Insulation?

[Diemjoe]

I have seen that Teardrop builds universally use some sort of solid styrofoam for their insulation. Why is that. I have some rolls of insulation cluttering up the attic and garage and was wondering why I couldn't use that.

[rowerwet]

Fiberglass batts are designed for thicker walls than an average tear will have. 2x4 with the 4" being the thickness of the wall, meaning you loose 8" in width to wall thickness.
Foam board will do as good of a job in a 1" to 2" thickness wall.
Fiberglass batts make a great home for mice and bugs, they also will soak up water, hold it, and rot your wall out.

[Diemjoe]

Thanks, I thought it would be a water thing but hadn't considered the wall thickness part of the equation.

[backstrap bandit]

Also batted insulation will not stay in place too much jarring while driving it would end up settling in to bottom of wall

[grant whipp]

I've used fiberglass batt insulation in the ceilings and hatches of my teardrops for years and never had a problem ... I use the foamboard for the walls, though ... ...!

CHEERS!

[mrsteve]

When you compress the fiberglass insulation thin enough to fit inside the teardrop wall you will lose most of the "R" value. Insulation needs "dead" airspace to work, smashing it flat takes the dead airspace away. Styrofoam uses closed cells to insulate.

[grant whipp]

Yes, when you DO use fiberglass insulation in your roof and hatch, you should split it down to fit the thickness of each ... however, you can find fiberglass Water Heater Blankets that are real close to 1-1/2", and they work great as is (that's what I've used in my hatches for years ... ...)! As always ...

CHEERS!

[Diemjoe]

Beyond the extra insulation rolls I have lying around the house, the other reason I asked the original question is the mess that I think sanding down the styrofoam to proper thickness will create. Its got to be worse than getting glitter bombed.

[felixx]

Im guessing this is where a hot knife will work
Sheddie made a nice one
or have a look on any RC plane forum.
The one I use for planes is made of Nichrome wire with a battery charger (12V) attached

[Diemjoe]

Thanks Felixx, I will look into that.

[bobhenry]

I insulated Chubby , the barn, Rip Van Winkle, The caboose, and the house in the house all with blue foam. I pre cut them on the table saw with little mess and the odd duck sized cavities were cut with a sharp handy knife and a straight edge.