How can I insulate a CFT?


andrew asked 8 years ago

Hi Brian I have a couple of small worm bins and I am going to make a CFT bin and my question is can I use insulation panels supported by wood? Also if I can use is it ok to have the foil side to the inside? The bin is 2 x 4 feet and the panels are 50mm thick.
Regards Andrew

1 Answers
wormadmin Staff answered 8 years ago

Hi Andrew

Thanks for posting your question (I changed the format of the question a little – but here is your answer:)

Ive seen them insulated with the foil-lined insulations boards – I don’t know what they are called in the states – maybe someone else will fill us both in 🙂

My preference would be to “sandwich” the insulation between sheets of ply so that the VC is not directly touching (and degrading/interacting with) the insulation panel.

My plans for a CFT lend themselves VERY well to doing this – you can probably see what i mean in the pictures of my bins on the front of the plans and in the gallery on the plans page, which is:
https://thewormman.com.au/continuous-flow-through-bins-diy-plans/
One thing I have learned recently about insulation, is that the FOIL on it only works if there is an AIR GAP immediately after the foil – if the foil touches anything (for instance ply or worm bedding)  – it will conduct the heat into that surface and not do anything for you.
So using my tip of sandwiching it between 2 sheets of ply, you could get “glasswool insulation” instead – or really, ANY insulation that was cheapest – or had the best rating for the thickness.

THANKS very much for posting your question

Let me know if I can help further

Regards
Brian