Blue Jean insulation your opinion

[Belchfire]

What do you guys think of Blue Jean insulation does it work will in heat and cool?
Does it absorb moisture?


Thanks

 

[highdesertranger]

"Does it absorb moisture?"

hell yes and it's very hard to dry out. think of heavy blue jeans. you know the old saying "Cotton Kills".

highdesertranger

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

And when wet it looses most of its insulating value.

 

[DannyB1954]

Weight can also be an issue. Just for fun in my build I used cellulose fibers sealed in plastic bags. After I was done, I found foam beads that they used in bean bag chairs. If I was to do it again I would use that instead, again in plastic bags, (much lighter and fills odd shaped spaces).
The hard part about this method is you have to build the wall first, and drop in the bags of insulation as the wall goes up.
In my walls I have up to 3 1/2 inches of insulation. I went with heavy wood framing because when the windows were put in during the van conversion, they hacked out the frame members that support the roof. For the ceiling I used sheet foam as I did not want to lose a lot of headroom.

 

[Belchfire]

Danny

Why do you like the bean bag material and where do you get it?

Thanks

 

[DannyB1954]

I like it because it fills odd shaped voids and is very light. In my van I basically made the interior walls and then poured the insulation into it as the wall went up. Since the outside of the van walls have a curve to them and the interior walls do not, It would be hard to completely fill the space in between with sheet insulation. I put it in plastic garbage bags so that the plastic would act as a vapor barrier on both sides of the insulation. Also when putting the top wall panel in it needs to be in a bag so that you can put it in place and then the wall panel.
I did not completely seal the bags as I did not want them to expand and contract with altitude or weather changes.

I seen it in large bags at my local Walmart in the fabric department. Google bean bag fill. Several Walmart options came up.

 

[Belchfire]

Does it insulate well?
Thanks

 

[BinDerSmokDat]

I didn't put anything in my van build that would absorb moisture.
Living in a sealed box makes moisture your enemy.
The ceiling and walls of my van build in this order...

-Stock sheetmetal
-Dynamat
-Various thicknesses of 1/2"or 3/4" EPS, either single thickness or layered where applicable.
-1/8" rolled foil faced foam underlayment, duct taped at seams as a vapor barrier.
-1/4" paneling

I have some storage boxes that cover both wheel wells, these have 1.5" thick walls insulated with 1.5" EPS.
I didn't bother trying to stuff insulation down inside the lower portions of the walls. The vapor barrier and the boxes themselves insulate these areas from the living space.

The idea of anything shoved down into the lower parts of the van wall didn't sit well with me.
These areas are by design suppose to remain open and they have weep holes at the bottom to let out condensation. Adding anything to them interferes with this design and only serves to trap moisture within.

 

[Weldman]

Polystyrene beads should not be used in wall cavities where they could come into contact with electrical wires. These beads may also not meet fire-safety codes unless they are treated with special fire-retarding agents.

 

[DannyB1954]

This is why I get fed up with this site and go somewhere else for 6 months at a time.. People ask what I did or would do. I tell them and some "expert" will jump in and instead of say what they use will just criticize what others say. There is no perfect insulation, so no matter what anyone says that they use, some "person" can jump in and criticize instead of contribute. Cellulose is probably the safest, but it has drawbacks as well. Chemicals used to make things fire retardant are toxic. Google that. Here is one result https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/healthy-home/are-flame-retardants-toxic/ search Youtube as well for insulation and burn. Here is another result .

I don't know of any foam boards that will not burn when exposed to flame, or worse yet give off toxic fumes in a confined space, yet that is probably the number one insulation used in vans. To have a fire, you also need a good air supply. When a cavity is filled with material where is all this air going to come from? Vans are full of combustible materials. Your seats and bed are probably not made of metal or rock and are more exposed to fire from heaters and stoves , yet somehow people manage to survive. 12 volt electricity does not jump through it's own insulation to start short circuits. Higher Voltage house wiring is run through combustible material all the time in homes.

Condensation happens when there is a difference in temperature. warm moist air comes into contact with the cold surface. The air cools and can no longer hold as much moisture so the moisture settles on the cold surface. The purpose of the insulation is to make sure that the walls do not get cold. Add ventilation which any closed container should have.

See you all in 6 months.

 

[B and C]

I'll spill the beans on my Roadtrek insulation from the factory. I had to pull a wall panel to run some wires. What I found were fiberglass panels like what they put in commercial buildings that have lift out panels (grid). This stuff works well in buildings and seems to work well in my Roadtrek. Most people poo hoo fiberglass but they are usually thinking the rolls of fiberglass that you buy at the local lumber yard. Some lumber yards also carry the 2'x4' fiberglass ceiling panels. They do not compress or flake well. It has vinyl on one side for a vapor barrier placed facing the conditioned space. I like it and would use it in a build as it is an easy size to work with.

 

[Weldman]

This is why I get fed up with this site and go somewhere else for 6 months at a time.. People ask what I did or would do. I tell them and some "expert" will jump in and instead of say what they use will just criticize what others say. There is no perfect insulation, so no matter what anyone says that they use, some "person" can jump in and criticize instead of contribute. Cellulose is probably the safest, but it has drawbacks as well. Chemicals used to make things fire retardant are toxic.  Google that. Here is one result   https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/healthy-home/are-flame-retardants-toxic/      search Youtube as well for insulation and burn. Here is another result .

I don't know of any foam boards that will not burn when exposed to flame, or worse yet give off toxic fumes in a confined space, yet that is probably the number one insulation used in vans. To have a fire, you also need a good air supply. When a cavity is filled with material where is all this air going to come from? Vans are full of combustible materials. Your seats and bed are probably not made of metal or rock and are more exposed to fire from heaters and stoves , yet somehow people manage to survive. 12 volt electricity does not jump through it's own insulation to start short circuits. Higher Voltage house wiring is run through combustible material all the time in homes.

Condensation happens when there is a difference in temperature. warm moist air comes into contact with the cold surface. The air cools and can no longer hold as much moisture so the moisture settles on the cold surface. The purpose of the insulation is to make sure that the walls do not get cold. Add ventilation which any closed container should have.

See you all in 6 months.

You need to expand your mind and don't take what one tries to do to help as "expert trying to jump in", not going to claim to be "expert". Yes chemicals are bad and they are in everything fire resistant and non fire resistant substrates, yes 12 volt nor does any household voltage just jump through it's own insulation to start short circuits though you might want to research "plasticizer migration". Polystyrene mixed with PVC coated wires will cause a fire, it won't affect romex though as for other wires in a RV, truck campers, cars, vans and travel trailers it will if it's PVC coated.

 

[Matlock]

So oooooooooo... back to the original question.

I've never experienced blue jean insulation so I don't know the answer. What I do know is
if it's made mostly of cotton then it will hold moisture. You know, like when you pull your jeans out of the washing machine. If you've ever left your jeans in the washer for a week the top layer is partially dry but not the bottom stuff and the whole thing smells a lot like musty moldy things. (I just rewash um.) I'm not sure I'd want that sandwiched in my vehicle walls even if I had a sure way of wicking it out on a daily basis. (Like running a dehumidifier a few hours every day.)

So, my 2¢ is use something tried and tested by industry and don't try to "seal the envelope" from the inside or outside. It's not possible in a vehicle with doors and windows. Let whatever non-cotton insulation you use breathe and make sure you keep some form of fresh air exchange for the life of your vehicle ownership.

 

[n0zbh]

I have found a product that is pretty awesome, it is on the high side of expense but the R-value per inch thickness is by far the best. It is called Aerogel and the mats have come down in price. I would suspect that as time passes it will drop even more. Here is the company web site it has tons of great info. http://www.buyaerogel.com/product-category/blankets/

 

[abnorm]

WHAT ?????



""Even though producing more aerogel at a time would bring its price down, the process and materials alone come with a high price tag of about $1.00 per cubic centimeter. At about $23,000 per pound, aerogel is currently more expensive than gold [source: NASA JPL, FAQs]!""

 

[n0zbh]

Abnorm, you are correct partly because I failed to put the proper name for the insulation Spaceloft. If you were to buy 169 sq. ft it would be roghly $1,300 for the total. that would be about $7.80 a Sq. FT.  as I said it is not a cheap option but getting better. Was doing quick math in my head so may be off by a few cents.