DIY: A/C Insulation for even colder air!

[northvibe]

the stuff i bought was fire retardant, and had some degree's listed that i forgot. but there has been no issue with fire's in my engine bay. It was from menards and was the highest degrees retardant insulation stuff i could find.

[xcanuk]

I'm new here, stumbled across this old thread, hope you don't mind. Just to clear up a few things, the material being used isn't exactly fire retardant, the 25/50 rating is more of a smoke rating. (it will burn, more like melt with minimal smoke developed. The Home Depo/ Lowes stuff is the domestic version, commercial goes under the name armaflex, nomalock or rubatex, search mechanical insulation for suppliers. For cleaner installs (no zip ties) they have a self seal version.While the material will last, it does have a tendency to dry and break apart under high heat conditions, its really meant for refrigeration and domestic water, not heating systems.I'll more than likely do the mod once I see the right conditions (don't have a Vibe just yet)

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by xcanuk »I'm new here, stumbled across this old thread, hope you don't mind. Just to clear up a few things, the material being used isn't exactly fire retardant, the 25/50 rating is more of a smoke rating. (it will burn, more like melt with minimal smoke developed. The Home Depo/ Lowes stuff is the domestic version, commercial goes under the name armaflex, nomalock or rubatex, search mechanical insulation for suppliers. For cleaner installs (no zip ties) they have a self seal version.While the material will last, it does have a tendency to dry and break apart under high heat conditions, its really meant for refrigeration and domestic water, not heating systems.I'll more than likely do the mod once I see the right conditions (don't have a Vibe just yet)The Line being wrapped is the one that gets cold with the A/C in use.. We are simply blocking engine compartment heat from getting to this line or keeping the cold line from feeling warm air. The egine compartment tempratures in this area of the engine dont really get so hot that things would ignite anyway. other wise the plasic fluid resivours wouldnt be plastic. I.E. the Power stearing and Washer fluid resivours.

[xcanuk]

I understand the use/principle, just wanted to clear up the info. (30 years in mechanical insulation)

[silvrhawk7]

Bump....I know this is an old thread, however has anyone had any outstanding issues, good or bad??

[BlueCrush]

No problems with my insulated lines.

[DavidPIL]

silvr, I concur with BlueCrush. This will be my 3rd Summer with the insulation and it's all in good condition and the AC seems to be fine. I will have to add though that when I did the insulation technique in late 04, I used a self-adhesive foam tape with foil on one side then covered what I could with the pipe insulation. THis worked decently for me but I didn't notice a major improvement till after I recharged the system in 05. That made the world of difference. Assuming the 2 techniques worked together to make my AC system work properly, it was still a very inexpensive way to make the AC work like it should have in the first place,Dave

[coldmm803]

i just did mine, cant wait to feel the differencecost was $3

[zionzr2]

still working great for me!!

[coldmm803]

i hate to be the first to say this but i've not noticed any difference, if anything it takes less time to get "cold".

[northvibe]

odd, coldmm803 did you do that whole ac pipe? Mine is working great now, Im on my 2nd summer with it.EDIT: wait...3rd summer... hahah Ive had the car longer than I remember!

[Sublimewind]

Something like this could also be used... http://store.summitracing.com/...w=sku

[coldmm803]

north, mine looks like the pics zionzr2 posted on the first page (the only ones i can see here at work) only mines all black

[lovemyraffe]

I know this is really old, but can anyone point me in a direction of where to buy the correct foam stuff?

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »I know this is really old, but can anyone point me in a direction of where to buy the correct foam stuff?Any hardware store should have it!Mine happened to be ACE, I think.

[BlueCrush]

Got mine at Home Depot. That reminds me, I need to do that mod again tomorrow. Mine was shredded by some idiot.

[ihsn]

Does this work for heat? I'm in Toronto and in temps like -20C (with wind chill) being frequent these days, it takes a while before warm air starts flowing in.Thanks.

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by ihsn »Does this work for heat? I'm in Toronto and in temps like -20C (with wind chill) being frequent these days, it takes a while before warm air starts flowing in.Thanks.no

[djb383]

IMHO, I don't think the insulation works. The cold line is the one leaving the passenger compartment, not going to it.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=29064

[Vibe_dude]

I talked to a AC tech guy who teaches AC at a community college here,and he told me that this is a waste of time.It woukd not make any difference in temp.And that if u ever got a crack or a leak in your line in that area you would never see if beacuse of the foam.

[northvibe]

pff say all you want, there were 1 or 2 members that took temp sensors before and after the mod and both showed a decrease in temps. hard to prove hard facts... and for like $3 why not do it? My sister has my vibe and the insulation is still on and working great.

[djb383]

Sure wish those 1 or 2 members would post their findings........something similar to the way I did. Again, the cold line is the one LEAVING the passenger compartment and goes to the compressor where it gets super heated. If it worked, and was that simple/cheap to do, it would come insulated from the factory.

[zionzr2]

Quote, originally posted by djb383 »Sure wish those 1 or 2 members would post their findings........something similar to the way I did. Again, the cold line is the one LEAVING the passenger compartment and goes to the compressor where it gets super heated. If it worked, and was that simple/cheap to do, it would come insulated from the factory. Chevy Trucks used to insulate the lines at the factory.

[harryyiii]

Suction lines are cold and always insulated. Liquid lines to the expansion valve are warm, and in non auto applications do not get insulated because they give off heat to the environment. If the engine compartment is very warm, it is a plus. If it is cooler, it could be a minus. The refrigerant condenses somewhere around 120F. and could get subcooled in less than peak temperatures.

[djb383]

I still say insulating the cold a/c line under the hood of the Vibe does zip, zero, nada regarding lower cabin vent temps and the test I did proved it. I await re-buttle proof.

[northvibe]

Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »i have a temp probe in my vent which the b4 the mod. norm a/c would get around 55F and with the recirc around 45.after the mod i'm getting 45 norm and right at 40 w/ the recirc...The most notible improvent was in the time to get cold is much faster!!Less than 1-2 miles and its upto full cold at the vent. Before it would be several at least 5-7 miles.I will be monitoring the stats as time goes on..Zion tested it. some other members including myself (removed) dyno'd and said it got colder faster and could of been colder. There are MANY things that could improve a car from the factory, do they do them, NO. so just because this is a cheap mod and does something doesnt mean they would do it from the factory.

[djb383]

OK, maybe it works for some but definitely not for me. It doesn't make sense to insulate the line that is leaving the passenger compartment. The hot line is the one that goes TO the passenger compartment, the cold line comes FROM the passenger compartment and goes TO the compressor where the freon is compressed and heated as a result of being compressed.

[northvibe]

I should of done my own tests...but now im too lazy to get my sister over to take off and reziptie it. anyone that does this next should do the test. I have no idea what line is what, I just followed the guide. If you insulate the hot line though it would keep the heat temp up, which is better?

[djb383]

Are you talking about insulating the hot a/c line or the hot heater core hose?

[prathman]

Quote, originally posted by djb383 »OK, maybe it works for some but definitely not for me.That may well be the case. In your car the air temperature put out by the AC was already about as cold as possible without having the coils freeze up. Any improvement in efficiency would therefore just result in a slight reduction of the duty cycle of the compressor rather than any change in the air temperature (the system automatically cycles to prevent a freeze-up). The same is true of the AC in our two Vibes so I haven't been tempted to experiment with this insulation treatment.If this modification is going to have an effect, it would need to be on a car where the AC is marginal and the air temperature is higher than desired.

[djb383]

.............but again, how is insulating the freon line that EXITS the passenger compartment going to lower the vent temp inside the passenger compartment???????

[prathman]

Quote, originally posted by djb383 ».............but again, how is insulating the freon line that EXITS the passenger compartment going to lower the vent temp inside the passenger compartment???????I don't think the effect would be very large, but if the heat content of the freon in that line is lower when it enters the compressor then presumably it will still be a little lower after being heated by the compression than it would have been otherwise. Therefore it'll still not be quite as hot after radiating much of its heat and will get just a bit colder than otherwise when it is again allowed to expand on its next trip through the passenger compartment.

[djb383]

Sounds good.......just not convinced that it works that way. Oh well.

[modieselguy]

I'm glad someone did mention evaporator freeze-up and not many are mentioning the cable adjustment. The system is design to not freeze-up like prathman mentioned but only on a stock, unmodified system.

[cq358]

The only way the evaporator would freeze up is when the fan is not working (no /low air flow) while the compressor is running. That why on our car when then fan is off, the compressor should be automatically off.In commercial refrigeration system when the evaporator coil is frozen, the low pressure switch will trip and shut off the system.