Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Has anyone used this stuff:

http://www.insulation4less.com/Insulati ... #fragment2

They claim R value of 15.67 for the ceiling and R 7 for the walls. More if two layers are used.

This seems pretty good considering how thick it is.

ARe there similar products that work well?

Tom

Home Depot sells sheets of stuff like this for ~$10 for a 4x8 sheet, although I can't remember what it is called.

One thing to be aware of is that reflective effectiveness requires an airspace - the aluminum can't be touching anything (I guess because then is becomes conductive?).

I consulted the "rocket scientist" (PhD, Mech Engr, specializing in heat transfer) and his two word response: "NO WAY". The r value of polyethylene foam is about the same as fiberglass at r 3 per inch. So 5mm is about a fifth of an inch so from the foam you can expect about r 0.6. The foil doesn't really add much at low temperatures. If this stuff really worked it would be great as you could get 5 times the r value of fiberglass batting. If this stuff worked "as advertised" in a typical wall using 2X4 studs you could get 3.5 (inches) X r7 X 5 (layers of this stuff in an inch) so you get an r value of 122. I tend to believe their claim is far beyond fantastic. Even areogel, which is the best insulator short of a vacuum is only r 10 per inch and that is only a fraction of what these guys are claiming.

Myth busted.

Cheers,

Gus

Yes...both issues that I know about.

Conduction is a great way to transfer heat. I've spent many weeks in sub-zero camping on the MN/Ontario border. The top of my sleeping bag keeps me warm, underneath I have to rely on multiple layers of closed cell foam pads.

My Marmot sleeping bags and parkas have kept me warm for years:

http://marmot.com/product/content/800-fill-down

Inflated R-values are what I was wondering about. This stuff seems like no more than foil covered bubble wrap. It would insulate and be easy to work with...but dollars and effort spent...not worth the cost.

I've searched Craigslist using:

http://www.searchtempest.com/

And found several piles of insulation panels at a really good price. The corners are dinged so I'll spend some time recutting but I'll have to cut anyway.

Tom

It does insulate, they wrap pipelines in the north with it

Martiangod wrote:It does insulate, they wrap pipelines in the north with it

Hope springs eternal. Or as friend once told me about getting his outboard motor running: "I remain optimistic".

It certainly has some insulating value, but a fraction of what they are claiming.

Cheers,

Gus

Now in defense of the product, if you look at the site it shows also the directions of heat passing that the values are in place. The roof is down through and the wall values are much more in line with stand foam insulation and different foams have different ratings depending on thickness as well as the density. Extruded is much more dense and has higher ratings than the foam that is the little bubbles all stuck together that crumbles like ice chests are made of. 3/4" of the wall polystyrene is rated at 4.0 and as you add glue layers luan other things the rating actually increases for overall. As small a space as most campers are with the 4.0 it still isn't hard to heat or cool it in extreme temperatures.

I tried some to insulate our Toaster oven and used a thermocouple, it cut heat loss by 50% with two layers, before it melted.

Treeview wrote:Yes...both issues that I know about.

Conduction is a great way to transfer heat. I've spent many weeks in sub-zero camping on the MN/Ontario border. The top of my sleeping bag keeps me warm, underneath I have to rely on multiple layers of closed cell foam pads.

My Marmot sleeping bags and parkas have kept me warm for years:

http://marmot.com/product/content/800-fill-down

Inflated R-values are what I was wondering about. This stuff seems like no more than foil covered bubble wrap. It would insulate and be easy to work with...but dollars and effort spent...not worth the cost.

I've searched Craigslist using:

http://www.searchtempest.com/

And found several piles of insulation panels at a really good price. The corners are dinged so I'll spend some time recutting but I'll have to cut anyway.

Tom

Winter tent camping...nothin like it!!

Larry C

I'm thinking about trying this stuff, seems too good to be true, but a friend used it on a Volkswagen restoration and loved it http://www.lobucrod.com/