My ultimate goal is to go all electric including a RIMS tube for mash temp maintenance but there's a long list of things I need to do including a 200a service upgrade so I thought I'd try something else temporarily.
AnoldUR and I (and a few others) threw around ideas for an insulation material that could withstand direct heat. I know some folks put reflectix on their metal tuns and light the fire, but mine starts melting in 3 minutes flat, usually after I forget to remove it during heating. Anyway, AnoldUR had pulled the trigger on some mineral wool semi-rigid insulation and it was so cheap that he bought two (and kindly donated one of them to me).
Quote:
Mcmaster.com 9328K41
Mineral Wool Insulation Plain Faced, 1" Thick, 24" X 48" Sheet
In stock at $6.19 Each
The first observation is that the stuff is very delicate. It can't really be handled and for sure, you couldn't just wrap it around your MLT and hold it on with bungie cords. It would fall apart. I was going to wrap it with some really thin aluminum flashing but my dad bestowed some nice 16gauge aluminum sheet. I cleaned it up with some gator grit fine pads on my grinder and put some decorative hash marks on it to hide current and future scratches.
After I form this around something like a corny keg, I'm going to hold it all together with some spring latches. More to come.
I criticized automation? I think I might have commented about taking some of the fun out of brewing with a high level of automation like the systems proposed to automatically control fluid movement at certain times. I'm all for automatic temp maintenance.
Cool idea. Are you going to use adhesive and glue one side to the AL jacket or is it not that delicate of stuff that this wouldn't be required?
You will definitely have to let us know how it works out!
This is cool....I imagine you could still use this when you go all electric! It might also hide your connections to the element, further insulating them from water, fingers, etc.
After I form this around something like a corny keg, I'm going to hold it all together with some spring latches. More to come.
Are you planning to bond the insulation to the aluminum before bending it? If so, what's a good heat resistant adhesive (something that won't stink when it gets hot)?
I've been using ducting insulation (insulation that slips over the a/c ducting).
I was thinking of using Reflectix above the skirt of the keg. By feeling the heat and taking some measurements I found my setup didn't get hot enough where the reflectix would be.
How far down did you have the reflectix on the keg during direct fire?
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