Fire Brick Storage

[mrchipster]

Re: Fire Brick Storage

I would like to recommend strongly against using brick that had gone through freeze thaw cycles. I know Minnesota winters are much more severe than other parts of the country/world.

But here is my experience, I was able to acquire 700 free fire bricks that had been used in a fireplace and had been piled in a backyard for several years going through a number of harsh winters.

The bricks were left uncovered and when I acquired them I moved them to my backyard and also left them out in the weather. When I finally decided to build the oven I built it out of these bricks that had gone through the freeze thaw cycles.

As you can see from the photos results were quite drastic. My mortar joints remained solid, but the bricks cracked through and caused enough structural issues to the dome that I decided to tear down and start over again.

I would highly recommend you not use bricks that have been through a freeze thaw cycle or at least as many as my bricks had experienced.

Chip

[Gulf]

Re: Fire Brick Storage

We used to set old brick out in the weather for a couple of seasons if possible just for freeze/thaw before cleaning. I have seen a few old common brick that spalled due to freeze/thaw. The vast majority of them were fine though. The only thing that turned loose a little easier was the mortor.
I can't add much about firebrick other than we reused many of them in BBQ pits. Not in domes but they seemed to hold up just fine in that case.

[Pdiff]

Re: Fire Brick Storage

I had the same concern and carefully covered my brick pile before and during building, but now I have had some extras sitting out in a small stack in the yard through several freeze thaw, hot sun, rain, etc, cycles and you would never know the difference. They seem unaffected.

[dmun]

Re: Fire Brick Storage

I think bricks of all sorts, including firebrick, are always stored outside. They are called brickyards for a reason. You need to get them damp before using them, after all. As for freeze cracking, I think any cracking from repeated freeze cycles will be visible to the eye, as in broken. I wouldn't worry about it. Builders use reclaimed bricks which have been outside for decades.

[Dino69]

I am getting ready to begin my build in a month or two. I have a few sources for fire brick near me that have pretty good prices. Superior Clay $1.27 including tax and two Whitacre Greer, one for $1.40 and the other for $0.83. I like the $0.83 one

I know it sounds like a no brainer as to which one to buy. My question is, some of the dealers, not all, store the bricks outside exposed to the weather. I was under the impression this was not a good way to store fire brick. With the porosity and the whole freeze/thaw cycle thing weakening the brick itself. Am I thinking correctly? The last thing I want is to build my oven and have it start spalling and crumbling apart after I use it for a while.

Cooking and baking in my dome when it is finished sounds like a great time...trying to replace crumbling bricks in the dome does not

Thanks to everyone on this site. I am learning so much from you guys.

David