Has anyone fabbed a refractory chamber?

[VTSR5]

I suspect that my VC WinterWarm (small) refractory package is made of a material called Gemcolite. I had mine out recently, and it is okay for now, but needs repairs. With one or two square feet of this material, plus some adhesive, I could keep this thing going for years. Question is, where to buy the stuff in small quantities (plus adhesive). The internet just shrugged its shoulders when I asked.

Has anybody on the forum had any success building or rebuilding one of these VC packages?

 

[EddyKilowatt]

Go to McMaster-Carr website and search on "refractory"... they sell all kinds of high-temperature insulation materials, in retail quantities. Don't know if you'll find Gemcolite by name, but I bet you'll find something "close enough".

Eddy

 

[begreen]

TraderGordo posted a nice article on his experiments.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/16573/

 

[sullystull]

I replaced one of my refractory pieces following Tradergordo's detailed instructions. Worked like a charm...good as new...actually, I think it may be better.

 

[Corie]

Really and truly.....I have the information in my office. I will repost on this thread tomorrow evening, but I know which company makes the refractory package for them, I just need to find the "trade name" for the refractory they use.

 

[VTSR5]

TraderGordo posted a nice article on his experiments.

Thanks. I did find this by searching (hey, I tried!) before I posted. His excellent article concerns casting refractory material. I'm glad I read it, I'm sure I'll use it someday, though the VC refractory package would be tough to reproduce by casting.

The VC refractory package is made of a delicate, kind of foamy, low density refractory board glued together into a multi-chamber little "house" for the catalytic combustor -- a "cat house" if you will. So it would be a kind of complicated three-dimensional casting.

On the otherhand, since the component pieces of the VC package are all rectangular, with the right refractory material and adhesive in hand, it would be a pretty easy "craft project" to cut out and glue up. I'd guess maybe it's a one or two hour job at the most, if the materials aren't a complete nightmare to work with.

Since the new package is about $230 retail, I'd love to take a shot at rebuilding or fabricating one.

 

[Brian VT]

I looked at the materials McMaster-Carr carries. Some of them sound like they would work fine. I wish they had real pics, though.

 

[VTSR5]

I looked at the materials McMaster-Carr carries. Some of them sound like they would work fine. I wish they had real pics, though.

Agreed, it's a good lead from EddyKilowatt. Also, I look forward to Corie's post and the fruits of his research.