Thinsulate has many applications, one of which is an insulator in outerwear. My question is, has anyone have any information or experience with using a generic synthetic polyfill outerwear insulator for insulation in their van conversions. I worked in outwear manufacturing for many years and we used both successfully. I have access to several rolls of generic polyfill insulation with a thin uncoated nylon scrim quilted onto it, much like all the thinsulate I see being used in the van conversions. My research. Any thoughts?
OurFreedomVan
OEM approved materials are fire resistant . Hien's Thinsulate is ( I believe) . I can weld over OEM floor mats and the spatter just melts into the mat . Clothing insulation may be fire retardant too .
I’d not hesitate to use it. Thinsulate is polyester fibers, and polypropylene fibers and you can see what that polyfill is. I also don’t believe the thinsulate is fire proof but is rated for vehicle use due to its tendency to self extinguish.
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Hi,
I'd be tempted to go ahead and use it.
Not sure what the details of the flamability test that Thinsulate passes, but in my informal bench test, when you put a flame under vertical Thinsulate it burns pretty well and continues to burn when the flame is removed -- Polyiso sheet actually does a bit better as the flame goes out. But, van conversions tend to be full of flamable stuff, so not sure it makes a lot of difference how flamable the insulation is. Best choice is probably to have good smoke alarm and multiple exits.
Thinsulate is only about R3 per inch, so you need a couple inches of it to equal 1 inch of Polyiso sheet.
I do like Polyiso a bit better from the point of view that if installed properly, it can keep water vapor from getting from the inside of the van through the insulation and condense on the cold van sheet metal. But, lots of people seem to have used Thinsulate and I've not heard of rust problems from condensation.
Gary
I'd be tempted to go ahead and use it.
Not sure what the details of the flamability test that Thinsulate passes, but in my informal bench test, when you put a flame under vertical Thinsulate it burns pretty well and continues to burn when the flame is removed -- Polyiso sheet actually does a bit better as the flame goes out. But, van conversions tend to be full of flamable stuff, so not sure it makes a lot of difference how flamable the insulation is. Best choice is probably to have good smoke alarm and multiple exits.
Thinsulate is only about R3 per inch, so you need a couple inches of it to equal 1 inch of Polyiso sheet.
I do like Polyiso a bit better from the point of view that if installed properly, it can keep water vapor from getting from the inside of the van through the insulation and condense on the cold van sheet metal. But, lots of people seem to have used Thinsulate and I've not heard of rust problems from condensation.
Gary
I agree that worrying about flame resistance is a little unnecessary.
Unless you have shorted wiring rubbing on sharp metal edges all throughout the van or have a wood burner, it's no more of a concern than the wooden cabinets or countless other things inside a camper van.
Unless you have shorted wiring rubbing on sharp metal edges all throughout the van or have a wood burner, it's no more of a concern than the wooden cabinets or countless other things inside a camper van.
https://www.promasterforum.com/threads/tyvek-thermawrap-anyone.61962/#post-415722
Here's another polyester batting option. It's thicker than garment/quilting varieties. I've been very happy with it, especially at the price I paid. I mainly insulated with poly-iso for the reasons Gray mentioned, but I used this for stuffing inside columns, ribs, etc. Like Thinsulate, you need a heavy pair of sharp shears to cut it.
It's one downside is that it doesn't have a stiff scrim surface; it has loosely attached Tyvek on one side. But that doesn't matter if you are only stuffing it in tight spaces and not gluing it to broad surfaces.
Here's another polyester batting option. It's thicker than garment/quilting varieties. I've been very happy with it, especially at the price I paid. I mainly insulated with poly-iso for the reasons Gray mentioned, but I used this for stuffing inside columns, ribs, etc. Like Thinsulate, you need a heavy pair of sharp shears to cut it.
It's one downside is that it doesn't have a stiff scrim surface; it has loosely attached Tyvek on one side. But that doesn't matter if you are only stuffing it in tight spaces and not gluing it to broad surfaces.
I used Polyiso everywhere it was possible. In the places Polyiso wouldn’t go and in areas that I wanted the ability to get acces in the future, I stuffed a generic batting insulation.
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