Fire Brick Storage

[Gulf]

David,
Going back to your post. I had two different price ranges of brick available to me when I began my oven. The cheaper was $1.45 each and the other was $1.85. The $1.45 was wire cut. Some curved, some straight, most all of them had a little roll where the wire exits. Due to price consciderations and since the dome cuts were to be 1/2 brick or less I chose the cheaper. I chose the higher price brick for the floor though. There was a consciderable difference in the quality. The higher price brick were consciderably more uniform and square.

[Tscarborough]

99.9 percent of refractory firebrick are dry pressed. I have never actually seen a wire cut fire brick for that matter. This is done for several reasons, the primary one being consistent sizing, as the standard for mortar joints in refractory applications is less than 1/8".

[Gulf]

T,
I am a very close to being a "1 percenter" so, I guess it is fitting that my oven is built out of ".1 percenters"
Here is a wire cut firebrick.

Chip,
The bricks on the left are what I acquired out of a (two story, four fireplace, single chimney) build which was constructed around from the turn of the century up to about the 1920s. The fireplaces were actually built for coal instead of wood. They were very small and still had the coal grates in place. Wish that I had of hung on to them! These bricks were used as what I call as a backer brick to the true fire brick lining the fire boxes. The freshly broken brick is wet from the recent rains. It would appear a little lighter and a lot chalkier if it were dry. The bricks on the right are what I call "spalding". In this case damaged from freeze/thaw not fire damage. They have been setting under the hill, in the elements for 28 years. I have several hundred brick still left which have all been exposed to the same conditions. Most show no signs of damage.

David,
Sorry about hijacking your thread. But what I really meant by chiming in was to advise you about choosing the cheapest brick. If I had of chosen the higher priced brick, I would have probably saved money and a lot of time in the long run. My advice to any one who had a price range as varied as yours would be to buy one brick at the first two places I stopped at, take them to the third, and set them side buy side. Make note of the dimensions as well as the quality.

[mrchipster]

My bricks looked almost identical to the white ones on the left. Probably the same type of brick. They were in about the same condition, with some mortar attached and chips out here and there. Some of the bricks when cut would crack at odd angles and I threw those out. But I fear that there may have been other internal flaws.

Chip

[Dino69]

Gulf,

No problems. I am just happy to see everyone talking about it on here and having a few others say they thought the same at some point. Hopefully that is proof I am not totally crazy. It's all good.

Thanks to all who answered. I appreciate it. If it is helping me, which it is, to have some of my beginner questions answered then I will be able to pass on whatever I learn to another in the future.

The middle priced brick is right by me, barely any driving, and they keep them covered. (Superior Clay) I will probably go there. Plus I just found out they are open on Saturdays so I do not even have to miss work.

David

[Dino69]

Chip,

Sorry to see your first build end that way. But Lord knows your present build is freakin' awesome. Your pics kind of pushed me into my choice. Thanks for sharing them. I ended up saying better safe than sorry.

I also saw your heat retention on your build thread. Man, I hope I can achieve that kind of performance from my oven. Impressive to say the least.

David

And you were skiing in Park City at the end of December. Some guys have all the fun.

[Tscarborough]

Yes, that is spalling on those brick. Those are dry pressed commons from the turn of the century or soon after. The reason they are used for fill, especially the red/pink ones, is that they are soft and porous. They are called "salmons" and are a by product of the old style kilns. They are, in fact, the brick that did not get fired as thoroughly as they should have. They were used to either build the next kiln (actually a clamp), or used as the interior wythes and as fill brick.

[mrchipster]

Originally Posted by Dino69

Chip,

Sorry to see your first build end that way. But Lord knows your present build is freakin' awesome. Your pics kind of pushed me into my choice. Thanks for sharing them. I ended up saying better safe than sorry.

I also saw your heat retention on your build thread. Man, I hope I can achieve that kind of performance from my oven. Impressive to say the least.

David

And you were skiing in Park City at the end of December. Some guys have all the fun.

David,
Those free bricks for the first build were a very time expensive option. But I was able to build the second dome much faster because of experience and home brew mortar. Thanks for your words of praise regarding my design. Next summer it will be completed so you will be able to see the final design.

Chip

[Xene]

Sorry to jump in here,the but in searching, this topic seems a close fit to my question. I have access to free kiln oven brick and was considering building the dome with them, but purchasing new for the oven floor. I can post pictures of what I have if that helps, but I was curious if I could use these or not? Thanks all!

[deejayoh]

I had the chance to get some old kiln bricks for my oven. Based on Chip's experience/advice and the condition of the bricks, I decided to pass. I'm happy I went with new brick. In the total cost picture of putting one of these ovens in - I figured new brick was pretty cheap insurance

For reference, here are some pictures of the bricks I was considering