Under a mobile home or apartment lot, water pipes can run down the outside of the building near the ground. Under a roofed structure, they can run up into the air.
Mobile homes are built on risers that connect to the roof above. These risers are then lined with insulation to form a waterproof pipe network. This network is then installed and maintained by professional contractors.
Rails are typically wrapped in compressed foam to help hold it in place. These professionals will typically use liquidated sand or granular chemical preservatives as dampening agents.
How well your mobile home insulates water pipes depends on what you are using it for. A small tank of water or two in the winter time would probably be sufficient protection!
In this article, we will discuss how to make an improvised under-the-mobile home water heat system by installing a line of socks as tubes and covering them with liquidated sand to prevent freeze/thawing.
Contents:
Check the insulation around your water pipes
It is important to check the insulation around your water pipes before any major plumbing work or major heating or cooling system upgrades. Cold water travels in the pipes and heat travels through the system.
When a homeowner upgrades their water heater or plumbing system, they should check the insulation around the pipes to make sure it still works and keeps heat in the system. If it does not, it must be cut off and new insulation must be installed.
Similarly, when a homeowner installs a temperature-controlling system such as a water heater controller or air conditioner, they should check the insulation around their pipes to make sure it still works and keeps temperature in the system. If it does not, it must be cut off and new insulation must be installed.
When checking the insulation around your water pipes, you can use anything from a hair dryer to enamel peels can help reveal any weak spots that are causing thermal transfer issues.
Replace damaged insulation
If the ground is exposed, it is possible to remove or replace the insulation where it covers the soil. This could be helpful if there was a plumbing issue or tree damage that resulted in water being exposed.
Under a mobile home, there are some important differences to consider. In a boat trailer mobile home, the basement must be insulated! Otherwise, freezing and thawing of water will result.
As with any insulation project, do not underestimate how much you can save. A few dollars spent now can save hundreds of dollars in future bills!
Mobile homes are designed to stand on their own two feet, so if your permanent residence is inside, no need to insulate the plumbing or heating system. If you have children who might want to play in your home, then looking into allowing outside access may help also.
Wrap new insulation around your water pipes
Using a bit of imagination, you can create a fun and functional space using nothing but water pipes, a filter dishwasher heap of supplies and creativity!
Under a mobile home, you have the option to lay out your filters and connect them with conduits. This is an awesome way to organize your space and create more room for decor.
If you plan ahead of time, you can also build some connections between your systems. In your filter dishwasher, for example, connect the washer to the dryer via a transmission line.
You can also build systems with hot water tank & heating system, plumbing system, and connect them with power supply & network.
Use a foam sealant around your water pipes
This is the recommended method for keeping water pipes and pipes together under a mobile home. Using a foam sealant will create a thick, comfortable layer between your water pipes and the ground.
In order to use this method, you must have all of your water lines connected together using a supply line or an approved bypass. You can also use this as a carbon filter system to remove bad odors from your drinking water.
This process takes some time to complete and is not recommended for people with limited time resources. When finished, take some tape around the new sealant and throw it away to save time!
Use only plain old distilled or boiled water in your system to keep things working properly. Any other cold beverages or treatments should be substituted with filtered or purified water.
Use pipe covers
When you do not want to add another layer of protection to your water pipe, you can use a similar system to pipe covers. These coverings are made of drywall or pipe insulation, and are placed over the exposed pipes.
When they are in place, they slide on and off easily. The advantage to this method is that you do not have to take the time to cut up the insulation and place it around the pipes. It also does not matter whether you use weatherized or non-weatherized pipes, they will still protect against cold water freezing into your water.
Another benefit of this method is that it protects your home from rainwater runoff. If your home was built before water protectability standards were in place, then you can use this protection.
Get a heating cable kit
A heating cable kit underneath your mobile home is a very important part of keeping your pipes warm. These come in different lengths and are meant to be plugged into an existing wall outlet, a computer monitor power source, or a small heater.
Most have at least a two-hour rating and some have five-hour ratings! Since your water cannot be kept hot for more than two hours, this is an important tool.
To use these, you must put them in place and then connect the ends of the cable. This means going to the outside of your home where there is another layer of insulation. Then you must wrap the ends around the pipe and force them down until they’re embedded.
Insulate the bottom of your mobile home
Under a mobile home, you can use the same method of insulating the floor under your pipes as above. However, instead of putting up drywall or an outline plan, you put up acssioencd wall.
This is especially helpful if you have small children in your mobile home because they can’t tell what water is when they walk by. They can also save some cold water as it not only saves you going to the refrigerator, but it also protects the surrounding water from heat loss.
As with above, there are two ways to do this. The first is to cut a hole in one side of the floor; the second is to cut a hole in both sides of the floor simultaneously and then use an extension cord to plug into both sides. Neither of these methods are advisable due to heat transfer and risk of thermal collapse.
Do not attempt these unless you have some kind of help due to heat damage.
Seal leaky joints and cracks in the pipe length
When plumbing a new water connection, it is important to start with a full-sized pipe. You can then use larger diameter pipes to connect to an existing system, but the smaller ones must be cut down before the connection can be made.
In order to cover the full length of the pipe, there must be at least two inches of material on either side. There are special tape and glue methods for this, so do not go too easy on yourself. It takes about five minutes to get started and finish, so do not make this part too difficult for yourself.
Finding ways to seal leaks is also important in insulating your pipes. You want to sealing around all joints, so that nothing passes through. As stated before, two-foot pipes have a minimum of two inches of coverage, and four-inch connections must be covered.