should i insulate my hot water heater and my duct work

[Filet Mignon]

It depends largely on whether or not you heat your basememt.

If you do, then it's not that critical. If you do not, you should blanket you water heater and insulate the ducts. But if you're going to do that, you should also insulate between your floor joists. A cold floor makes for a cold house.

[wankel7]

Well, I just picked up a bucket of water based mastic sealant from HD for $11 bucks. And 5'X75' roll of R11 duct insulation for $75 off Craigslist. I'll post up how it goes.

[wankel7]

Well, it took a lot longer than I thought. First I had to start by cleaning all of the joints with water/pine sol to be sure the mastic would actually stick. They were filthy! Then I put the mastic sealant on every single joint in the system I could get to. I guess there is a special fabric weave you are supposed to use to bridge big gaps. But I couldn't find the stuff. So, I just used fiberglass. I guess that isn't to fire code. But I figured it was so little. And if the house actually caught on fire other fumes would kill me:P I was surprised on how many gaps their where in the system. Lots of places for the air to leak out.

I also cut off about five feet of duct that was at the end of the trunk line. It was doing nothing.

I have gotten about 60% of the insulation done. The trunk like was almost flush with the floor joists. And there were water and gas lines snugged up very close to the duct. It really made installing the insulation a pita.

After doing all of that the back bedroom when from blowing cool to warm air. And there is definitely more air coming out of the registers. I really can't quantify how much air...but it seems louder and feels like more

So, it seems as if the work is going to pay off. Everytime the furance has clicked on it makes me smile!

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by Filet Mignon

It depends largely on whether or not you heat your basememt.

If you do, then it's not that critical. If you do not, you should blanket you water heater and insulate the ducts. But if you're going to do that, you should also insulate between your floor joists. A cold floor makes for a cold house.

Only 3% of heat loss in a home occurs through the floor. Heat rises and seldom will the floor actually heat up, unless there is direct solar gain. It's a lot cheaper to just put some socks on.

[wankel7]

Well, I got the rest of the insulation on the ducts. Everything is insulated on the trunk line. And then each branch is insulated to the start of the register.

I am so happy the back bedroom went from blowing cold to blow very warm air! And I am surprised how the air coming out is now more forceful!

Also, the ducts were very noisy. Clanging and banging as they heated up and expanded. And then again as they cooled and contracted. Now that noise is gone! Maybe I can get some quality sleep now

[Synergy1]

It makes perfect sense to wrap your HWH and don't forget to use something simple such as foam or a kind of rubber designed to wrap pipes. The HW pipes leaving the heater should be insulated and it is really cheap (3-4 bucks for a 5 ft piece) because the first 3-5 feet are the warmest and it would be great if the entire length could be insulated....Have you looked into a instant on HWH ???....

Heat rises and check the insulation in your roof...I have 24" in my atic and I live in Florida. I also have a solar HWH panels on our new house roof that work great but may not work well in climates that experience freezing temperatures.