couple questions form a rookie

[bannonbush]

im coming along good with my wood fired arch. this is my 2nd year, moving up from a pan on turkey burners with 22taps, hoping for 50 or so taps this year. ive made an arch out of an old woodstove. lengthened it added a ramp. i have a new 18"x40" continous flow pan with warming box. my question is on insulation. i dont have much room inside fire box. was gona run the origianl firebrick inside for sure but was thinkin about running some form of insulation on the outside. i have framed the outside of the box out 1.5" and will be skining it with stainless so im wondering about putting cement board against outside of fire box???? what do yous think? also whats the proper way for the arch to sit? should the pan be perfectly level or tipped on way or the other slightly? and finaly how the heck do i post pictures on here?? thanks

[Big_Eddy]

My take.
Fire brick will protect your steel.
For what you're doing, extra insulation is not worth the effort. It might cool the outside surface some and it might keep some small percentage of extra heat in the arch, but in reality you just need to protect the steel from burning up and pour the wood to it. Don't lean against the outside and keep the kids back.

Arch sits level front to back and side to side.

[Agent914]

I have a 55 gallon barrel which is on a wheeled metal frame so I can move in and out of storage. I put 2" of hi-temp insulation of the outside of the barrel this year to prevent heat loss. I did this because like you I want to throw in what every length scrap wood I can find so the fire will burn longer. So decided to protect the outside insulation with thin a metal flashing "skin" and some self-tapping screws. It does not look as pretty and clean cut as before due to the oil canning of the thin metal. Ultimately, I feel the more heat you can trap by preventing heat loss to the outside air the better your boil rates will be.

[TerryEspo]

Hi Bannon:

I kinda have the same situation, not too wide of a firebox but do have some length. What is your length of firebox?

My plan is to buy half brick and sit it inside the firebox. Half brick is 1 1/4 " wide. I do have ceramic blanket all around my firebox as well. I have 1" thick ceramic blanket, but you can buy 1/2" if you want to save a bit of room, not worth it in my opinion. I have lost 2 1/4 " on each side of my firebox with blanket and brick, but, my steel is protected and sure hoping most heat stays under the pan and not heating the walls. I did a test run with just the ceramic blanket and a propane burner inside, walls barely got warm, happily surprised.

The little loss of space is well worth the extra heat and protection, you will use less wood and have a hotter fire on your pan if you properly insulate. It is a bit more work while building, but then years of efficient burning.

Dont think of it as a loss, concider it an overall gain.

That is my plan. Ifound some pics of where I,m at so far. It really looks cozy inside !! 657065716572

Terry

[smokeyamber]

If you can fit it between your bricks and the skin I would. You can always split your wood thinner ... which actually gives you much better burns than the big stuff. Insulation will save you on wood so if you don't have room behind the bricks I agree with your idea of putting it outside. Cement board may not last long in place of firebrick, get splits of firebrick and they will fit I think. For insulation on the outside look for Roxul it is mineral wool so it is high temp and should keep the heat in ok.

Either way pile on the small split wood every few minutes and you will love the steam you will get on that pan !

[bannonbush]

Thanks for the replys. 65766577
attached is a couple pictures of the evaporator so far. as you can see fairly long fire box and short ramp.. ill probably be kicking myself for that but already had the pan ordered. oh well im sure it will still evaporate jsut fine

[TerryEspo]

Looks very well made, strong.

You can always shorten the box with bricks and that would imatate a longer ramp. You can decide that anytime as the top is always open. Just watch your stack temp and if too much heat loss from stack, time to shorten firebox area and grab some heat from the smoke and fire.

I think your going to really enjoy your new set-up !!

Good Luck.

terry