N

Both should be fine.  The Kingspan should shed less.  Ultimately as long as it is tucked away behind a lining tho' it won't matter.

One thing about house insulation is the thickness.  You can get camper van specific insulation which is thinner.  Companies such as Reimo sell a product called Xtrem Insulator (foamed polyethylen).  They say this dampens noise, is moisture and high temperature resistant and flexible and comes in 10, 15, 20 and 30mm.  They even sell insulation kits for specific vans i.e. all the pieces already cut to size.

As with all things designed for a "campervan" tho' it is expensive approx. £20 for 2sqm of 20mm ( I guess you might be able to get it elsewhere for less?)  Some of my mates got it for their van and they do like it.  They wanted to get the maximum living space and wanted things like insulation to be as compact as possible.  In some places in their van it's also not covered i.e. back of cupboards and it copes with condensation fine.

I had to go for the cheaper option and just used ordinary yellow glass wool with a polythene liner in my van and at it is also fine.  Guess it depends on your budget too......   

R
 

Hi Coolboard,

I work as a Technical Manager with a leading house timber frame manufacturer, and my job is to thermally engineer all of the new dwellings that come through, and I would HIGHLY recommend that you purchase a thermal insulant that has a LOW level of fire spread and be virtually non-combustible.

The insulation that I have my eye on is ordnary glass fibre quilt - basically, it's made from molten rocks and is non-combustible. Whereas, a some polystyrene products are very ignitable and have a HIGH level of fire spread - ever seen polystyrene ceiling tiles, and have you ever seen them react to fire?

Some of the polyurethane insulation materials on the market come close to having a LOW fire spread, but they are costly.

I'd recommend that you either stick to glass fibre quilt, or slightly better still, go for a Dritherm Slab of around 50-70mm thick - slabs of rigid, compressed glass fibres in my opinion are best. As they can be easily bowed to suit the curves of a van and give the added fire resistance reassurance.

Please let me know how you get on...as i am new to the ' build your own camper van club' and need to hear all those tips.

Take care

Graham

Hi,

I've just read through the above with interest as I'm starting a conversion.  My first!

Would anyone know whether the eco-friendly versions of insulation are suitable, in regards to fire safety and thickness etc?

I'm thinking of hemp or sheep's wool insulation?

Thanks a million,

Helene

The great thing about converting a van yourself is you can really do whatever you like!  And if you've got access to a cheap source of van insulation or want to do the eco-friendly thing, then go for it!  If you would use it in your house, it definitely should be fine using it in a van... though obviously more fire-retardant materials are desirable (and that goes for seat cushions etc as well), and I would also try to put some sort of vapour barrier in to stop the condensation soaking something like sheeps wool - I imagine it might rot if it got too damp....

Good luck with it - and don't let anyone tell you what you should do... the choice - is yours!

Has anyone ever tried the foil backed bubble wrap type insulation and if so what feedback? Supposed to be very thermally efficient whilst of minimal thickness, so could see an advantage with that.

Rgds,

JP

JP,

Haven't used it myself but a few others who've posted in the past have. Maybe they'll let us know?....

Anyways, for what its worth, had a look at various specs. on the internet and it looks like it should be pretty good.  Good vapour barrier which is pretty important in a van if your cooking (and breathing!).  Good environmental rating with a low GWP.  Don't totally know the ins and outs but it has a fire rating of BS Class 1 which sounds comparable to other options but I guess its the one thing you might want to check...... 

R    

Hi Coolboard,

Just read your entry with interest, pretty much is where I am at, I would like to know how you eventually completed the insulation job, I am planning to use Celotex/Kingspan  type stuff and possibly a polythene sheet to act as a vapour barrier, What do you think  ???

Lincol