Is this fireclay or mortar? Help! (Premixed, wet, air set)

[Thai_Style]

In a bit of a pickle here in Thailand.

Putting together my first oven. (For a pizzaria, on a bit of a time schedule). I bought what the national refractory company recommended and calls "mortar."

Wet, and premixed in a bucket. It looks like chocolate pudding when mixed. It is air dry, so it dosen't "set." Or really seem to adhere at all. Pulls apart easily the next day.

This is the ingredient list:

SiO2 57%
Al2O3 35%
Fe2O3 1.8

Is this really just fire clay, or is it a mortar? Can I use it to make a "home brew?" Do I need to fire it for it to bond? They say joints no larger than 2mm, but they say I can go 5 in a pinch. I cannot find a wet saw, so tapering the bricks is out. Only have an angle grinder.

I'm on an island with very limited resources as to materiel. To get what I have I had to go to Bangkok to the headquarters, and then it took 5 weeks to find a shipper who would get it to me.

I can find all the cement and sand I need. I can crush fire bricks. I might be able to find lime, but I'm not sure what type.

Thanks for the help!

[Capetonian]

Re: Is this fireclay or mortar? Help! (Premixed, wet, air set)

Hey

I am in south africa and sitting with the same problem mine is in powder form and u add water but comes out as a dark clay colour and has the same characteristics ae yours also cannot go more then 3 mm thick so i have the same questions like u

[Tscarborough]

Re: Is this fireclay or mortar? Help! (Premixed, wet, air set)

You are building a dome, you do not need a material to hold the bricks together, gravity will take care of that. You need a material to chink the gaps, and air-set refractories are fine for that (set the brick with the material straight, but add sand for filling the gaps on the outside of the oven.

FYI, the reason they do not have much bond is because in industrial applications, refractory materials are replaced on a regular basis, so they need to be able to get them out.

[Capetonian]

Re: Is this fireclay or mortar? Help! (Premixed, wet, air set)

Can i use the powder form as fireclay in a homebrew mix pls let me no thanks

[Thai_Style]

Re: Is this fireclay or mortar? Help! (Premixed, wet, air set)

Tscarborough,

Thanks for the info. I've got the same question as Capetonian. Can I use this premix as the "fire clay" portion of the Home brew?

I tried it yesterday, and it certainly set rather than drying, but I don't know my cemistry and refractories. Or does the same idea apply, it's just something to stop up the gaps. (But I do admit the "setting" aspect of yesterday's experiment is someting I like, rather than watching clay crack over the las few days.

Thanks!

[Brave]

Re: Is this fireclay or mortar? Help! (Premixed, wet, air set)

It sounds like fire clay to be thai. What do you mean by 'home brew'? I don't think you should worry too much about it setting. Ideally you would build the oven such that the bricks are held in place with cap stones, and the fire clay is just acting as fillers in the small gaps within the butt joins.