Installing Tank Heaters and Insulation, Part 3b

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I had an idea to build an "insulation dam" between the afore mentioned ( in Part 3a) two cross-members to isolate the tank area from the rear underbelly area. I had to carefully pack unfaced fiberglass insulation around the flexible ducts to achieve this chore. (Aft_dam.jpg) Note the duct that feeds the furnace vent in the kitchen island.

Along the port side of the tank area, there were several electrical cables, the shore power cable, the Fresh Water fill and vent lines, and the Fresh Water feed line the pump. All these wires and pipes are exposed to the transmitted conduction cold of the I-beam. I folded and wrapped all these wires and pipes in R-13 insulation, careful to push the R-13 to cover the whole I-beam, and left an air channel along the inside of this insulation tunnel. Earlier I had installed a duct connected to a Radon Abatement Fan. This duct transmits some 100+ cfm of warmed air from the upper utility basement area to the area of the port side of the Fresh Water tank. This insulation tunnel allows this warmed air to return alongside the Pex and fill line pipes.

I cut a triangular shaped piece of R-30 unfaced insulation to fit between the Gray2 tank and the descending ductwork from the upper utility basement. Behind this insulation, I fit a blanket of R-30 across the bottom of the Gray2 tank and secured it with duct tape. (Gray2_ins.jpg) I used duct tape to hold this insulation since the duct tape will probably hold for a few days then release.

I folded and cut R-13 insulation to fit between the starboard I-beam and the rear living heat ducts. I also cut and fit R-13 batts to fit beneath and around the Fresh Water tank and secured them temporarily with duct tape. (FW_ins.jpg) For the rest of the area, I cut and folded R-19 batts around the open areas and temporarily secured them with duct tape. When finished, this area was fully insulated and ready to be closed up.

First chore in closing up was stretching the reflective bubble wrap back across the now well insulated underbelly. This was actually very simple as the bubble wrap is quite easy to work with. The cut edges matched very close and just a few minor insulation adjustments allowed them to meet. I gave the bubble wrap edges to be taped a quick wipe with an alcohol wetted shop towel and then used some short strips of HVAC tape to hold the cut edges together. Once this was done, I looped an edge of the HVAC tape around the port side end of the bubble wrap and taped the cut edges together across the width of the underbelly. This was finished up by wrapping a loop of HVAC tape around the starboard edge of the bubble wrap.

The ultimate problem with cutting the coroplast is getting it back together to tape/seal. This actually isn't has hard as one might think on first impression. First, I took the two panels of coroplast out to the tailgate of the truck, laid them out, and used an awl to punch a small holes through both coroplast panels every 6" (15cm). Through this hole, I fed a small cable strap and loosely connected the ends to form a hinged piece of coroplast. This piece of coroplast went back to the underbelly where I fed it under the gas pipe and carefully strung the brake wires back through the cut I made to their proper position. I attached this coroplast loosely to the I-beams; however, I traded out the washers that Keystone had originally used with 5/16" (8mm) fender washers. Once the coroplast was loosely in place, I punctured a series of parallel holes in the removed coroplast edges and the attached coroplast edges about a ½" (1.2cm) from the cut edge. I fed a short cable tie through a pair of parallel holes and loosely cinched it down. Once all cable straps were in place and the coroplast positioned properly, I methodically tightened the cable ties and drew the cut edges together. (Joined_corop.jpg) I then cut the excess ends of the cable straps off and used a pair of needle nose pliers to rotate the "lock" of the cable strap into the punched hole as best I could.

At this point, I cleaned the cut areas with OxyPower Fantastic twice, and then cleaned the area again with a well soaked shop towel and 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. This dried very quickly. I then positioned the Underbelly Tape under the gas pipe with about 4" (10cm) of tape extending beyond the pipe. I peeled part of the protective paper back and carefully fed it under the pipe. I looped the underbelly tape over the edge of the coroplast so the end would be against the I-beam when finished. This left a small exposed loop of tape between the edge and the pipe. I pulled the tape and the fed-back-through paper cover tight such that the underbelly tape was smooth against the coroplast from the edge to the pipe. I laid on my back with a length of underbelly tape stretched between the coroplast and the roll held between my knees. This allowed me to align the tape straight down the cut seam. I pulled the protective paper tape off the underbelly tape and smoothed it across the cut. Once this was finished and the other edge tucked over the coroplast, I returned to the port side. I put another strip of underbelly tape such that the cut edge was near the forward part of the tape and the aft part of the tape extended over the first strip of tape following the same procedure. When this was finished, I again returned to the port side and placed a third strip of underbelly tape such that this strip covered both forward edges of the previously placed tape. Thus the actual cut edge of the coroplast is not under three strips of tape.

As before with the forward tanks, I chose to use the smooth aluminum straps to assist in supporting the now well-insulated coroplast. On the starboard side of the Fresh Water tank where the rear living area heat ducts pass, I bent the aluminum strap to shape it to the bulge of the hidden ducts. These straps were cut to fit between as near opposite bolts holding the coroplast as was allowed. In the Tape_strap.jpg picture, you can see both the underbelly tape and the overlying strap. As before, I replaced all the washers that Keystone had used on the bolts with larger 5/16" fender washers.

With this last bit done, I can say with GREAT RELIEF that the tank heater upgrade and modification of my Alpine has been completed. I do lack doing some insulation and repair work (loose hydraulic fitting) in the rear underbelly area along with some installation of a Sirius radio antenna and WiFi Ranger Booster, but that will be forth coming.

If you are planning such an upgrade and have any questions, please let me know! I believe that with the work I have done so far, camping in Pagosa Springs during January should not be a problem!

Ron