Has anyone used a lightweight concrete mixture made with recycled polystyrene beads as insulation? I read about it on builditsolar.com, but haven't been able to find out what the ideal concrete mix and concrete to foam ratio would be. There are companies that make such a product pre-mixed in dry form, which includes a suspension agent so that the foam beads don't all float to the top, but the mixture is proprietary. I guess I could ask the concrete company to add whatever suspension agent they use for their normal lightweight concrete mix.
I am considering putting my underground PEX lines inside of two 3" conduits with 3/4" of pipe insulation around the PEX. I have hundreds of feet of the conduit that I will probably never use all of. Around the two 3" conduits would be a minimum of 6" of foam-bead-crete mixture. I read all of the postings in the "Underground lines - not the place to skimp!" sticky, but I like the idea of being able to replace the PEX lines in the future if needed. The underground run will be about 100' each way, with a portion of it under the slap of my to-be-built boiler/workshop building.
I already have about 10 cubic yards of recycled polystyrene beads stashed in my barn. I just don't want to order a yard of concrete, start dumping my foam beads into the concrete mixer/truck and end up with a big mess. If I don't attempt the foam-bead-crete mixture, I'll probably spray foam my underground lines and then use the foam beads to insulate my storage tanks.
I am considering putting my underground PEX lines inside of two 3" conduits with 3/4" of pipe insulation around the PEX. I have hundreds of feet of the conduit that I will probably never use all of. Around the two 3" conduits would be a minimum of 6" of foam-bead-crete mixture. I read all of the postings in the "Underground lines - not the place to skimp!" sticky, but I like the idea of being able to replace the PEX lines in the future if needed. The underground run will be about 100' each way, with a portion of it under the slap of my to-be-built boiler/workshop building.
I already have about 10 cubic yards of recycled polystyrene beads stashed in my barn. I just don't want to order a yard of concrete, start dumping my foam beads into the concrete mixer/truck and end up with a big mess. If I don't attempt the foam-bead-crete mixture, I'll probably spray foam my underground lines and then use the foam beads to insulate my storage tanks.