insulating around heater vent pipe and other ?'s

[abeblinkin]

I'm insulating my ceiling with r-38 faced glass and I'm getting to the vent on my gas powered over head heater. the sticker on it says to keep combustibles 3" away. I plan on installing a t/g ceiling as well when money allows. How do you properly insulate the area around the exhaust vent. also curious how to approach the same area with the t/g wood. While I'm asking how about the areas around recessed can lights, they are ic rated but I'm still worried about air leaks? and fire?

Sorry one more thing, if I go sealing up all the air leaks around this shop will the gas heater use up all the air in the building? Wouldn't want to choke myself out.

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

I'm insulating my ceiling with r-38 faced glass and I'm getting to the vent on my gas powered over head heater. the sticker on it says to keep combustibles 3" away. I plan on installing a t/g ceiling as well when money allows. How do you properly insulate the area around the exhaust vent.

You want to leave that area open. Get some tin and create a circular collar 3" greater than your vent pipe and use it as a dam to keep your insulation away from it. You might want to cut out a donut shaped piece of tin to cap the dam if you are concerned about drafts.

also curious how to approach the same area with the t/g wood.

Use one of these:

While I'm asking how about the areas around recessed can lights, they are ic rated but I'm still worried about air leaks? and fire?

You may pack your insulation on and around these lights. No worries.

Sorry one more thing, if I go sealing up all the air leaks around this shop will the gas heater use up all the air in the building? Wouldn't want to choke myself out.

You won't choke yourself out. The shop won't shrivel up like a plastic soda bottle when you **** the air out of it! There will be more than enough air penetration through your overhead door.

You would however be better off if your unit is a power vent model. Then you could remotely run a dust collector located in a back room and not worry about pulling exhaust gasses into your garage.

Couple things I would do is place a carbon monoxide alarm in your garage and store your combustibles (gasoline) in an outdoor shed or something.

 

[abeblinkin]

Thanks Tim, I went and got a carbon monoxide alarm today, and a piece of tin tube that I cut down the side and slipped over the vent pipe, there is a truss only 2" away from the vent pipe and even though I consider that a combustible obviously I nailed the pipe to it to create the dam, its been there for 30 years without any indication of heat so I figured its ok, so the dam for the insulation is about 2" away on one side and 4" on the other. The Hvac guy is going to come out next week to get my old heater in good nick so I'll have him make sure I'm not going to burn the place down. I found a collar too already there up in the rafters from the old drywall that was in there.
Those over head heaters still confuse me they heat the air, but also use air, causing the structure to pull in more cold air from the outside. Plus I see all this information about loosing heat into the attic from can lights so whats to keep it from going up the area around the exhaust vent. I'm probably over thinking it all but I just want to do the best job I can. Thanks for the help.

 

[abeblinkin]

Another question, If I plan on putting in a t/g ceiling eventually should I put up some sort of barrier over the faced insulation before I install the t/g ceiling? I was thinking some sort of plastic like 6 mil so my heat doesn't escape through the cracks. I plan on using some of this beetle kill blue pine that seems to be in abundance around these parts.

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

A layer of poly is always a good idea