Is ceramic fiber insulating board worth it?

[maburton]

I am building my oven and want to make it correctly, but I dont have $ to waste. I just attempted to check out of the Forno Bravo store and to purchase 5 insulating boards and a roll of blanket, the bill was $220 with $120 for shipping. Is the boards and blankets worth $340???

[beaglestorm]

Make sure you call FB directly to ask for a shipping quote. Sometimes the online shipping cost calculator gets it wrong.

[gjbingham]

I'd say yes! Having to do it again, I'd pick the boards over vermiculite (for the floor) in a second.

[james]

Don't forget that vermiculite isn't that inexpensive. The FB board and blanket costs are pretty comparable with the cost of loose vermiculite. An extra $75 blanket on top replaces 3-4 bags of vermiculite, which, depending on where you buy it, can cost $80+.

Plus, they are more efficient and are easier to install.

Sorry for the sales pitch.... :-)

James

[Ken524]

I have to agree with our Brick Oven Merchant . The blankets are definitely the way to go. I am using vermiculite on top of the blankets. If I did it again, I would skip the vermic and just buy more blankets! I have used about 5 bags of the stuff at $20 a pop. That would have bought a lot of very efficient blankets.

I also think the ceramic board is worth it. Far easier and faster to work with than vermiculite.

[thebadger]

I Agree too.

I did both for my hearth. I poured 3 1/2" of perlcrete mainly for extra height and then I put the 2 inch Iso board on top. It was a lot easier to level the brick on the board than would be on the perlcrete. I also bought 2 blankets so I can go with less "loose fill"

Net, the only "specialty items" I had to purchase were the boards/blanket. I was lucky enough to get everthing else from Lowes/HD and my local brick yard.

Hope this helps.

Dick

[dusty]

I am afraid I must agree too. Even if you skip the fiber board, the blanket is a must. So if you are going to order a blanket or two, you might as well get the boards at the same time.
I didn't use the FB board under my oven - just vermiculite and concrete. My oven holds heat pretty well, but now I realize that I loose most of my heat through the floor. I did get a blanket and will probably get another one by the time I'm done.
Easy for my to say, however, as I live in Cal. right down the road from Forno bravo.

dusty

[maburton]

great advice, bad news is FB is out of the floor boards for 4-6 weeks. I guess from your advice, I should put my construction on hold?

[Frances]

Ah well, this might be one of those situations where some of us need to chip in to say how fantastic our ovens are with the vermiculite insulation underneath...

Seriously, my oven is insulated with a good thick layer of vermiculcrete and it works really well, I am completely and utterly pleased with it. With the FB board underneath it might work a bit better and loose heat more slowly, who knows? But after firing up I can use cook with the retained heat for three full days - that's not too bad!

It probably depends how patient a person you are vs. how much the niggling thought of what your oven could do if it were different will bother you. If it were me, I would order the insulating blanket for on top of the dome now, but go with Vermiculite underneath the oven.

[jcg31]

Anyone who hasn't used the insulating board under their floor and just went with the vermiculcrete over the concrete slab should take a temp reading of the ceiling of their wood storage area when the oven is up to temp. I went with a little more than the recommended amount of vermiculite/portland cement mix on the build. When checked after reading a post from CJim I was at 180 on the ceiling of the wood storage when the floor surface was at 800. I have since insultated underneath which helped but I am certain I am still losing efficiency.

Go with the boards!!! When spread over the pizzas and time it will amount to pennies.

Jim