Vermiculite as insulation in tubes of gf

[ajfoxy]

Hi All,
Now that the beast is working well (Double Pan GF) I am starting to gather stuff for a mini.
At a recent auction I picked up six bags of vermiculite for next to nothing. I was wondering if I could use the vermiculite in the tubes of the mini frame as insulation?

Good idea / bad idea / might work if you add plutonium 239. OK scrap the last one as our local store is out of 239.

If it is a bad idea then I've got six bags of kitty litter I guess. Although I can also use it to slow cool hot steel as well so never a total loss.

[Rodcrafter]

I don't have any experience with the stuff myself,so I looked it up and this what I found;

Vermiculite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculite
Wikipedia
Vermiculite is a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral. It undergoes significant expansion when heated. Exfoliation occurs when the mineral is heated sufficiently, and the effect is routinely produced in commercial furnaces.


The fact that it expands, I wouldn't put it in a sealed tube.

[Big T]

[ajfoxy]

Thanks for the input guys.... looks like I'll have to give that one a miss. Maybe...
In the interests of science / experimentation... I have a welded up chute door surround that I made too small for the DP that I will drill a large hole in and fill the thing up with vermiculite, seal the hole with a welded patch. Then bung the thing on the burner and see what happens. Just curious as to what will happen. If it all goes awry then the welded patch should give way and I'll have a shower of smouldering vermiculite I guess. If it does not give way and the vermiculite is still intact and useable after heating it up to way past what a gv frame should have to bear then I might revisit this.

[Pete Mazz]

How much weight will it add to the smoker? Those beasts are heavy enough.

[ajfoxy]

Pete it is a mini... so not nearly as much weight as a DP. And vermiculite is pretty light in itself. I'd hazard a guess some around the same as loose fiber insulation if packed in.

I'll just experiment a little to see if it is feasible or not. I only paid around 10 bucks for 6 large bags of the stuff so not a problem really.

[The Czar]

RC....saves the day....the man...the myth...the legend


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[Gizmo]

NOTHING gets by RC!

[Rev.Mike]

[Rodcrafter]

I defer to Gizmo anytime


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