[Stoves] Chorkor Smoker Material Question

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Andrew

My answer is yes, anything helps that keeps the heat away.  However, the
chances of breaking a slab are not high.  First, heat does not travel down
easily so putting a clay layer that separates with a tiny air gap will
perform better that you might at first imagine.

Second, it is hard to heat up a slab.  It is more likely it will chill the
stove!

Cement doesn't take high heat well, but if you built a fire on the cement
for a long time, it will pit after a while.  The pit ends up filled with ash
and all you have to do is leave it there. Free insulation.

We have not yet managed to break a single (un-reinforced) concrete slab
under a Lion Stove, not even one of the thin ferro-cement slabs through
which the combustor feeds the heat. The thin slab sits in the middle of the
height of the stove.

Regards
Crispin


-----Original Message-----
Subject: [Stoves] Chorkor Smoker Material Question

Because our demonstration project is located in a mangrove swamp, the
Chorkor smoker will require a concrete foundation.  There is some
concern that the concrete may be prone to crack from the heat of the
fire.  Would a layer of an insulative clay protect the concrete from the
heat?


Andrew Parker