What is Ceramic Fibre Insulation?
If you've been through our website, you've probably heard us talk about Ceramic Fibre Blanket for your Aga Range Cooker. What is it? and what does it do?
We LOVE this type of insulation when it comes to Aga Range Cookers. It's a much better insulator than the standard Vermiculite and Rockwool combination, and can help you drive down your monthly running costs. We know some installers are weary of using this inside the traditional Aga Cookers but for us, it's just science! The blankets we use have higher insulating properties than vermiculite and rockwool. The blanket helps your Aga Range Cooker retain heat inside the cast iron components (like a sponge!), and as a result, your cooker uses less energy trying to restore heat that is lost through the back and sides.
Before the uptake of Controllable Electric Models of Aga Range Cookers, we were using this blanket inside our 'always on' 13amp Electric models, which are notorious for their high running costs. We use our own specific method of installing the blanket to ensure minimum (unwanted) heat loss, and higher efficiency.
Refractory Ceramic Fibre Blanket (RCF) is typically made from Aluminium Silicate Fibre, spun and woven into blanket form. It has great insulating properties but can be hazardous to your health. If you've ever been in contact with it, you'll probably have seen the warning symbol above. It comes with a carcinogenic warning, meaning that inhalation may lead to fibrosis, lung cancer and other quite nasty stuff.
Quite a number of years ago, we were substituted a box of RCF instead of our normal Body-Soluble blanket. As soon as I saw the warning, I had to read into it more before using it. I spent a whole evening on my laptop, learning about the different types, their chemical makeup, reading health journals and really became quite obsessive about it all.
As a result, we promptly got rid of the box and made sure that we ALWAYS use non-hazardous insulation. We opt for the bio-soluble versions of Ceramic Fibre Blanket, made from calcium and magnesium silicate fibres. The RCF blankets are much cheaper to buy, and can be bought in bulk from overseas, but we don't think it's worth the risk. We'd rather make sure our engineers and your family are safe from any risk of exposure!
This is another reason why you should look to trust your Aga Range Cooker to a reputable company with your safety being a number 1 priority, instead of the profits from a cheaper (riskier) alternative.
If you're looking to utilise this insulation upgrade for your existing Aga Range Cooker, get in touch with us:
Some Further Reading:
