Completed Cast Oven

[TapRackFire]

Re: Completed Cast Oven

Good Information. I picked up some of the ceramic insulation today from a local supplier this morning on my way home from work. The gave me their ends for nothing. The legnths were 15, 6, 4 and 4 foot. The stuff they gave me was 2 inches thick instead of the 1 inch (they did not have any scrapes of it laying around).

Can I use the 2 inch thick insualtion or do I need to peel it apart and make it 1 inch?

I was surprised how heavy the ceramic insulation was over regular house insulation.

If the weather cooperates I plan on installing the insulation today and then cover it with the 4 inches of vermiculite and Portland, 10:1 ratio as suggested by David.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Completed Cast Oven

Can I use the 2 inch thick insualtion or do I need to peel it apart and make it 1 inch?

2" is good, more is better. Don't know if the length you have is enough to cover your oven and entryway.

[david s]

Re: Completed Cast Oven

If you go thicker with the blanket then you can go thinner with the vermicrete.

[vtsteve]

Re: Completed Cast Oven

...but a thinner blanket is easier to drape over the dome (it conforms to the curve better).

I can purchase some stuff locally called "woolaroc" and use it.

Sounds like what we call "rock wool", fibers spun from molten basalt. I was going to try it, even bought a bundle from an industrial insulation supplier, but it was too stiff to bend over my dome (2-inch bats, high density). I sold it to another builder, who was doing a barrel vault build and could run the bats down the length of the oven. I think the low-density residential stuff (often sold as sound dampening and fire stop) could work, but there might be nasty smells as the binder burns off in the first couple of fires. I ended up using multiple layers of 1-inch ceramic blanket, and was very happy with the ease of application. If you've got 2" for free, I'm sure you can make it work.