fire box insulation

Hi guys.

I'm building a gas fired TE. I'm ready to insulate the fire box. I was told that loft insulation would be fine, but I wasn't so sure. I had a spare roll in the loft, so I brought some down and put a light to it. It shrank down like burnt sugar so that's no good. My next though is to cut an old fire blanket down and use that.

But what do you guys think as you know more than I do being a newbie.

Thanks in advance

Dave.

Hi Dave

I normally recommend a product called Kaowool, it comes as thin as paper or as thick as you like.

There is some on Ebay at the moment for an idea as to what it is - item No 140822522053

Lofty

Another vote for Kaowool. MJ Engineering do it in small amounts

You could also look at Superwool which is a foil faced ceramic blanket comes in several thicknesses, 6mm would probably do you. Try Heritage Steam they do it by the square metre

Edited By JasonB on 30/10/2014 08:05:32

Thanks Lofty and J

ill check them both out.

dave

Hallo Dave.....I will second Lofty on recommending ceramic fibre blanket as a superb insulator, originally developed for use on spacecraft and now used widely in the pottery industry. However the stuff on eBay under Kaowool does look a bit pricey and most of it seems to come from the USA. If you search under ceramic fibre there are some other options. You can also buy it "off the roll" from Polly Engineering (no connection) at about £3.30 for 20" x 12" x 3mm.

Other stuff that I have used with ceramic fibre is an adhesive and a rigidiser to stiffen it up. These things are available from pottery suppliers.

Mick

Dave,

I have near-zero experience with fire boxes, but I did recover some excellent insulating material [presumably Kaowool or similar] from an electric oven which I scrapped.

N.B. this was a modern cooker ... Do not dismantle anything old enough to risk containing Asbestos.

MichaelG.