I get a lot of questions about the efficiency of insulated pex pipe. People ask what type of insulated pex is better, how much R-value each brand has, and how to tell if a certain brand of pipe will work for them locally. These are important questions since improper installation techniques can lead to poor efficiency.

Insulated pex is commonly used to transport hot water from outdoor boilers to home systems. Whether the outdoor furnace is fueled by wood, corn, or pellets - that heat needs to be transferred efficiently to the dwellings and shops that it's intended to warm. Insulated pex pipe will have a hard outer shell, some kind of insulative wrap or fill, and two pex lines in the middle which transport hot water to and from the stove. The shell material is commonly plastic corrugated tile pipe. It's purpose is to prevent environmental water, harsh environmental conditions or particles from getting into the system, because that could interrupt the efficiency of the insulation. The heavy duty tiles also prevent the inner insulative barrier from becoming compressed which would also lessen thermo efficiency.

Underground pipes should be well insulated with foam and the feed and return pipes should not be allowed to touch each other. Insulated pex can be buried anywhere from 1.5 feet to 2.5 feet below ground. Some say don’t place the pipe in the ground deeper than 18” to avoid ground water. When installing your insulated pex, seal against water entry where ever possible.

Some types of pex pipe are better able to protect than others. For example, a pex pipe that is insulated by wrapping an insulative blanket around the pipes will lose it's protective quality if any ground water finds it's way into the hard outer shell.

Do your research, there's a lot to know. This is a big investment and you basically get one shot to get it right before winter hits and you're locked in till spring.

Here's a list of links you may find helpful:

• How to Buy an Outdoor Furnace OR Global Hydronics I found that these two sites contain the same content (Hmmmmm......There were even more than TWO after I got into it) But that content is full of great tips on choosing and installing your outdoor furnace.
• An article written from a wood furnace owner(I prefer corn heat, as you know)
• Thermoflex, High Performance Foam Insulated Pex Pipes
• Flexsul Seal by Insul Seal elastomeric thermal insulation wrapped pex.

Pictures from an infloor heating installation into a 40 X 60 foot shed.

We use our Outdoor Corn Furnace/Boiler to heat our home. This year, we moved a shed in from a neighboring farm. It was being replaced there and the owner gave it to us to get it off the property. Since our motto is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Retire Someday we were excited to have the opportunity.

The shed's settled on our lot, and it is getting infloor heating installed now. A Lot of Manual Labor, since this floor is getting poured by hand. Not for those who don't like shoveling! But Great on the budget. For a do-it-yourselver with more time than money, this is the only way to get what you want sometimes.

Here are some pictures of the pipe layout. The zones are easy to see and also how the pipe gets laid ontop of plastic which is underneath styrofoam.

Pictures from a typical infloor heating installation.

We bought our Outdoor Corn Stove before we built our house. We were living in a home that had forced air heating system. We purchased a radiator system with the Outdoor Corn Stove that sat over the duct work where our Forced Air System had been, and ran the hot water from our stove to that radiator. When the thermostat called for heat, the fan kicked on, and the heat from the radiator was blown through the ducts.

We built a new home beside the old one. When it was time to build, we were able to install a heating system that would be more compatible with the hot water our Corn Stove produced. Below are some photographs of the installation process. We are lucky in our home, it has concrete floors through out, and was designed for them from the beginning.