another one born and a ?

[widespreadpizza]

Hey all, just wanted to give you an update.My 42x16 1/3 brick oven has been born on 5/12/07 at 1:00 am! I was worried about the aggresive arch on this but, for no reason at all I guess. This heat stop 50 is sweet. Had her up to about 500 so far! Question for you all , is zonolite (coated vermiculite), ok for loose insulation, or is the the silicone coating bad at these high temps? I am planning a stucco enclosure then filling with loose insulation. Check out these pics. Seeing the first fire in this thing was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!, wife and i were up till 3:30, and back up at 8:00amto burn it again!

[james]

Way to go widespread. I remember that oven when it was a wee wood stove. Congratulations! You can't beat watching fire -- beat's the last few movies we've watched (is Hollywood getting worse, or is it just me?)

Take you time curing. It will be worth it.

There have been a number of postings on coated vermiculite that are worth reading. Others will comment on that.

Congratulations again!
James

[widespreadpizza]

Hate to post back to my own post, but I still dont know if there is a good reason to not use zonolite as a DRY insulation. Is the silicone not good at that temp? Or does it not matter? Also as expected some hairline cracks have reared ther ugly heads! All I can seem to find around is this product, 3m fireblock sealant(FB136). here is the data sheet. I have read a lot of older posts on the hairline crack subject, and havent really found reference to an exact product, so do you all think this will work?
http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediaw...66SUhZCOrrrrQ-

Eager to get up and rolling on the insulation, all feedback would be appreciated. Thanks a lot -marc

[RTflorida]

Based on what others have written, I don't think you should have a problem using the coated product as a DRY insulation. From what I understand the silicone can pose bonding problems when mixed with cement (its a crumbly mixture even using the proper mix). Have not heard of any issues when used dry in an enclosure around the dome.
Hopefully you will get a response from someone who has done what you propose.....its always nice to learn from someone else's mistake or success

Good luck