StoneCarver's Kiln Build

[StoneCarver]

When I bought my house, there was a lot of 3/8inch thick boards of foam insulation in the basement used in all kinds of weird ways. So, I ripped it all out and put it in my woodhouse. There it laid for a number of years till I came across y'alls information regarding kilning tobacco. Using Deluxestogie's exoskeleton as a template, I figured out a way to layer those boards of insulation. I found four of them stacked is the same thickness of a 2x4. I built my kiln so that its a total of 8 insulation boards thick. I glue the boards together with wood glue and use silicon to seal it to the 2x4s. In this picture angle, you can see how I fitted the 2x4s together to form the frame. The rest was cutting and sanding the boards so that they fitted in the frames. Before assembling the 2x4s, I treated all the wood with bee propolis varnish to prevent molding and increase water resistance. I'm still working on fitting foam into the door frame; so its not completed yet. I'll be wrapping the kiln up in reflective aluminum/mylar insulation that I have left over from coating my basement ceiling.

 

[StoneCarver]

Almost done putting the foam in the door frame. Just one more layer to go.
I'll be so glad to be done with cutting foam.

 

[StoneCarver]

Here's a pic of the kiln upside down and mostly covered in the reflective insulation. You can see the caster wheels I placed under it. Of course, that's the door standing on its side in front of the kiln. I've coated the door and kiln inside and out with that reflective insulation. Mostly to protect the foam from wear and tear but I do hope it helps reflect infrared heat throughout the kiln. That's what this stuff was engineered to do.