Thread: Foam pipe insulation help

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Once again, (with delight) I find I must prevail upon the extensive knowledge and cooperation of my fellow forum members.
I have designed and am in the process of building a 1" PVC body frame. I want to use pipe insulation for the basic "fleshing" of my creation.
When I was younger, finding pipe insulation in the size and pricing I wanted was no problem. Now it seems that no one carries the thicker 6' sticks any more.
Living in the uncharted territories of Northern Nevada, has forced me to use the internet for my search, but rarely do I find enough info on these items to actually make a purchase. I am asking for anyone who may have a descent source (who will also ship) for some ideas on where else to look - stores or internet. I am wanting case quantities, as I am planning on building an "army" if my design actually works. So far, so good...HM

Not sure if this will be thick enuff for ya but I am also in the middle of building a PVC body frame and got some swimming pool noodles (I think thats what they are called) to use over the PVC to make it look more like a body. They come in various colors, are about 5' long and aprox. 3" in dia. and are made from a flexable foam similar to the pipe insulation you are talking about.... Kids use them in swimming pools as floaties. Also, a company called Spider Hill Prop Works sells some very handy PVC adjustable fittings for making the body joints ....(sholder,elbow, knee, etc.) I ordered 12 of them a few weeks ago and am VERY happy with them. Not too expensive, and fast shipping.

It's been a while but do the pool noodles even fit over 1" pvc or do they need to be sliced down the center and do they still fit? I kindof remember that the hole in the middle is small.

Ya Mon, got me joints from Spider Hill too. What size hole is in your pool noodles? The largest hole I can find is 3/4". SH joints use 1" PVC. I tried to fit an un-slit insultube over 1" PVC yesterday, and I can't use the language here that I used in HD. It boils down to nye-impossible. The really sad part is I used to work for a company that sold every available size of insultube imaginable at a reasonable price. Now outta business. HM

I am not at home this minute so I cant put my hands on them but my plan is to split them, put them on the pipe then put a wrap of electrical tape on each end to hold em together.......(mine will be under clothes)

riverswampboat and Hallomarine, thanks for the kind words.

Another option you might consider is using bubble wrap. It works really well and is super light. I use packing tape to attach one end of the strip to the PVC, and then I wrap it around the pipe until I get the desired thickness. After that, just wrap a few strips of packing tape around the outside to keep it in place. A lot of businesses throw a ton of the stuff away. You just have to find yourself a local supplier.

D.

I have built armies of these and have only ever used pipe insulation one time, because I was on stilts and also was supporting a large frame (of around 100 pounds) all pressing down against my shoulders and was a tad more comfortable than bare pvc...just a tad. If it does't hurt, you're doing it wrong.

What I can say is that Lowe's had insulation of varying thickness, but you may need to check more than one area of the store, because there are different types for different applications.

Pool noodles also seem to work well. If they do not fit, just slice down one side of the noodle (Turning the cross-section O into a C, if you will) but don't cut any OUT, just make a slit. Then pop it over the pipe and shave to the desired thickness. Simple, lightweight and living in FL, where vacation homes are everywhere, I usually get them free, since so many get thrown away.

I used a old foam mattress pad that I cut up and ziptied over the PVC. The mattress pad looks like this.

Ooh. I have used that type of stuff, except mine was black and used for packing. It has lots of uses, apparently.