Looking for an insulation crash course

[personandy2]

Hello,

I am nearing the end of the fabrication of an oil tank evaporator, link below is a bit like what I am aspiring to in terms copying of design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-fPotgy74

I don't do major quantity but just trying to raise my boil rate and overall efficiency.

Is firebrick a must for something like this to line the firebox? Will a vermiculite board suffice and offer good insulation (i ask because it seems to be cheaper)?

Any advice would be appreciated!

thanks

Andy
~30 taps in Pittsburgh

[NhShaun]

I think firebrick would be a good idea over the insulation in the firebox, since it takes some damage from loading firewood and such. The rest of the arch should be fine with just insulation. Do you have any photos of the build so far?

[maple flats]

I think the pan you are going to have the fire in must have air holes or slots. Without that the fire won't burn fast enough. Then put your blower hole you are going to cut in, down under the door, have it force the air up thru the holes. Yes you need insulation or bricks, I'm not familiar with a vermiculite board, but if you can protect it from physical damage it should be good.
The rest of your build looks great, real nice job.

[SeanD]

When I first got my arch in 2011, I used vermiculite pellets under the flat back part of my arch to raise up the level close to the bottom of my flat pans. I laid dry brick on top. I just removed it all to lower everything for my flue pan. The vermiculite looked brand new like the day I put it in. Some people put vermiculite down then a thin dry layer of refractory mortar. Then they spray it with a mist of water to form a crust that keeps the vermiculite in place.

I would say vermiculite has an excellent insulating property and it is nice to be able to shape it and modify it to get the right slope in the back. I don't know what vermiculite board is, but I bet it's okay. Definitely, put brick on top to protect it.

Sean

[personandy2]

Thanks for the comments so far! Just to be clear though, that video is NOT my evaporator, it's a video someone posted and we are using as a bit of a guide. Don't want to take credit for someone else's fine work!

We are looking to use angle iron as grates though and have a blower pushing air up from underneath.

I am leaning towards having some full brick and some split brick around the firebox, then the board up further to reflect heat onto the pan.