Fire brick group buy in UK

[PeterW]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Faz

the strength in a dome doesn't come from the thickness, but the shape - think of an egg shell.

If you are looking for a decent cut, hire a Stihl saw and buy a diamond blade - they are about ?40, and use that to cut them. Try and get a Stihl saw with a water feed and there will be much less dust and the blade will last much longer.

Cheers

Peter

[fig man]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Hello Faz,

I have now built my dome and did cut the bricks to suit. I had a number of different size bricks so cut them the most appropiate way I could see as I went. I cut the thicker, 80mm brick in half to form a soldier course, unfortunatly my supply of these only gave me enough for the soldier and first course in the dome. The 210x195x50mm bricks I cut into quarters to make brickettes which I used for most of the rest of the dome, until the top where I used larger pieces of brick. I'll have to post some pics at some time.

One thing I would say it is a very dirty and dusty job; you will need a dust mask, goggles and gloves when cutting the storage heater bricks. The saw with a water feed Peter recommends sounds like a very good idea, I would also agree with Peter with respect to the diamond blade for cutting the bricks. I have a cheap 215mm (4 1/4"?) disk cutter probably cost ?20 and used a diamond blade that would normally cost more than the cutter, but is well worth it to give you a more accurate cut (I recently noticed the baldes on sale in Wicks DIY for ?12ea, so it wasn't too bad).

Anyway good luck with your build.

Enjoy the summer

Fig

[aureole]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Croc108: what type of brick did you get from Yorkshire refractories: it looks like they do a lot of the right type of brick and the choices are bewildering!

[Croc108]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Aureole, To be honest I didn't get into specific types of firebricks they may have had. I asked them to quote me on "Firebricks", they did, and sent them through. Perhaps I didn't dig far enough on their web site to see the different types on offer?
I must say, so far I'm very happy with the one they supplied. I'm not yet all done but they seem to be working well.
I'll try and attach pic that demonstrates what type they are - hold on I've never done this before. This shows me using them mostly in halves after breaking them with a bolster - they are too hard for my little grinder to cut.

[aureole]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Thanks for the reply: looking good! I'm going to give them a ring on Monday: I'm hoping they can do the "big four" requirements in the uk: the Insulfrax, bricks, fireclay and calcium silicate board...

[shepster]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

This company YRPL Homepage quoted me 1.05 plus vat today plus ?55 delivery which is the cheapest I have found. I will be ordering tomorrow but I cant see any advantage in grouping together because of delivery. they also do ready mix fire cement. vermiculite also available here. Ask for Mike, he knows all about the ovens even used to import them!

[Puy de Dome]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Thanks for the reply: looking good! I'm going to give them a ring on Monday: I'm hoping they can do the "big four" requirements in the uk: the Insulfrax, bricks, fireclay and calcium silicate board...

I actually went to their Birmingham depot and spenta few hours there with a very helpful staff member.

I bought a ceramic blanket as well as a few different styles of firebrick. In the yard they had some nice one inch bricks as well as the two inch and various other bits and bobs.

In the warehouse they had boards of al kinds, and the firecement. Also, they had Insulfrax and that rope you use around doorways in furnaces etc. Impressive and helpful.

They don't take credit/debit cards, btw, you'd need to raise a proforma with them.

Highly rate them myself.

PdD

[builder brad]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Good tips here.

I already have 100 bricks, but need more for my dome. I talked to Peter at Midland Refractories about bricks - 99p each for the "normal" size we use ie. housebrick size. They also do loads of other size bricks that may work even better in our ovens with a bit of investigating.

I am also looking at getting their insulating board "Celaboard" which is avalible in 50mm thickness 1200x1000mm for ?59.67 per sheet and 50mm 128 density ceramic insulating blanket at ?27.22 per 3600x610 roll.

All within 8 hours drive of home! there and back.

Midland Refractories Ltd
Oldbury Ind. Est.
Oldbury Road
West Bromwich
B70 944
Tel: +44 (0) 121 5253344

[Puy de Dome]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Yes, that's the one. Also ask for Chad.

PdD

[diy]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Fire bricks and other refractories are available from Vitcas in Bristol.
You can get a big range of refractory materials directly from the manufacturer or buy online.

[aureole]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Just a small bump to this thread - in the "Barter, Trade and Exchange" section of the forum there's a lot of UK oven builders with a lot of spare items kicking around: I've got a lot of firebricks, cement and ~100kg of castable concrete (ideal for vent casting). My stuff is free on collection, but do check out the rest of the forum!

[shepster]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

does anyone know where I can buy insulfrax (in small enough quantities) in the UK?

[Puy de Dome]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Try Midland Refractories, Shep. My visit to their outlet in Brum was great - all kinds of heat resistant stuff, and they let you try stuff out on the floor to gauge the appearance. They have that heat proof rope for example, and all kinds of ceramic blankets, and they know their stuff.

P de D

[Mikeymops]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

hello Mate,

I have just bought some off a chap on ebay. Factory clearance, very cheap.
160338442925 contact the seller. i am fixing it onto the dome with NiChrome wire bought cheap from 250432042839. good luck.

[bertdent]

Re: Fire brick group buy in UK

Hi To Everyone
I recently received a price from a company in Sheffield called Intocast they quoted ?1.25 each for a 75mm thick fire brick I was looking for 200 bricks delivery for that quantity was ?45.00 I live in the north east of England , Intocast are based in Sheffield, hope this may help anyone looking to source materials.