Cindy on mon 26 jan 98
Hi, Folks.
A friend found a big pile of fire bricks at the lumberyard where he works.
The owners don't want the brick and would be pleased as punch if he would
be willing to haul it off and dump it in my pasture. How do I tell what
sorts of temperatures these bricks can take?
No one around here fires above ^6 as far as I know. Heck, most of 'em think
^6 is an ungodly temperature. My kiln isn't supposed to go to ^10, either,
but I suppose I *could* do it . . . just once. Actually, I think I did do
it once when the kiln sitter stuck and I was too inexperienced to know the
firing shouldn't be taking so l-o-n-g. If I do this, how will I tell (other
than melted brick) whether the HFB will take ^10 temps in the long haul?
I was thinking I'd build a canternary arch, cover it with insulating
blanket, then another layer of HFB over that, and a protective cover of
metal. I suppose I'd have to figure out a way to keep the overcoat of HFB
from squishing the blanket, tho. Any ideas?
One more question . . . if I restack the door with every firing, how do I
insulate the door during the firing? Or is this unnecessary?
Thanks for your help,
Cindy in SD, trying to find a way to do this with no money (or as little as
possible) since it's costing an extra $1000 to get electrical service to
hook up my new Paragon.
paul wilmoth on tue 27 jan 98
Cindy,
The best way is to put them in a kiln and see what they do. I must
caution you however that if these brick look "good" after they have been
fired they may or may not be OK for using as stilts. The weight of a
stack that the stilt bricks must take increases the temp that the bricks
go to beause pressure increases temp. Stilt bricks should be super
duty.
Good Luck - Paul
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Vince Pitelka on tue 27 jan 98
>A friend found a big pile of fire bricks at the lumberyard where he works.
>The owners don't want the brick and would be pleased as punch if he would
>be willing to haul it off and dump it in my pasture. How do I tell what
>sorts of temperatures these bricks can take?
Cindy -
High-duty firebrick will have the manufacturer's name, or some trademark
name on each brick. For example, APGreen hardbrick may say "Empire" or
"Mizzou" or "Clipper" or a whole host of other names. But the buff
fireplace bricks sold at lumber yards usually do not say anything. You may
have to test them. On the plus side, the first kiln I ever built was
constructed entirely (except for arch) from buff fireplace bricks purchased
for ten cents apiece from Square Deal Builder's Supply in Crescent City,
California. I fired that kiln to ^10 several times a month for several
years before I built a better kiln. The hot-face bricks in high stress
areas were just beginning to spall at that point.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
Home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
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