High duty fire brick

[Sharon]

I live in Panama and can only locate high duty fire brick - can I use them? I've read the Pompeii Oven guide and it says that high duty fire brick get too hot to cook food. The bricks have Jet dp stamped on them and they look brand new. I sure hope I can use them because I now have 300 of them sitting in my carport. Your assistance is much appreciated.

[brickie in oz]

Re: High duty fire brick

Wouldnt the bricks only get as hot as the fire will allow.

[david s]

Re: High duty fire brick

The denser the brick the more heat it can store, but they're also more expensive and harder to cut.

[brickie in oz]

Re: High duty fire brick

But how can they get hotter than the fire will allow?
Surely you would just build a smaller fire, or dont fire for as long.

[david s]

Re: High duty fire brick

exactly. Or let the oven cool down.

[brickie in oz]

Re: High duty fire brick

All ovens are totally unique and have different characteristics compared to other ovens and behave quite differently, you have to adjust your cooking techniques to suit your own oven.
Less firing.
Smaller fire.
Let it cool down longer.

It took me ages to get the hang of how my oven cooked and behaved, but it was worth it, we now have regular pizza parties.

[david s]

Re: High duty fire brick

Sharon your bricks should be fine. If you want to know more this topic has been discussed to exhaustion on other threads. Try using the search function to know more.

[Sharon]

Re: High duty fire brick

I appreciate the prompt feedback - it's a beautiful day in Panama so I'll go outside and dream about building my oven.

[fxpose]

Re: High duty fire brick

It's like having additional thermal mass, without the additional bulk. Yeah, I'd use them.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: High duty fire brick

The way it was explained to me was that brick composition and densities vary depending on the desired operating temperature. High duty firebricks are designed to operate at a higher temp than low duty firebricks. I do not know if a higher operating temperature translates to a longer 'service' time, especially if the bricks are only heated to a desired pizza-cooking temp. If you have access to an IF thermometer, maybe you can fire your oven bricks to approx 800F and keep your fire just big enough to maintain that 800F.

[dmun]

Re: High duty fire brick

They'll be fine, a little harder to cut, but you won't notice any practical difference in cooking.