posted 4 years ago
Using the soapstone as a facade is a lovely idea. I don't know how well it will stand up to riser temperatures, though.
I would use the steel drum and then enclose it with a built-up screen of soapstone, arranged so that there can be some slight airflow between tile and riser drum, with strategic perforations arranged by gapping the tiles. Doing so might provide air intakes and outlets at the bottom and top, increasing the heat exchange between the riser and the air, but also trapping more of the radiant heat in the soapstone lattice/tile facing.
Some drawings or pictures of the tiles you're talking about could help. But this sounds interesting. Please keep us in the loop, and good luck.
-CK
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein