Abchoppers Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Hi all, I have a wood pellet stove for heating my house and stumbled upon this site while trying to solve a problem with my stove. The pellets dropping into the firepot are very loud, and I’m also sensitive to noise and easily annoyed lol. So since it’s a clanking noise from the pellets hitting the metal firepot I’ve been attempting to line the firepot with something softer. first attempt was using ceramic fiber board with gasket cement. Initially worked but became brittle soon and flaked off with minimal pressure. second attempt was using ceramic fiber insulation with sodium silicate. This also worked well but only for about a day. There is one spot in the firepot, exactly where the pellets hit, that just burns away and the noise comes back so is there something I can put over the ceramic fiber insulation to make it last longer? It says it’s rated for 2300f but in this one area it burns away there has been no negative impact from this on the burning of the stove since I don’t cover any air holes open to any suggestions from you fire gurus, thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 you are aware that this is a black smith site? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 And the casting/smelting section. This would be a better fit for the shop forum perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abchoppers Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 5 minutes ago, Steve Sells said: you are aware that this is a black smith site? I do, but every time I searched ceramic fiber insulation I came to a site like this, maybe my limited knowledge of this content led me to post in the wrong spot. My apologies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 There is nothing to be sorry about, you may get your answer here, Just an FYI is all, I will relocate this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Steve beat me to it. I wasn't trying to be snarky I was suggesting more to the moderators than you that it may fit better in another section of the site. I would venture to say that you probably will find the answer to your question here. Welcome aboard and sorry if you got the wrong impression. A castable refractory may solve your problem. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Is it a tinging of the pellets hitting metal, or is the thud of them hitting in general that is the issue? If just a tinging, then maybe a properly rated castable refractory might help. Thats about all I can offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abchoppers Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 No offense taken at all guys, I know it’s a different topic than you guys are use to, ive just read a lot of good stuff on here about the forge making but still need little direction 19 minutes ago, Daswulf said: Is it a tinging of the pellets hitting metal, or is the thud of them hitting in general that is the issue? If just a tinging, then maybe a properly rated castable refractory might help. Thats about all I can offer. It’s the tinging of them hitting metal. You think a castable refractory over the insulation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Well as we have all kinds of experts in other feild (day jobs) you may get a non blacksmith answer, lol until then this is what I can offer, ceramic fiber when heated to a high enugh temp becomes brittle, and the impact of the fuel entering the burner may be eroded away. Now as to castable, many castables are not intended for insulation (some are) and set up like concrete and only get harder after firing. If one thinks of it as modeling clay and forms a replacement or liner for the burner insted of using ceramic fiber you will probbably be beter off. If you think you can handle the sound off cereal being poorer into a ceramic cereal bowl hard castable will probably be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 In a forge you want to avoid bumping the insulation. In your situation the better option. Might be to just use a castable to deaden the sound. I'm really not sure how/if the fiber insulation would hold up even if coated. Be sure to read up in the gas forge section on safety with the fiber insulation. Probably way less an issue in a closed system vs. An open forge, but good to know anyway especially while handling it. Again tho, I was just trying to hone in on the main sound issue. There are way more experienced people on the topic than me. I'm sure someone will be along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abchoppers Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 You guys are definitely pointing me in the right direction, should I use the premixed castable cement or the dry one you have to mix? I think the difference is in the cure. I’m not sure I can cure it correctly in the pellet stove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Before you go out and spend any money on refractories maybe dig up a glob of clay and try it first. I wouldn't expect it to last long but it will give you some idea of how much change you can expect in the noise if you do try a castable refractory. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abchoppers Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 Good idea. I think I’ll be happy with more of a thud sound than the tinny sound of hitting metal though. Even the insulation wasn’t silent but it dulled it enough that I was happy with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Have you contacted the stove manufacturer or dealer. They may have a solution to the problem or ideas on how to slow down the drop of the pellets. If you have a pottery supply store close to you a piece of high aluminia kiln shelf may work. If you can take a picture of the inside for us to look at, it may lead to other options too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abchoppers Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 The manufacturer doesn’t really encourage any changes to their firepot lol. I’ll work on some pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. We don't care if you're not a blacksmith. . . Yet, we'll talk to anybody. Two thoughts for you. First, you can buy small quantities of 3,000f water setting castable refractory from Glenn in the IFI store. It sets and cures concrete hard, a 1/2"-3/4" thick layer isn't going to care how many pellets fall on it or how hot it gets. If you melted the stove the Kastolite would survive. At worst it aught to sound like dropping pellets on a concrete floor. Refractory cement or mortar isn't likely to last very long, it's not formulated for flame contact. You want a straight up castable refractory and you don't need to care about forge welding flux dissolving it so any will do. You just want something that cures hard and strong, some are pretty friable, I'd avoid those. The other thought is wrap the outside of the fire pot with a suitable refractory, say muffler tape or refractory blanket. It will kill the ring but might not deaden the tink enough. Heck probably won't but what the hey it MIGHT work. I know about the TINK. I'm a TBI survivor and suffered nerve damage to my left ear in the accident. Audio recruitment has seriously screwed up my hearing on the left side. I can hear you talking but probably can't tell what you're saying. Drop a single piece of kibble in a stainless dish and it's like driving a spike in my left ear. It's a funny thing, some sounds are painful, others not at all, heck hammer on anvil isn't bad but just talking about dropping a wood pellet in a steel pan makes me cringe. We'll get something figured out, stick around. Heck hang with us and we'll have you blacksmithing in no time. It's addictive you know and we love helping folk get hooked. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 I don't think you want a fibrous refractory for this usage. This is basically a "how do you quiet a loud anvil" issue. A castable plate on top of the metal might work well of even a cut piece of kiln shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abchoppers Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 12 hours ago, Frosty said: Welcome aboard, glad to have you. We don't care if you're not a blacksmith. . . Yet, we'll talk to anybody. Two thoughts for you. First, you can buy small quantities of 3,000f water setting castable refractory from Glenn in the IFI store. It sets and cures concrete hard, a 1/2"-3/4" thick layer isn't going to care how many pellets fall on it or how hot it gets. If you melted the stove the Kastolite would survive. At worst it aught to sound like dropping pellets on a concrete floor. Refractory cement or mortar isn't likely to last very long, it's not formulated for flame contact. You want a straight up castable refractory and you don't need to care about forge welding flux dissolving it so any will do. You just want something that cures hard and strong, some are pretty friable, I'd avoid those. The other thought is wrap the outside of the fire pot with a suitable refractory, say muffler tape or refractory blanket. It will kill the ring but might not deaden the tink enough. Heck probably won't but what the hey it MIGHT work. I know about the TINK. I'm a TBI survivor and suffered nerve damage to my left ear in the accident. Audio recruitment has seriously screwed up my hearing on the left side. I can hear you talking but probably can't tell what you're saying. Drop a single piece of kibble in a stainless dish and it's like driving a spike in my left ear. It's a funny thing, some sounds are painful, others not at all, heck hammer on anvil isn't bad but just talking about dropping a wood pellet in a steel pan makes me cringe. We'll get something figured out, stick around. Heck hang with us and we'll have you blacksmithing in no time. It's addictive you know and we love helping folk get hooked. Frosty The Lucky. Thank you for all that info, it’s very appreciated. So with the kastolite 30 I’ve read a few things. Would 24 hours of air dry time be enough to put it back into the stove and than the stove could heat cure it the rest? I can’t really adjust the temp of the stove easily for specific curing. I think this will just deaden the sound and I’ll be happy with that. Sensitive hearing is funny, most people don’t get it and just say you’ll get use to the sound. I appreciate all you guys really trying to help me find a solution. as far as blacksmithing, I’ve totally thought about it after reading all this info. Looks really cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in Oly, WA Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 That would probably do fine. I don't know the construction of your stove, but maybe just packing some wood ash in the bottom of the pan might deaden the noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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