Firebrick brands - does it matter quality-wise, what brand you buy?

[JABF99]

I live in Illinois and noticed that our local brick supplier has about a dozen companies they do business with. I understand the difference between the different kinds of firebrick (medium duty, heavy duty etc) but does the actual brand matter? Here are some of the companies our local supplier deals with:

Acme Brick Company
Belden Brick Company
Carolina Ceramics
Colonial Brick Co.
Columbus Brick Co.
Cunningham Brick Co.
General Shale Brick
Glen-Gery Brick Co.
Hanson Brick Co.
Hebron Brick Co.
Kasten Brick Co.
Lawrenceville Brick Co.

Or should I just get the cheapest bricks I can find at the local big box store and not worry about this?

[UtahBeehiver]

In addition to duty rating there are pressed and wire cut bricks, pressed are typically have tighter dimensional tolerances and cost more. It is a balance of cost versa quality. The floor needs to have flat and square edges to minimize ridges or gaps that your peel could hang up on. In the dome, the inner face needs to have the best side of the brick facing in and the very best in the back half of the dome (no one can see the front half of the inside once the oven is done). So the dome portion you have more leeway on brick surface irregularity since you cutting bricks in half and front inside vs back inside. So go after the dimensionally consistent brick first at the price point that works for you second. Old adage, you get what you pay for, Try local classifieds, Habilitat for Humanity Restore Shops or Craiglist as well if time is not an issue.

[Tscarborough]

I think you will find that of all those companies listed only 2 or 3 produce their own firebrick.

[jpar]

None of those companies actually make Firebrick. Find a refractory supplier that sells medium duty or high duty firebrick - plenty in the Chicago area or St Louis area.

[dakzaag]

jparknows of which he speaks.

[JABF99]

None of those companies actually make Firebrick. Find a refractory supplier that sells medium duty or high duty firebrick - plenty in the Chicago area or St Louis area.

Thanks, that is good advice. That will be my next move (looking into refractory suppliers in Illinois). I just figure that if I am going to put in the time, money and work into building this oven, that I might as well try to get the best quality firebrick. It would be a shame to go through all of this and find I picked brick that wasn't so good. That would be heartbreaking.

[RandyJ]

Just a side note you don't have to use the same kinds of bricks for everything. I have one on the floor 2 in the dome and another for the vent. I did not know the dome bricks were different till I was half done but it works just fine.

Randy

[JABF99]

Thanks for everyone's advice. I followed the advice and found a nearby source for firebrick: Alsey Refractories Company in Alsey, Illinois. This is a pretty short drive from my home. Has anyone heard of this brand? Are they good quality firebricks?

I read on the Forno Bravo "Brick Primer" the following:
Medium duty firebrick. This is the brick that we recommend for both the cooking floor and dome of the Pompeii oven. medium duty firebricks are comprised of roughly 35% alumina and 50% silica, heat up quickly, easily withstand the 900F heat your oven will reach, and are designed for the rapid heat-up and cool down (thermal cycling) that your oven will experience.

When I read the Alsey Refractories product list, the closest brick to the Forno Bravo primer recommendation of 35% alumina, was the Alsey Refractories high duty Jet D.P. dry press firebrick that has 37% aluminum Oxide. Is it okay to go with the high duty, or am I missing something here?


CHEMICAL ANALYSIS [Wt. % Calcined Basis]
Silica [SiO₂].................................................. .......................... 56.3
Aluminum Oxide [Al₂O₃] .................................................. .... 37.6
Titanium Dioxide [TiO₂].................................................. ........ 2.0
Iron Oxide [Fe₂O₃] .................................................. ................ 1.7
Potassium Oxide [K₂O].................................................. ......... 1.3
Other Oxides............................................ ............................... 0.4
Magnesium Oxide [MgO].................................................. ..... 0.4
Calcium Oxide [CaO] .................................................. ........... 0.3
Total .................................................. ................................. 100.0
Loss on Ignition, 1000?C .................................................. ...... 0.1

[dakzaag]

alsey has a great reputation and it looks like these will work. i just bought a handful today. Are you buying direct from the factory? i would ask about non branded and also seconds if you want to save some money

[RandyJ]

I used a combo of jet d.p and pilote d.p. for my dome. They worked great. I would ask if they have any low duty bricks available to use on the floor. Other wise those are good bricks in my book. How much do they want per brick?

Randy

[JABF99]

Here is what I found out. Alsey Refractories manufactures high quality refractory bricks that are actually sold by others (under other brand names). They said they didn't sell directly to people. They gave me some retailer names to check with, but actually the best location (for me) is their main factory in central Illinois.

So I called Alsey back, and they were really nice - and super helpful. They said that they would allow me to go through a distributor for payment (Larkin Refractory, in Georgia) to pay for the order, and then just come down to the Illinois factory and pick the order up. What I found interesting is that if I went through an Illinois retailer, they quoted me from $2.45 per brick to $2.79 per brick for the Jet D.P. High Duty brick, but by going through Larkin Refractory (in Georgia) to pay for the order - and then pick it up at the Alsey Refractory factory, it was only $1.98 per brick. That's quite a bit cheaper. And I don't have to pay any shipping.

How cool is that?

Here is the dealer I went through in Georgia:
Larkin Refractory Solutions
P O Box 716
Lithonia, Georgia 30058
Telephone: 678-336-7090 or 800-898-4532
e-mail: lrs@larkinrefractory.com

Here is the Alsley website:
http://www.alsey.com/

Here is the actual brick I am going to use:
Asley Jet D.P. High Duty Firebrick
LINK to the brick info: http://alsey.com/products/high-duty-firebrick/

The alumina content in the Asley high duty firebrick is roughly equivalent to what Forno Bravo considers a medium duty brick (35% Forno recommends vs 37% for the Alsey HD brick). I'm hoping that is close enough and won't be too hot for a 42" Pompeii Tuscan oven.