[Stoves] Insulation and stove life

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Paal

Thank you for confirming that and providing real numbers to go with it. We should all follow your example.

Regards
Crispin


Stovers
Crispin is right, the best insulation is air, and arranged the right way it will give some preheating to the intake off secondary air at the same time as it will prevent destroying the metal. By natural draft you will have a yellow charcoal with a temperature of about 900˚C and by forced air you will have white charcoal of a temperature of about 1000 ˚C, the temperature blacksmiths need for forcing and welding steel.
But what is convenient temperature for cooking? It is definitely not 1000 ˚C. On top of charcoal it can sometimes be too hot, on open fire from wood sometimes too low. I have found that my horizontal TLUD ND PP stove works best with a temperature about 700 ˚C for cooking, about 450 ˚C for simmering and around 200 ˚C for baking bread. And to obtain that, I need no insulation anywhere in the stove.
Regards Paal W