On my third still setup (8 gal. milk can, 1"" raiser, reduced to 1/2"" coil in a 6 g. bucket) I had a "bright" idea to insulate the boiler. Since I just had an unopened roll of the stuff (adhesive, foam, foil, supposed to be used on AC/Heating ducts), looked like it will work.
The application was easy, just cut to the size, then stick to the can. And it even looked pretty!
Fire up the burner (propane in my case) and problems! Apparently, the temp of the boiler is way too high. The adhesive starts to smoke really fast.
I almost needed a gas mask to kill the fire and to peel it off.
Frost King foam/foil insulation
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pfshine
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Re: Frost King foam/foil insulation
Man that sucks but whooo boy am I laughing. I think it was the whole fire thing making it smoke.
Last edited by pfshine on Wed Apr 06, 2016 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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hellbilly007
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Re: Frost King foam/foil insulation
Insulation is usually used on electric element equipped stills. If you're bound and determined to insulate your boiler the only thing that comes to mind is using rockwool insulation. A heat shroud would be the cheaper route, imho.
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rad14701
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Re: Frost King foam/foil insulation
For a gas fired boiler, a heat shroud is far more efficient than insulation... We've had several discussions about various heat shroud ideas... Better to capture the heat and allow it to heat the sides of the boiler than to protect the boiler from the heat as it rises up the sides... 
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Tomb
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Re: Frost King foam/foil insulation
I believe this is concept of the Reflectix insulation. Leave a gap between the heat source and the insulation to allow the "reflection" to happen.
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rad14701
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Re: Frost King foam/foil insulation
Reflectix will melt and off-gas toxic fumes... It's not the right tool for the job when running an open flame... For an electric keg boiler you can wrap it with Reflectix to hold the heat in...Tomb wrote:I believe this is concept of the Reflectix insulation. Leave a gap between the heat source and the insulation to allow the "reflection" to happen.
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Gnome
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Re: Frost King foam/foil insulation
Yep,
we learn till we live!
In my defense, the stuff was taking space on the shelf, and I had a day or two to wait till the fermentation is over. My biggest problem is (or, will be once the weather turns warmer) is the heat, not the energy savings. As my setup is now in the garage (small, and full of stuff), when it is close to freezing outside, it is toasty inside from the burner/boiler. With the door open just a crack and exhaust fan at the window, I could "work" all the way till June, at most. Once the real NE summer comes, I will have to close for the season. I can tolerate cold way better than heat, and to run AC while burning propane in a closed space... ridiculous and maybe, even unsafe.
So, maybe, I will turn to gardening or boating till the colds return.
we learn till we live!
In my defense, the stuff was taking space on the shelf, and I had a day or two to wait till the fermentation is over. My biggest problem is (or, will be once the weather turns warmer) is the heat, not the energy savings. As my setup is now in the garage (small, and full of stuff), when it is close to freezing outside, it is toasty inside from the burner/boiler. With the door open just a crack and exhaust fan at the window, I could "work" all the way till June, at most. Once the real NE summer comes, I will have to close for the season. I can tolerate cold way better than heat, and to run AC while burning propane in a closed space... ridiculous and maybe, even unsafe.
So, maybe, I will turn to gardening or boating till the colds return.