Vermiculite/mineral board

[Rhett]

Anyone have experience with these for risers, or even burn chamber? I know Dragon Heaters uses vermiculite board for their risers. It seems like a great option. Lightweight, durable. A little spendy - that seems to be the main problem. Any experience here?

[matt walker]

Rhett, I've used formed ceramic fiber board for all of those things and more, but not vermiculite board. I have no experience with that.

[Rhett]

What did you think of the ceramic fiberboard? Was it a good system? Easy build? Curious what you found the tradeoffs to be.

[matt walker]

No real downsides, just known limitations due to it being soft and not very structurally strong. It's a fantastic insulator, and for a riser that you install and don't touch, it's great. It's wonderful anywhere there is no fuel in contact with it, which tears it up quickly. It's not talked about much since for most it's really difficult to source and a bit expensive, but frankly, I've found it to be an indispensable material to have around.

[Rhett]

Think [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/WHOLESALE-PALLET-KAOWOOL-HS-45-D-THERMAL-CERAMIC-FIBER-BLOCK-BOARD-2500-F-/230921150396"]this[/url] would work well be used in rocket stove creation? The marginal cost on that per stove is unbeatable! The material clearly has the ability to withstand the temperatures, assuming it does a good job of insulating then some furnace cement to glue it all up and done.