Added insulation to my Costco P2

[stomper4x4]

So I insulated my P2 with Reflectix. It's not too hard to do but took about 4 hrs to complete. I just did one side at a time and went light on the staples, only about 12 per side.

This Reflectix is about a 1/4" thick so you can expect some resistance when reapplying the side covers. I had to use 4 extra screws,one on each corner to deal with the expansion. This kept the corner pieces from bulging. Not a big deal. Also the screws try to twist the insulation but its more annoying then problematic.

It's very helpful to leave the screws a little lose after reapplying the side panels. This makes it easier to reapply the corresponding panels. After making some headway I went back and tightened down the screws.

Step by step was kinda like this. (making sure to get the screws to go back into the old holes which is important and tricky)

1 pull panels off one side and go around the corner a bit removing panels.

2 Insulate that side and go around the corner a bit.

3 Reapply those panels.

4 Repeat 3 times

Also there is aluminum foil tape for any seams.

[itsallgood]

Nice! Where did you get it and how much did it cost?

[stomper4x4]

I got the Reflectix at Home Depot in the building materals departmant. The two rolls I bought are 4'x25' and I think they were around twenty+ dollars. One roll almost does all the way around the tub. I only used 3' off the second roll.

I also wraped my hot water heater for the house with the second roll and still have a lot left over.

The rolls of special tape needed are about 7.50 each.

Reflectix site

[itsallgood]

I got the Reflectix at Home Depot in the building materals departmant. The two rolls I bought are 4'x25' and I think they were around twenty+ dollars. One roll almost does all the way around the tub. I only used 3' off the second roll.

I also wraped my hot water heater for the house with the second roll and still have a lot left over.

The rolls of special tape needed are about 7.50 each.

Reflectix site

Thanks for the info.

Just curious, have you had any problems with the spa?

[Brent Hamm]

Nice. Did your spa not have any of that stuff to begin with? Mine has something like that between the foam and the outside panels.

[stomper4x4]

itsallgood: I did have a small problem with water coming into the speaker bay and then into the tub. I fixed that with a mod that you can find with a search.

Brent:" Did your spa not have any of that stuff to begin with? "

No it did not. It only had the white styro foam.

[Brent Hamm]

Strange, mine has a buble later that is reflective like what you have. Hmmm. Its a Platinum II from Costco. Did they add some insulation for Canada?

[stomper4x4]

Your P2 having this already my have been a precursor to the Legend coming out with the same. You P2 is likely newer then mine. My P2 is about 1.5 years old.

[Brent Hamm]

Pretty much one year old. MAybe a week or two more.

Anyone else have experience adding insulation to the Platinum II?

[D.P. Roberts]

I'm sorry, but you cannot use the word "reflectix" as a verb. It's just wrong. I sent the Usage Police after you.

[stomper4x4]

It do sound funny don't it. LMAO! I knew that would bug someone.

[Got-soaked]

It do sound funny don't it. LMAO! I knew that would bug someone.

Nice job!! Do you know what the monthly KW usage was prior to insulating?

[biggz]

stomper4x4, This is a great post. The pictures are very helpful and your job was clean and professional looking. Is there any reason you chose putting the reflective side facing out instead of facing in? I saw another post where the poster put the fiber side facing out. Does it make a difference?

[kengorman]

So I insulated my P2 with Reflectix.

Looking at your pictures, it appears as if your tub initially came with rigid foam panels. My tub, an Infinity, came standard with Relfectix, but without any other insulation. The Reflectix is good at stopping radiant heat loss, but I didn't feel that it alone was good enough insulation for my tub.

I decided to insulate my tub with some rigid foam panels. I purchased foil backed 2 inch thick rigid foam panels from Lowes. I purchased 4 at $23/each. The R-value for the 2 inch panels was R-7.

Here's a side view showing the thickness of a panel in relation to a coin - a US Quarter.

I also purchased a roll of 4 mil plastic sheathing to be used as both a vapor barrier and also to cut down on convective heat losses by limiting the amount of air flow into or out of the cabinet.

I purchased a small 16oz can of expanding spray foam to fill in any gaps.

Finally, I purchased a roll of exterior weatherseal tape to run along the bottom and top of the plastic.

I startaed cutting the panels to fit - it was a little more time consuming than I had thought. There were 3 large panels to be cut per side, however, my tub had 2 corner braces on each rectangular section. This required each panel to have 6 cuts plus I had to 2 cut triangular corner pieces. All told, there were 16 triangular pieces, 8 6-sided pieces, and 4 squares.

My cuts were pretty accurate - most pieces fit snugly between the framing members and didn't require any other support. There were a few pieces that I cut short that required spray foam to fill in the gap.

A picture probably explains it better:

The photo above shows the foil side of the rigid foam panels after they've been fitted.

After I fitted all the rigid foam panels, I wrapped tub in the 4 mil plastic. Finally, I re-applied the original Reflectix that had come with the tub.

I only have 2 months of electric data prior to the adding the insulation, so any conclusions I draw from my future electric usage will be questionable at best.

Regards,

Ken

[Got-soaked]

A picture probably explains it better:

The photo above shows the foil side of the rigid foam panels after they've been fitted.

Regards,

Ken

Ken - Clean cuts ... Nice job!!

[biggz]

kengorman' , Ken your insulation demo is great and I was looking at something similar at Home depot. My question is, does it make a difference what side of the insulation is inside. My tub has a reflective insulation on the inside of the panel, so the reflective material is bouncing back the heat I quess. Wouldn't the same affect be mimicked if the reflective side of the added insulation was on the inside as well?

[kengorman]

Ken your insulation demo is great and I was looking at something similar at Home depot.

Thanks!

My question is, does it make a difference what side of the insulation is inside. My tub has a reflective insulation on the inside of the panel, so the reflective material is bouncing back the heat I quess.

I found the following guidelines here:

When it is applied on the outside, it must be covered with a weatherproof facing. When using a foil-covered rigid foam, the foil must be away from the heated side of the wall to avoid a condensation problem.

The web site was explaining how to apply foil backed rigid foam to a house. I think similar logic can be applied to the tub.

Regards,

Ken

[biggz]

Ken your insulation demo is great and I was looking at something similar at Home depot.

Thanks!

My question is, does it make a difference what side of the insulation is inside. My tub has a reflective insulation on the inside of the panel, so the reflective material is bouncing back the heat I quess.

I found the following guidelines here:

When it is applied on the outside, it must be covered with a weatherproof facing. When using a foil-covered rigid foam, the foil must be away from the heated side of the wall to avoid a condensation problem.

The web site was explaining how to apply foil backed rigid foam to a house. I think similar logic can be applied to the tub.

Regards,

Ken

'kengorman', Ken thank for the link. Very useful. So if i'm reading correct R-values accumulate as you add more and more insulation? I'm also glad that the foil side has to be out. It's much more attractive.

[kengorman]

So if i'm reading correct R-values accumulate as you add more and more insulation?

Yes - exactly. When calculating the R-value of a multilayered installation, add the R-values of the individual layers.

Ken

[itsallgood]

stomper4x4, This is a great post. The pictures are very helpful and your job was clean and professional looking. Is there any reason you chose putting the reflective side facing out instead of facing in? I saw another post where the poster put the fiber side facing out. Does it make a difference?

Biggz,

I sometimes get confused trying to keep up with all the different products that are available to upgrade the insulation. I think you are referring to GG72's post where he provides detailed pictures of installing Roxul in his tub. Stomper added Reflextic. (I had to check twice just to make sure I was spelling them correctly.) To further confuse the issue, I have been considering replacing the Reflextic in my tub with a product called Prodex.

[itsallgood]

itsallgood: I did have a small problem with water coming into the speaker bay and then into the tub. I fixed that with a mod that you can find with a search.

Brent:" Did your spa not have any of that stuff to begin with? "

No it did not. It only had the white styro foam.

I remember reading that post. I have a PEIII and it appears that they addressed the problem by adding the drain lines.

[stomper4x4]

Got-soaked: "Nice job!! Do you know what the monthly KW usage was prior to insulating?"

I have no idea. Just what my bills were last year.

biggs: "Is there any reason you chose putting the reflective side facing out instead of facing in? "

This stuff has the reflective stuff on both sides.

kengorman: Nice work.

[biggz]

So if i'm reading correct R-values accumulate as you add more and more insulation?

Yes - exactly. When calculating the R-value of a multilayered installation, add the R-values of the individual layers.

Ken

Ken, Have you used the added insulation through the Summer months, and if so, have you had any problems with your pumps being over heated? Down here Summer can be very hot and it has been discussed on another thread that this may be a concern. I'll probably use one of the methods demonstrated on this thread but really don't want to have to remove them once installed.

[kengorman]

Ken, Have you used the added insulation through the Summer months, and if so, have you had any problems with your pumps being over heated? Down here Summer can be very hot and it has been discussed on another thread that this may be a concern. I'll probably use one of the methods demonstrated on this thread but really don't want to have to remove them once installed.

I just installed my insulation last week for the first time. Overheating pumps is a concern of mine as well. When the summer months roll around, I'll probably take temperature measurements inside the cabinet and if they're too high, I'll probably vent the cabinet somehow.

Ken

[stomper4x4]

I had heard about that as well. I wonder how hot is too hot inside the cab.

I don't think I'll have that problem with the insulation I used but I did add a strip of foam window bead all the way around the lip of the tub. Air flow is cut down so much that my blower does not push as much air now. I may pull a few feet out to let the blower breath.

Someone had talked about adding a exhaust fan to vent the heat.