'soft' block off plate using kaowool

[milner351]

I gave up looking for high temp insulation locally and ended up buying some off ebay.

My flue set up is a bit convuluted thanks to the exterior chimney and heatilator set up.

With this latest revision I've tried to accomplish two things.

1. reduce heat loss through the walls of the heatilator to the outside masonry.

2. reduce heat loss up the chimney between the liner and masonry.


To accomplish 1, I basically just shoved fiberglass insulation between the two sheet metal layers of the heatilator - it didn't go in very far and probably isn't accomplishing much at this point, but, without removing the stove (or even letting it cool down) it's the best I could do at this point.

As for #2 - I simply folded the kaowool into shape (it's stiffer than fiberglass but still flexible - but holds it's shape pretty well) and shoved it into place around the chimney liner - then took a piece on either side and folded in an inverted U shape to seal off the damper opening and opening the liner installers left in the heatilator sheet metal. Then I took another layer (I paid for it- I'm going to use it!) and draped it over the liner and stove top and overlapped the two pieces on the sides in an effort to completely seal off the room from the chimney - then - (I will add another piece in the center after taking the picture) I folded fiberglass insulation and shoved it into place to further seal off the room and to also 'prop up' the kaowool and hold it in place.

Now the real test --- does it feel warmer after all this effort --- and yes - I did manage to burn my arm working around the hot stove - even though I had long cuff high temp gloves on (and safety glasses and a mask).

 

[jtp10181]

Looks scary. I hope that old firebox was built extremely well and has no clearance violations. Looks like a fire waiting to happen (a not in the fireplaces kind of fire).

FYI when most fiberglass insulation gets hot, it out-gasses. So if you smell something funky that's probably what it is.

 

[BrotherBart]

I'm sorry but every since you have been posting all I can think of is that you are creating your own problems by trying to stuff insulation any where it will fit.

Get that crap out of there, fire that thing hot and let it do what it was designed to do.

 

[Gunner]

Unless you have long logs close up against the glass your wood is not really that dry or your not burning hot enough.... or both.

 

[milner351]

well, I guess it's back to the drawing board again.

The picture does not show the fire very well - the door has some ash on it so it's not showing the fire well, as well as a reflection from the camera flash.

I'm burning hickory mostly lately - and it was split from a tree that had been dead over a year before it was cut down, it burns quite well.



Should I remove all the insulation - or just the fiberglass?


I'm starting to doubt the original installers of our first stove more and more all the time -- it did not have the sheet metal surround that the summit insert has - it was still a box inside a box - but would get much hotter on the outside that the summit -
they set the insert in place with fiberglass insulation all the way around it between the stove and the steel heatilator firebox.
What kills me is that old stove actually put out more heat than this new $2k+ summit has so far - but it put out a lot more smoke and went through more wood too.