Using corrugated sheet metal to heat shield cinderblock arch

[Kaniggit]

10943Anybody use corrugated sheet metal to protect their cinder blocks from heat shock cracking?

I am a newbie and this is only my second year but was quite happy with the cinderblock arch I was able to build based on Mr Groves Idea. I had 3 stem table pans last year and am expanding to 4 with the hopes that it will bring my boil times down to a more sane level. The really nice thing about the cinderblock arch concept is I can expand and just keep adding pans! The double 5 inch HVAC pipes really create a draw and fire the ash away from the boiling sap. 10942

[markct]

Use firebrick. The sheetmetal will warp and melt

[Cedar Eater]

I'm a newbie, too, but I think if you ran the corrugations vertically, it might help a lot, especially if you framed the walls with angle iron at the top and bottom. It still wouldn't last forever, but I could see it holding up better than the block with nothing else.

[zzammon]

I did this with my first block evaporator. I wasn't ready to splurge on fire brick. Granted I only produced 2 gallons of syrup but the metal held up better than expected. It warped, but held up. A couple block cracked, but none crumbled. Here is a pic of the before. First time posting a pic so I hope it works. 10972

[Kaniggit]

Thanks zzammon. I did use corrugated sheet metal meant for cladding commercial buildings it was quite heavy gauge. Not sure what gauge it was but I cut it with a skill saw and a metal blade and it sure wore the blade down fast. I did just as you suggested and oriented the corrugations vertically so I could lap the layers And to induce a bit of convection for cooling of the blocks. I did notice that there was a bit of smoke staining of the blocks where the pans edges meet the blocks but the smoke was not a problem at all. We will see how it works, I think it will work fine as the metal stood up well with one small boil. (8hours). I had to notch the metal for relief so the pans would sit on the blocks but overall it was pretty easy. I got a couple of scrap pieces of the metal from my local building supplier. It looks like it will work like a charm! I will post about it after the season is over. KANIGGIT

[Kaniggit]

Thanks zzammon. I did use corrugated sheet metal meant for cladding commercial buildings it was quite heavy gauge. Not sure what gauge it was but I cut it with a skill saw and a metal blade and it sure wore the blade down fast. I did just as you suggested and oriented the corrugations vertically so I could lap the layers And to induce a bit of convection for cooling of the blocks. I did notice that there was a bit of smoke staining of the blocks where the pans edges meet the blocks but the smoke was not a problem at all. We will see how it works, I think it will work fine as the metal stood up well with one small boil. (8hours). I had to notch the metal for relief so the pans would sit on the blocks but overall it was pretty easy. I got a couple of scrap pieces of the metal from my local building supplier. It looks like it will work like a charm! I will post about it after the season is over. KANIGGIT