Mash tun insulation

[Tex083]

I was looking through the Jaycar catalogue and found they have sound matt with a foil backing.
Its rated to 110C and comes in 900*300 for $30
Anyone used this sort of thing for insulating a mash tun? I know it works for sound but could it be used on my mash/boil?
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=AX3687

Cheers
Tex

 

[Norto]

Looks like it would be the goods to me mate.
Norto

 

[Batz]

A few here have used it from Clarks Rubber, I believe the silver foil stuff breaks down over time.

Batz

 

[scottc1178]

I bought camping mats on ebay for about $8 or something... seem to work quite well... and if your dubious on the quality, they're long enough to wrap around twice.

 

[QldKev]

If you want something you cannot remove if you spill wort down the side of the vessel it's probably good h34r:


The camping mats can be removed for cleaning.

 

[spog]

any building sites in your area ? grab some "aircell" insulation off cuts off them about 600mm x 900mm should do the trick of wrapping a keggle. cheers...spog...

 

[Diesel80]

That air cell stuff can be had from the big green shed for not much coin if no building sites near by. Offcuts are a good idea though, saves them ending up in fill. Waste not, want not and all that...

Cheers,
D80

 

[sp0rk]

The sound deadener isn't very thick and won't keep in much heat
not to mention it melts if it gets hot enough, and i wouldn't want to be breathing that **** in after it's dripped down onto my burner

 

[Aussiedrifter]

i think the camping mats are the way to go. i got them from kmart for $10 each and used electrical tap to cover them and hold them in place. Also makes it easier to clean wort off of.

 

[Judanero]

I bought some Air con ducting insulator, kind of same thing as camping mats though a little more expensive,
(think maybe 30 bucks for way more than I needed)

but it is bloody good, in a ~20 L batch it'd drop at most a degree over a 60 min mash.

I also chuck a pretty good quality sleeping bag over the top as well.

 

[MaltyHops]

Don't use aircell insulation (SEE) - nitrile rubber (Clarks Rubber) FTW :beerbang:

 

[bum]

Don't use aircell insulation (SEE)

Wouldn't that mean it just "reflects" heat back into the tun in this case?

Not saying it is the best material for the job, of course, but the product description indicates it does not allow heat to pass through very well (which is what we want).

 

[MaltyHops]

Wouldn't that mean it just "reflects" heat back into the tun in this case?

Not saying it is the best material for the job, of course, but the product description indicates it does not allow heat to pass through very well (which is what we want).

Yes, you're right - looking thru the Kingspan product description again, it does say the aircell structure does provide conductional resistance. So how effective have people been finding the stuff? How warm does the outside of an aircell wrapped MT get to?

 

[Tex083]

I have a camping mat covered in foil on my mash tun now. It looses 2C over a 60 min mash. I was looking for something better for my HERMS system.
I love the look of the air cell but could only find 30m at Bunnings and I'm not paying for an extra 28m.

The HERMS and boil are electric so no issues of burning off but I imagine it would smell really bad!
The other option was a foil blanket thing I saw at cellar plus, it was for a fermenter but I think it could be used on a mash tun

 

[QldKev]

On my 1V for insulation I have three layers which works really well.

First layer is left overs of camping mat (from my 3V)
Second layer is an old blanket, cut so a single layer wraps around neatly.
Third is a white stretchy material I got, that goes over the top to help a bit more, but mainly to make it look neater. I got it from Spotlight and it's a full loop that fits a 50L keggle neatly, so I just cut it to 2 x length and pulled over the keg doubled.

Last brew I did I didn't have the 3rd layer as I had split some wort on it and it was in the wash. I ran out of time (aka couldn't be stuffed) so I put on an uninsulated lid, and left the wort to cool in the kettle overnight. 18 hours later I took a temp reading, it was still at 45c. A lot hotter than I expected.

[sharedmedia=core:attachments:58471]

QldKev

 

[Judanero]

Had a RDO today so thought I'd snap a couple pics of my insulation while brewing..

It's two or three layers (can't remember which) held together with some reflective air con gaffa tape stuff...

made it like a jacket

 

[Judanero]

And here it is actually during the mash, there's some insulation on the lid too

 

[dicko]

If you want something that really works and is easy to make and fit to your vessel then "nitrile rubber" from Clark Rubber is excellent.

You can get it wet with wort or water and it washes off and dries without incident and it is permanent in the way that you can't really hurt it unless you do something pretty stupid, however it is a tad more expensive than other methods mentioned.

No "Smilies" available on Ipad with this new forum.

Cheers

 

[Tex083]

Thanks for the input, I like the reflective air con tape, might have to find some. And a quick trip to Clarke Rubber to see what's on offer it all sounds good.
Kev I do love the simplicity and cost effectiveness of the foam and blanket. I find the blanket tends to work better than the camping mats. The idea of insulation is trapping air as its a poor conductor of heat.
Tex

 

[ian_2005]

Kmart sell Yoga mats for $4 each, thats what im planning on using on my 50 litre mash tun, Banded with pine pannels