fiberglass insulation for a ferm chamber?

[xpops]

hey!

so i'm finally getting around to properly controlling my fermentation by building an insulated chamber.

My question - that i can't seem to find much of an answer on - is if there is really a better type of insulation than others?

I see most people building them with the 2" pink rigid foam, but is there a reason why no one uses good ol' batts of fiberglass insulation used in walls? it's probably easier to work with, higher R value, and can be cheaper...

Any reason i dont see anyone using this? let me know your thoughts!

cheers,

 

[casualbrewer]

Probably use foam for space savings and ease of use. Batts should be ok but will hold moisture....

 

[kh54s10]

Probably use foam for space savings and ease of use. Batts should be ok but will hold moisture....

Right. You would need a vapor proof inner wall. You would also need (guessing) 6-8 inches to equal 2 inches of the pink foam insulation.

I covered the inside of my (pink insulation) chamber with a Butyl rubber coated drop cloth, spray glued on the foam.

 

[xpops]

Vapor barrier, right. But 3.5" fiberglass is r-13 vs 2" is r-10. So maybe space savings and no need to mess with vapor barrier is the reason

 

[kh54s10]

I don't know for sure but in this chart it looks like foam is better than fiberglass:

Material R-value/in 3 1/2" 5 1/4" 10" 12" 15"
Fiberglass (batt) 3.14 10.99 16.485 31.4 37.68 47.1
Fiberglass blown (attic) 2.20 7.7 11.55 22 26.4 33
Fiberglass blown (wall) 3.20 11.2 16.8 32 38.4 48
Mineral Wool (batt) 3.14 10.99 16.485 31.4 37.68 47.1
Mineral Wool blown (attic) 3.10 10.85 16.275 31 37.2 46.5
Mineral Wool blown (wall) 3.03 10.605 15.9075 30.3 36.36 45.45
Cellulose blown (attic) 3.21 11.235 16.8525 32.1 38.52 48.15
Cellulose blown (wall) 3.70 12.95 19.425 37 44.4 55.5
Polystrene Board 4.00 14 21 40 48 60
Polyurethane Board 5.00 17.5 26.25 50 60 75
Polyisocyanurate (foil-faced) 7.20 25.2 37.8 72 86.4 108
Open Cell Spray Foam 3.60 12.6 18.9 36 43.2 54
Closed Cell Spray Foam 6.50 22.75 34.125 65 78 97.5

 

[xpops]

So I started my build. I went with r-12 fiberglass vs r10 2" foam board. I already had vapour barrier, lumber, hardware, etc....so pretty much I'm at a cost of about 35 bucks (which gives me enough insulation to build 2 chambers). I already had a wooden workbench I have not used in years, so I modified that to piece it all together so far.

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[Jim311]

I don't like fiberglass in my skin. Or my beer gear. But I'm sure it would work fine and it's cheap, so it might work for some applications.

 

[xpops]

I used vapour barrier so it's completely isolated. Im on day 5 of my first fermentation, and its working amazingly. So far I love it!