Nansulate

[jhurliman]

I just ordered a gallon of Nansulate PT, I'll probably use about a pint of it so if anyone wants to buy some I can bottle up smaller quantities. I'll post back within a week (hopefully!) on how it worked for my chiller setup.

[redleader]

Thermal Conductivity: W/m-K=0.018 at 25 Degrees Celsius.

How does that compare to conventional insulation? I'd imagine this stuff is probably quite thin even if it is a much better insulator per mm of thickness.

[jhurliman]

Originally Posted by redleader

How does that compare to conventional insulation? I'd imagine this stuff is probably quite thin even if it is a much better insulator per mm of thickness.

The salesperson I talked to on the phone said I should be able to protect a copper block from condensation at -20F with three to four coats. At lets say 2mm per coat you're doing pretty good, with the added ability to paint over the gloss white with _insert favorite UV reactive paint here_. Of course all of this needs to be verified, and it looks like I'm the test dummy on this one :-).

[Groth]

The coat thickness they give is ~2 mils, 2 thousandths of an inch. 2 mm would need some seriously gooey paint.

[Razor6]

Originally Posted by Groth

The coat thickness they give is ~2 mils, 2 thousandths of an inch. 2 mm would need some seriously gooey paint.

Or 39 coats.

[jhurliman]

My bad!

I finished sealing my reservoir, and I got a tracking number for the insulation stuff so I can watch it migrate across the states. I'm going to paint the reservoir (it will cover up the sealant perfectly I'm hoping) except for a design that I'll mask off in the front. Thinking an ice cube would be fitting since it will be the part of the res dripping water from condensation.

[redleader]

^^ I'm pretty sure thats going to crack if you put reasonably cold water into it. How low can your chiller go?

[bigben2k]

Originally Posted by redleader

^^ I'm pretty sure thats going to crack if you put reasonably cold water into it. How low can your chiller go?

That's an excellent point.

The thermal expansion properties of this product, if it's the only adhesive used, would have to match that of the building material, otherwise it could peel right off of the box, causing a leak.

Very hard to pick a good adhesive.

In this case, I'd go with an adhesive first, i.e. weld-on#4, which would make a chemical bond between acrylic or polycarb materials, then coat it.

[jhurliman]

Originally Posted by bigben2k

In this case, I'd go with an adhesive first, i.e. weld-on#4, which would make a chemical bond between acrylic or polycarb materials, then coat it.

I should have clarified the picture a bit. The box was originally assembled with weld-on #4, but because the guy cutting the acrylic did a whack job on the sanding there were rounded corners and it didn't make a seal at all. The white stuff in the seams is a butyl based marine sealant, which is setting up right now (2/7 days so far). When the liquid insulation arrives I'm planning on spraying the outside of the res with it, and the res will be an open container so I'm not too concerned about thermal expansion properties of the acrylic.

[bigben2k]

Excellent