Found interesting brick

[Rotterdam]

Hi everyone first post here

Decided to build a barrel type oven this summer. I happened across a contractor that had 25 tons of old Morex Firebrick sitting outside his buildings. The interesting thing was he mostly had type two arch bricks which seemed perfect for building a dome. The other interesting type of block he had was 16' x 13.5 x 4.5. Weighing in at a massive 75 pound. I thought 6 of these would make a good hearth. Has anyone read about or personally tried using either of these? Could heating these monsters take so long that it becomes a pain?

Thanks
Rott

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Found interesting brick

What are you planning on using the oven for, pizza then baking, etc. Pics of the bricks would be helpful especially the arch orientation. Are these structural block or refractory blocks, do you mean 16" or 16'?

[Rotterdam]

Re: Found interesting brick

Ok, I think I have a picture attached...

First off the purpose would be an occasional pizza/pizza party, and baking bread and pies, followed by dinners and such. I can't image ever doing more than 8 loaves at a time.

The smaller block are a firebrick made by morex, that company was sold, and the name discontinued. The 16'' block underneath I couldnt find on the internet anywhere but after I cleaned a section found it to be the same material as the smaller blocks.

I have 7 of the 13.5x 16'' blocks
200 of the 4.5x9 angles
And 22 of the taller wedges

I've designed a barrel oven that would require very minimal cutting, however everyone on the FB seems to prefer the Pompeii. Id like to try to get it correct the first time.

[Rotterdam]

Re: Found interesting brick

Here is a photo of a possible arch configuration.

Spaced out with even shims it's dimensions are 34'' across the base and 16'' to the external apex.

Rott

[dakzaag]

Re: Found interesting brick

They all look good from here, the Arch can be staggered with common firebrick to get a bigger span, or just allow a bit more mortar between the brick to give your arch a longer reach. You could also flip back and forth to achieve different span lenght. The tall brick look like they would make an excellent floor. The bigger pieces look to be what are called scags and these are just larger slabs of firebrick. They could also be used for the floor. Fewer seems is better for the floor generally.

I would be interested in the remainder of the stock if they are still available, just to give you an idea of what I think they might be worth.

As far as pompeii vs barrel, there really isn't a right or wrong, you see plenty of examples of each. The barrel may be slightly easier to build, but you have to buttress the side walls to counter the thrust of the barrel.

If you cut the tapers (those look to be about a #2) in half you have a perfect brick for a dome with a pre-cut taper to help you get a tight fit.

Really the choice would be yours, and I think you bagged a major score with the brick.

[Rotterdam]

Re: Found interesting brick

Dakzag

Thanks for the input. Still working on the underlayment for the hearth but I'm ready to pour the 4*8 foundation tomorrow morning. I think I'll be going barrel on this project.

If you need some brick for a project is be happy to make introductions.

[dakzaag]

Re: Found interesting brick

I PM you for the details, no need to broadcast a guys info all over the net...

[boerwarrior]

Re: Found interesting brick

The big blocks might be too big for the hearth - as in they will need a lot of wood to get them to temperature. That might be good for a lot of bread making but not so good if you want to have small pizza parties.

[deejayoh]

Re: Found interesting brick

+1 on those 16" bricks being awfully thick. That is so much mass to heat, it will take forever to get to temp. Nice thing is that it will stay that way (unless of course, you get it too hot, then you'll be burning pizzas all night!)