Geyser Blankets

Necuno

Necuno

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So after my blanket-no-jutsu* with builders warehouse, which one is a really good one to get?

Thanks :)


*Short version:
They gave me a damaged one claiming there was no stock, on returning it they magically had 200 units and it was quite a struggle to get refunded.
 
Its best to get one that is made by the geyser manufacturer just for best fit.

e.g. I put in a quikwot {sp?} geyser and immediately asked them to provide a suitable blanket too.

Anybody have some stats on what kind of a diff it makes (if any)?

I just asked for one on impulse (since I had people trekking around my roof anyway).
 
I bought a blanket when I replaced my geyser 4 years ago. Never got down to fitting it. Main reason is that someone once told me that the blankets don't actually do much. It covers the part of the geyser that is already insulated. Not sure how true this is

What does help I am told is insulating the pipes leading out of the geyser cos this is where a lot of energy is lost when the hot water runs through a cold pipe
 
You will get much more benefit from lagging the hot water pipes leading from the geyser. The geyser already has at least 2 inches of insulation around the tank and, as with all insulation, it is the first few mm that do most of the work

There are 2 types or pipe insulation. The expensive one consists of 2 halves that clip together around the pipe. They are not too good on corners so you have to augment the clips with cable ties. The cheaper option is to buy green blanket insulation, wrap it around the pipe and secure it with cable ties. About 1/5th the price.

Although the water in the pipes is cold when you turn on the hot tap, the insulation minimises heat loss due to unlagged pipes and the water comes out hotter from the tap
 
I just bought extra think pink and put it around my pipes and around the geyser. Works pretty well.
 
Built-It sell green blanket insulation which is easier to handle than glass-fibre insulation, is slightly cheaper and will not compress
 
I'm not entirely convinced about the pipe thing. There is hot water flowing through it like 15 mins a day, so I don't see it being a major source of heat loss. Nonetheless I'd still add it if I were building a house...retrofitting...nah.

Shiraz said:
Main reason is that someone once told me that the blankets don't actually do much. It covers the part of the geyser that is already insulated.
Click to expand...
Yeah already heavily insulated. Doesn't matter what you do it'll never be perfect though, so a blanket could still help.
 
My cylinder has a blanket from Builders - it loses 1°C per hour if the cylider is not set high, but 2°C per hour if high. You'll see the chart below from Saturday mornings (washing day) where I have the cylinder on 55°C the drop is more pronounced.

Looks like the best bet is the pipe lagging.

45°C
2jbtqgz.png


55°C
2hi08eu.png
 
ColinR said:
My cylinder has a blanket from Builders - it loses 1°C per hour if the cylider is not set high, but 2°C per hour if high. You'll see the chart below from Saturday mornings (washing day) where I have the cylinder on 55°C the drop is more pronounced.

Looks like the best bet is the pipe lagging.

45°C
2jbtqgz.png


55°C
2hi08eu.png
Click to expand...

How do you get the data/graph?
 
HavocXphere said:
I'm not entirely convinced about the pipe thing. There is hot water flowing through it like 15 mins a day, so I don't see it being a major source of heat loss. Nonetheless I'd still add it if I were building a house...retrofitting...nah.


Yeah already heavily insulated. Doesn't matter what you do it'll never be perfect though, so a blanket could still help.
Click to expand...

If you build new or renovate your plumbing, your hot water pipes have to be insulated to R-1 ito the new National building regs. If your geyser feels warm to the touch early in the morning, then you will benefit from a blanket as a general rule.. and insulating on the cold inlet pipe for 1.5m from the geyser makes a lot if sense too
 
I got a cheap +/- R100-00 blanket from Game some years back, and it does help a bit, by how much I cannot say. Our water stays warm for an entire day without the need to turn on the geyser. Only put on the geyser in mornings for showering, an hour after we are finished the geyser is switched of till the next morning. I must add that I went full out when I replaced the geyser a few years back, insulated the pipes as well.

Well, the blanket was only +/- R100-00, could have spend it on something far worse.
 
I insulated everything. All the pipes in the roof, hot and cold. Then I attached trunking to the outside walls where the bare cold water pipe went up the wall and filled it with polyureathane foam. The two pipes from the solar panel have 25mm thick dense foam insulation. The percentage of electricity to heat water dropped from 53% to 44%, since the solar panel is pretty useless in a Cape winter. The total cost of all the insulation and lagging was under R2000 and I think I saved that in 30 months

A wally from Eskom came to fit a geyser blanket and put his foot through the ceiling. I had to pay for that repair myself
 
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