Insulation failure?

[Gadrock]

   Has anyone had insulation failure in their dry kiln?

   When visiting with YellowHammer the other day we had some discussion on the construction of a kiln. He showed me a piece of the pink foam stuff that had started to deform as the edges were shrinking down upon the remainder of that block. That occurred at approximately 140 degrees F when undergoing a pitch setting and insect kill for the wood.

   What brings this up? Should a person construct a kiln with the heat source being at ?Degrees F.....say 180 or even higher and the chamber building temps to the 130plus for several hours, then what would you expect to happen?

Thanks,

David Gaddis


carry on

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Some foams do have higher temperature ratings.

In a steam kiln, the steam is over 212 F, so maybe 250 would be better.  Even so, a black painted wall in the summer on a sunny day can get over 180 F.  It is best to use the higher temperature foams or foam boards.