How conductive is porcelain tile?

I have porcelain tile beneath mine separating it from the wood table beneath. 2 years, no issues, no temperature penetration.
Works very well.

I used porcelain tile under my LBGE once and spent a few minutes late one night wondering where the smoke was coming from since the egg had been shut up for a couple of hours at that point.  Didn't sleep for a while even after I flooded it with water.  An adequate air space is the best way. 

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

YukonRon said:

I have porcelain tile beneath mine separating it from the wood table beneath. 2 years, no issues, no temperature penetration.
Works very well.

repeated cycles of heat that are not enough to cause burning, can still eventually cause a problem.

that wood is being dried out, which lowers the ignition point.

exposure to steam lines (not much more than 215 degrees or so when under slight pressure) has caused scorching and even fire in some older wood buildings.

i think fishless has a pic of his burned table, showing the spot under a paver that caught fire despite not really being exposed to high heat.

barring a vacuum, air is the best insulator we have. 

if that porcelain tile is in direct contact, it will get as hot as the bottom of the egg would.  they are both ceramic after all, or close to it

porcelain (if that's what it is) is actually denser than typical "ceramic tile". ...and would transfer heat bette than the refractory ceramic of the grill.

(source: reformed architect, nitty gritty spec writing, etc.)

Mine is also in a nest so there is air as well. Temperature remains safe for the table.

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

YukonRon said:

Mine is also in a nest so there is air as well. Temperature remains safe for the table.

well that's a whole different kettle o' fish.  carry on!

Will do, thanks.

Toxarch said:

DoubleEgger said:

Why not get a granite tile? 

The granite is very dense and has natural weak veins of quarts or whatever other rock is in it so it is more likely to conduct heat or break.

Only Two types of granite in the world:
1) Cracked granite
And
2) Granite that is going to crack.

What do we have in our kitchen? GRANITE.
Because My Beautiful Wife wanted it. That's why. (I know, I know. I should shut up, but the idiot in me refuses to.)

I will also say Granite is a very beautiful rock. If properly cared for and sealed, makes a nice platform for heat shielding properties.

However:
Any igneous rock, made up from multiple minerals, specific to those granites which contain Mica, will likely fail, due to the softness and crystalline structure of its weakest mineral.

Backpack the Rockies, and bust your back side, a couple of times on a rock that gives way beneath your feet, (when you take that careful, and calculated, next step) or slipping on piles of scree, you will quicky understand.
  
Those mountains, are called the Rockies, for a reason.

Drive to the RMNP from Boulder (yup, another aptly named city) and look at all the cracked granite and boulders along the way. They don't just suddenly appear, they broke off of something bigger. Think avalanche.

Due to the number of minerals in granite, it is likely to be pourus. Lots of areas to let water into the rock. If you live in an area with extreme temperatures changes during the seasons, it will have problems. So, thick or thin, it will not matter, mother nature will always remain undefeated.

If you take care of the stone, you should be fine. If you don't, you will likely replace it. Ceramic replacement: $1.50, Granite replacement, like ours in our kitchen, $45.00.
You do the math. Did I mention I am cheap?

For my purposes, with my MM in a nest, often moved from the table, and hence, placed back, a ceramic tile has been the answer.

It does better against weather, less expensive, looks OK, easier to keep clean, (not that I ever have or I ever will) and provides the necessary protection from heat, to the cheap P.O.S. wooden table, I have it sitting on. Plus, I am known more for drinking and cooking, with my MM, than I am for the style, cleaning and maintenence of the platform of which I cook.
  
I am a cheap, lowlife slob, with something better to do than babysit a rock under a BGE, outdoors, because I do so much of the worrying and babysitting, in the new kitchen with the granite counter tops My Beautiful Wife had to have.

Priorities. (Hers) That's just how I roll.