25mm insulation board

[Wilco]

You ask about the availability of 25mm thick insulation boards. You have mentioned that you could obtain thicker material, but that your preference is for 25mm material.
I was able to obtain 100mm polystyrene material from a house construction project, but also wanted thinner material. I have designed and built a polystyrene cutting "machine" which uses a hot wire to cut the polystyrene material to any thickness I may need for a particular project. My machine is completely adjustable, and able to cut any required thickness from a thick slab, with millimetre accuracy.

That's a pretty cool device. Don't suppose you've got plans for it- tempted to make one myself as it would eliminate the dust/fragments from cutting, which bothers me?

 

[user 20297]

Anyone who insists on not using polyhives because of their own "eco-principles" has my respect. Whilst I am aware that in that subject area, "every little helps", the negative global impact of the polystyrene used in beehives must be relatively minimal when you consider how much has a single use in packaging.

 

[Wilco]

Not sure about the poky (edit: poly) hives but all the insulation boards I've used to date have been rescued from skips thus at the very least I've delayed them going to landfill.

 

[Poly Hive]

It's single use that is the issue. Years ago I queried Morrisons as to why they wrapped turnips in plastic. They said the customers wanted it..... yeah right.

PH

 

[user 819]

That's a pretty cool device. Don't suppose you've got plans for it- tempted to make one myself as it would eliminate the dust/fragments from cutting, which bothers me?

Not cool for an 8 x 4 sheet so only small pieces.

 

[user 20297]

Not cool for an 8 x 4 sheet so only small pieces.

When cutting 25mm PIR board, with care, it's quick, easy and crumb-free to slice it like you do plasterboard. Use a straight-edge and score a line on one side with a sharp blade and then break the board over a hard edge. You need to concentrate on keeping to the line and the resulting cut edge will be clean but often a bit wavy. It may work with any board thicker than that but I think accuracy will suffer.

 

[understanding_bees]

That's a pretty cool device. Don't suppose you've got plans for it- tempted to make one myself as it would eliminate the dust/fragments from cutting, which bothers me?

Thank you, Wilco, for your approval. Yes, it works especially well, with no dust fragments whatsoever. Sorry, I do not have plan drawings for it, but will make a few comments here.
The cutter-wire is a length of piano wire which is heated by a low voltage high current transformer (240 volts primary, about 3 volts secondary). You could choose a transformer based on your mains electricity voltage supply, and a low secondary voltage in the region of 3 volts or maybe a little more. The important thing is to understand the formula E = I * R, and the implications which that has for the length and thickness (and ohms resistance) of the cutting wire.
I tried to make the photo fairly "self descriptive", and in some ways the dimensions are a bit arbitrary, as I used materials which I had available. When making this machine, I just tried to make sure that the cutting wire was long enough for the largest material I wished to cut.
Underneath the platform is a "spine" which enables the vertical posts to tension the cutting wire, after its height has been adjusted.
Please feel welcome to PM me if you want more information.

 

[Murox]

That's a pretty cool device. Don't suppose you've got plans for it- tempted to make one myself as it would eliminate the dust/fragments from cutting, which bothers me?

For under £20 you can get a ready made "freestyle" hot wire electric polystyrene cutting tool. £50 plus gets you more sophistication.

 

[Murox]

It's single use that is the issue. Years ago I queried Morrisons as to why they wrapped turnips in plastic. They said the customers wanted it..... yeah right.
PH

I think I have the "awkward old sod " gene - I will unwrap over packaged goods at the till and let the supermarket deal with the rubbish - especially if I get that sort of reply !!!!! Maybe we should all do it.

 

[Jules59]

But you are still thinking with the mindset of the throwaway society.
Why recycle when the item doesn't need replacing/disposing of in the first place? There's a good chance that these polyhives will outlast us all - people are still using polyhives purchased in the late 60s/early 70s

I didn't realise polyhives had been around for so long.
Even so, they must have a finite life and then what do you do with all the polystyrene ?
Clearly some EPS is recycleable - mostly clean EPS from packaging.
http://www.eps.co.uk/recycling/eps_recycling_the_facts.htmlBut does that apply to old dirty polyhives I wonder?

 

[Bryang]

Thank you, Wilco, for your approval. Yes, it works especially well, with no dust fragments whatsoever. Sorry, I do not have plan drawings for it, but will make a few comments here.
The cutter-wire is a length of piano wire which is heated by a low voltage high current transformer (240 volts primary, about 3 volts secondary). You could choose a transformer based on your mains electricity voltage supply, and a low secondary voltage in the region of 3 volts or maybe a little more. The important thing is to understand the formula E = I * R, and the implications which that has for the length and thickness (and ohms resistance) of the cutting wire.
I tried to make the photo fairly "self descriptive", and in some ways the dimensions are a bit arbitrary, as I used materials which I had available. When making this machine, I just tried to make sure that the cutting wire was long enough for the largest material I wished to cut.
Underneath the platform is a "spine" which enables the vertical posts to tension the cutting wire, after its height has been adjusted.
Please feel welcome to PM me if you want more information.

 

[Bryang]

To clarify understanding_ bees formular for calculating/understanding the formular E=I * R.. The wattage (E) is calculated by using the formular(s) W(P)= I x I x R, (I squared x R) or... V x I or ... V x V divided by R. W = watts I = current/amps R=ohms/resistance V = volts
Example If you have a resistance of 4 ohms and a voltage of 12 volts then a current of 3 amps will flow thru the resistor, so the wattage developed in the resistor is V x I or 36 watts