What gage sheet metal for block off plate?

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Marty

Feeling the Heat
Jul 11, 2006
284
Pittsburgh
Is there a 'best' thickness/ material for the block off plate?
 
Marty said:
Is there a 'best' thickness/ material for the block off plate?

Just about anything galvanized will last a long while. We've used 24 gage for years, but I suppose you could step up to 22 gage if you had the tools to easily fab it. 24 is nice because it can bend and flex to fit properly.
 
If someone wanted to use stainless steel, you can probably get by with 26 gauge...and 24 would be quite good - harder to cut!

I suppose aluminum would do the job as it never gets anywhere near 1000+ degrees at that place, but if so step up a few gages - like 20 ga or so. If aluminum was used, I'l make the pipe hole a little large and use some stove gasket and furnace cement to seal - that would prevent the pipe from touching a lot of the alum.
 
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