Arch Insulation

[twigbender]

Having read a number of posts here about the gain in efficiency with an insulated arch, I've decided to give it a try this year. Instead of getting my pant legs jumping hot from standing too close to the fire box, maybe I'll get the sap a jumpin' a bit more with more heat staying inside the arch.

I found two types of insulation, one a blanket the other a soft "board". They are sold as "ceramic fiber," an alumina-silica insulation. They are good to 2300 degrees, so should handle the heat in the arch. Price is $2.85 per square foot for the blanket (1" thick) and $4.50 per square foot for the board (1/4" thick).

It's sold by an outfit in Michigan and the website is: www.infraredheaters.com/accessor.htm

Is this the right stuff?

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sam,

Some of the maple dealers sell the insulating board. Bascoms sells it for around $ 7.55 for a 1' x 3' sheet that is one inch thick which would probably be better than 1/4".

As far as the ceramic blanket, you can buy a 25' x 2' x 1" thick/50 square feet on ebay shipped for under $ 100.

[Fred Henderson]

A thing to remember is that there is three different densities for that ceramic fiber. When I buy it I always get the 8lbs per Sq ft. This is the most dense.

[SapSuckers]

I just bought a roll of ceramic blanket off of ebay. The best deal I found was for 1" thick, 24" wide by 25' long. I bought 2600 8#, for $125 shipped. It was only $10 more than the 2300 8# so i thought it was worth $10 for the extra rating. I will let you know more when it comes in

[wkfg]

For lack of a near by maple dealer, look for a refractory supply. I bought one inch arch board at Industrial Firebrick; http://indfirebrick.com/ along with everything else I needed. They had boxes of ceramic blanket scraps that were plenty big enough to use for a dirt cheap price.

[twigbender]

Thanks, guys. I'll check out that michigan site. A dirt cheap deal always catches my attention!!

[markct]

so with the inch thick insulating board that bascoms sells, will this realy cut down on the heat to the outside of the arch? i mean right now i cant stand a foot away from my arch without my pants feeling like there gona catch fire! i have a very small sugarhouse, only about 7 by 12 so i have been wondering if i build a new arch thats a bit bigger if i will be ok with insulating it with that board and firebrick inside it, and be able to keep from having too much heat radiate out the sides. my current arch is a big propane tank so its only bricked partway up and anything within 2 ft of it gets real hot. its a 13 by 32 pan and i was thinkin of stepping up to about a 2 by 3 or 4 if i can insulate it well enough to not need huge clearences on the sides. so doest this insulation realy cut down noticably on the radiant heat?

[RileySugarbush]

It absolutely will help. Mine with 1" of mineral wool board, and one inch of 8# ceramic blanket is so cool that you can touch it briefly after boiling all day.

[markct]

thanks riley, thats what i was wondering, i was planning on the one inch insulation and thin firebrick on the inside of that, do you mortar the firebrick right to the insulation board? and the insulation board to the arch i assume? or is there a different method. if i can keep it to a reasonable heat radiating that would be great, and cool enough to briefly touch is perfectly acceptable

[RileySugarbush]

I only have brick in the actual firebox. It is dry fit and squeezed in between the walls where the mineral wool provides a little give.

No bricks in the flue area, just blanket over boards.


Since I didn't use any mortar, I can't provide any insight. Plenty of others here can though.

[lpakiz]

I read above where you may change dimensions of your pan. I made a pan 2X3 feet but wish I had went with 16 or 18 inches by about 48. The reason for this, I think, is efficiency. Seems that the flame/heat would be used for a longer time as it had further to travel under the pan before exiting..
Just my 2 cents worth...
Larry