bricks

[brickie in oz]

Originally Posted by smallholder123

thoughts anyone about a nice piece of kit available in the uk

Hammer and bolster.

[Johnny the oven man]

Originally Posted by Tscarborough

The problem with wet refractory cement is twofold. First, and not really that important is that it is water soluble. The interior of you oven should never get wet so this isn't a big deal. The important limitation of wet refractory cement is that is designed for joints less than 1/8". It has very fine aggregate and being wet it shrinks a lot, thus it cracks badly at anything over 1/8" in thickness. It also has very little in the way of adhesive properties.

You blokes must have some junk refractories in "the states"
We have a product called Tufset Super, used to be called Super 3000, and it sticks like anything. I am fairly sure it was an american product initially.1650f rated, and can, in a pinch, be used in a thicker joint. Failing that, we use a 1350c "fine" grade refractory castable as a mortar. I have been in the refractory business 30 years, and never had an issue with our recommendations. Too many people are claiming that their own homebrews are superior, but I think they are kidding themselves into believing that just because they may have saved a little bit of money equates to a better product. Thats my .2c worth.

[Tscarborough]

Be that as it may, most wet refractories are designed for other uses than home built ovens. For those purposes they excel, but for the particular demands of a home built oven they are seldom the best choice. Since you have been in the business for 30 years you should also know that there is a great variety of specialized products designed for specific purposes, and commercial kiln refractory is not suitable or required for the tolerances of a home built oven.

As for the various homebrew formulas, they would certainly not be appropriate for a commercial kiln, but they are forgiving enough to be suitable for a home oven and are much cheaper and easier to work with.

I used wet refractory for my oven, but then, my oven is not a Pompeii, and the specifications fell within the tolerances of my design.

In short, for the average person building their own oven to FB specifications, homebrew will always work, as will commercial dry mix refractories, while wet mix MAY work, but then they may not.

I will continue to advise on the side of caution (but I only have 20 years in the trade).

[brickie in oz]

I use a wet pre mixed gloop that is water soluble that I get from John.
It is air set and sets in about 20 minutes, if you have to readjust the bricks you have to pry them apart as it grabs in no time flat.
Once the tub is opened you have to cover the remaining gloop in the tub with a plastic film to keep it from drying.
If it gets too firm you can slacken it up with a drop of water.

Ive done my oven at home, my mini oven and the one I have just completed for a customer with the stuff.

It sets as hard as a rock and even harder once fired, Ive had no problems with it.

[Johnny the oven man]

Originally Posted by brickie in oz

I use a wet pre mixed gloop that is water soluble that I get from John.
It is air set and sets in about 20 minutes, if you have to readjust the bricks you have to pry them apart as it grabs in no time flat.
Once the tub is opened you have to cover the remaining gloop in the tub with a plastic film to keep it from drying.
If it gets too firm you can slacken it up with a drop of water.

Ive done my oven at home, my mini oven and the one I have just completed for a customer with the stuff.

It sets as hard as a rock and even harder once fired, Ive had no problems with it.

Forget the plastic film, just cover it with 40mm of water but dont mix it in. Stays useablle for months, just tip the water of the top when needed.

[brickie in oz]

Oky doky.

[smallholder123]

Originally Posted by Tscarborough

The problem with wet refractory cement is twofold. First, and not really that important is that it is water soluble. The interior of you oven should never get wet so this isn't a big deal. The important limitation of wet refractory cement is that is designed for joints less than 1/8". It has very fine aggregate and being wet it shrinks a lot, thus it cracks badly at anything over 1/8" in thickness. It also has very little in the way of adhesive properties.

thanks for that at least that info was helpfull !!! so keep my joints tight i might look at cutting all my bricks .. i do have 460 of them ha