What to do if the cooling effect at the site is poor and there is leakage every day?
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Ethylene glycol chilled water at -15°C is being used for insulation purposes for almost 10 years now. Summer has arrived recently, and for some reason, the pipes keep dripping. Look at the water droplets dripping from those two pipes in the image below. I would like to ask fellow sailors: (1) How many years is the typical lifespan of insulation materials? (2) Where can improvements be made?
There is no specific regulation regarding the service life of insulation materials; it mainly depends on the insulation performance； Polyurethane could be used to fill the gaps in the insulation material, preventing the cold water pipes from coming into contact with air and thus eliminating the formation of condensation water
It came into contact with air, and the water vapor in the air condensed
Based on this image and your description, it is likely that the insulation material wrapped in galvanized iron sheet has oxidized and become ineffective, failing to prevent heat from escaping. The complete solution is to redo the insulation. If the process permits, it is possible to consider raising the temperature of the ethylene glycol refrigeration system appropriately to increase the system pressure.
Isn’t it because of the high temperatures and high humidity in summer that condensation occurs? The situation should improve a lot in autumn and winter. If this situation is more severe than in previous years, it may be necessary to consider re-insulating it.
Replace it with polyurethane foam; try to avoid using polyurethane tubes and shells, as they tend to create gaps. Every summer, a lot of effort is required to fix such issues, which is quite troublesome.
There is high external moisture, the temperature inside the tube is low so heat escapes; the combination of hot and cold leads to condensation... Re-do the insulation...
The insulation material should start to fail before it can condense the water vapor in the air