Hi,
I am thinking of choosing between these two insulators for air-conditioning. Any opinions?

http://www.superlon.com.my/?page_id=1212
http://www.insulflex.com.my/specifications...ifications.html

I can judge the physical performance of these two insulators from their website, but no aging test results..
Some contractor said superlon is better and vice versa.

Any opinions?

superlon easy inside to hole than insuflex but thin than insuflex
superlon price lower than insuflex
normally project using insuflex
quality insuflex better than superlon
raco sdn bhd sell superlon
gain city & gain city parts sell insuflex
LTC & island also have sell
if they normally use superlon they dont use insuflex
if they normally use insuflex they dont want superlon

This post has been edited by lazzenkitchen: Jul 7 2014, 11:42 PM

ohh.. insulflex's quality is better?
sorry, could you explain further please?

because of its thickness?
but thermal conductivity is more important than thickness.
A thin material with low thermal conductivity is better than a thick material with high thermal conductivity.
From the website, the thermal conductivity for insulflex is higher than superlon.

price-wise? ehmm..
well, normally it can be an indicator but it is an uncertain gauge..

I notice that insulflex provides detailed information about their product, which is a plus-point.
One big assumption though, both websites are giving truthful ratings..
hence, i think insulflex seems trustworthy because they have more info in their website but i am only judging from the numbers..



This post has been edited by Nezs: Jul 8 2014, 12:09 AM

thickness for insuflex have 3/8,1/2,3/4,1"


you want insulation for project or what?
around how many you need?
where your location?

I am located in Johor Bahru and I am going to use it for my air-con copper pipes.
I already have a contractor but I am checking to see which brand is better myself.

You might want to add in:
Armacell Armaflex
Inaba Denko Paircoil
Smartco Paircoil

better you choose insulflex....
if you got burget you can choose inaba hose....
but i dont know johor where can buy , you can try ask for air cond accessory shop...

I didnt know about the other brands and thanks to you i am able to find quite a bit of info in lowyat forums..
thanks again

No worries, the last two are well used here. Armacell Armaflex is found is SG and is considered industry standard

any idea on the price of Armacell Armaflex compared to Superlon/Insulflex?

Nope. Recommend google.com.sg and restricting the search only in SG. For sure their home improvement forums will turn up something.

will try that out! thanks!

My recommendation is to sleeve individually. Never mix 2 pipes into a single sleeve. That will make AC run at rated temperature. Saves energy that way. I'm sure some photos taken will show it how its done. That's why the Jap and Korean Paircoil are like so.

yeah, i confirmed with my contractor before this..
just not sure if he has armaflex or not though..

ehmmm... I saw from your older posts that you mentioned in armaflex before.. any ideas where I can buy them?
I found a malaysian website selling.. about to contact them.. would like to compare 2-3 shops before buying

thanks!!

I've only ever tried Smartco and Inaba Denko as they are easily obtained. Armaflex not so around here cos I have not found any supplier.

i see.. understood.. thanks bro!

This 2009 blog piece provides a good pictorial on piping works installing on AC and why it had to be individually insulated jacket sleeve for good performance. The newer AC uses the famed R22 inverter multi split Daikin of the FKnn[B,D,F,G]VM models with Italian K-Flex insulation. Everything has a used by life, even insulation. Hence the best practice if possible is short runs outside the window for landed in the AC ledge. Condo dwellers will disdain exposed conduits but in SG HDB, nuisance hacking is a no no hence the conduit is exposed. This can be creatively hidden I suppose.

Another thing, in SG, HDB built before 1994 has a serious limitation on current draw for multi splits. Thus multi split must be within under 8-9A limit total. This was unnecessary for newly built HDB after that and older ones with main upgrade program / home improvement program carried out that increased a single dwelling max load to 40A. After that 15-20A multi split systems was permissible for these HDB blocks. There's a site for owners wishing to upgrade to check is this was possible.

But the trade off was this, how is noise from renovations minimised. To have AC piping embedded is a no no thus this unsightly but necessary compromise. The plus point is, AC refrigerant and drainage piping can be changed without hacking.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Oct 12 2017, 12:20 AM

From the field.

Another blog piece quite detailed with another installer and supplier piece.

AC refrigerant pipe insulation ..thicker insulation for higher humidity. Either 3/8" or 1/2" thickness. High humidity areas should opt for thicker insulator. Fire rating adheres to BS 476 parts 6 & 7 specification. Class 1 means for resistant. Class 0 means fire retardant. Perhaps depending upon fire code, will the appropriate class material be used.

Drainage pipes - should be insulated which is not done here. My unit has mould forming near the wall due to this.

Wiring detail: nCy
n:= core total, most times 3 some 4 as dictated by AC model
y:=total number of strands per core. It's either 40 or 70. 70 from db to master switch to compressor. 40 between compressor and blower.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Oct 12 2017, 01:42 AM

Saw this in a commercial place in ID but it applies to residential as well. Although not an issue there perhaps, but over here, it's better to seat the compressor above grade (ground level) on riser blocks as mentioned and shown here.



Interestingly, it's made here.


This post has been edited by halcyon27: Dec 3 2018, 07:17 AM