation before wrapping the rope over it. I had been assuming that the cotton rope would char without the insulation under it. The whole thing turns out all lumpy and uneven. Like most of my handiwork!

All of the clothesline I can find around here has a polyester core. I wonder if will melt with the heat? This is on my steam pipe from the boiler to the engine.

Do you have a recent picture of Folly or her plant?

Big box diy stores (Lowes/Home Dpot) in the midwest/east cost are carrying a lot more natural fiber rope/cord/twine nowdays compared to the 80s-90s.

Of course you might find a better deal online...

Here's a pick your diam and length rope 100% US grown cotton:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J2BJNCS/re ... 9675868363

-CB

[DetroiTug]

That clothes line braided rope is whatever Home Depot carries in their hardware department. It's just wrapped directly on the pipe and then painted with Industrial enamel flat black, same paint as the hull is painted with. The pressures we run, we never see temps high enough to ignite it. Remember too, the pressure is lower in the steam line/valvechest (MEP), a drop in pressure is a drop in temperature. It takes a while to wind on there but it holds up good and looks nice too. You can even get fancy and put Celtic knots or bands on it (Google for how). I use a "ferrule" wrap like they do on fishing rod eyes or serving on bow strings. Lay the end of the line down and then start wrapping over the top of it and the end is secure and hidden. The whole thing is done that way, short sections, which is better if you ever need to remove a portion of it, don't have to unwrap the whole thing. The elbows take a bit of practice and patience. When finished, saturate the whole thing with the paint, which probably helps with the heat resistance. It's cheap and it works.

Mike, this line is all braided, it doesn't have a straight poly fiber core. I seem to recall it was a polyester blend though. Straight cotton doesn't last long in the elements.

-Ron

[fredrosse]

On hot pipe insulation, satisfactory performance can be made several ways, as delineated in the past few posts. I have settled on using several layers of Aluminum foil wrapped around the piping as the main insulating material. The foil is reflective, which is a good property where high temperature is concerned, and the several layers gives stagnant air pockets which are providing good thermal insulation. In the late 19th century the US Navy started to use it as an ideal steam pipe insulating material, but soon abandoned this because of the excessive cost. For our boats a few rolls of heavy duty aluminum foil, the cost is not significant.

Winding the outside with pure cotton rope works well, and is rather labor intensive.

Getting Plaster of Paris soaked into pure cotton gauze (hard to find, most of what is available is a cotton-plastic material blend, not good for temperature) forms the outer protective coating for most of my piping. The advantages are that it forms a hard tough surface, ready for paint if you want, and the plaster hardens in a couple of minutes. The Plaster of Paris will not hold up well if you take more than about a minute, after wetting, to apply it over the insulation. If you take longer, then the Plaster of Paris is worked after it has started hardening, and very weak material is the result. I have easily gotten several years service from this arrangement

[Mike Rometer]

Hmm. I've been wrapping the pipe with fiberglass insulation before wrapping the rope over it. I had been assuming that the cotton rope would char without the insulation under it. The whole thing turns out all lumpy and uneven. Like most of my handiwork!

All of the clothesline I can find around here has a polyester core. I wonder if will melt with the heat? This is on my steam pipe from the boiler to the engine.

Miike why not try wrapping the pipe with cooking foil first then rope? Ceramic fibre tape is also available in various widths.

[Mike Cole]

the plaster bandage that I have been using is called Mod roc .

[cyberbadger]

Longest trip for Nyitra today, and 150-200psi the whole way on properly sized chunks of mixed firewood. A new nozzel on puffer made a huge difference also.

14 miles, 300lbs hardwood.

7 miles, 1hr 50 min.

-CB