Homebrew as the cooking surface

[Chach]

Today I had someone ask me if they could use the homebrew mortar as the cooking floor instead of fire brick. I did not know what to tell them. I was thinking no because of the Lime but what do I know? I'm not a chemist LOL. Does anyone have any insight.

Ricky

[Pizzarotic]

Sure you could, but would not be ideal as all the activity will wear the home brew away and contaminate the pizza base. If you cooked with trays then I don't see a problem, there's nothing in the homebrew that's is toxic unlike fire bricks which can have all sorts of nasties in them.

[david s]

Today I had someone ask me if they could use the homebrew mortar as the cooking floor instead of fire brick. I did not know what to tell them. I was thinking no because of the Lime but what do I know? I'm not a chemist LOL. Does anyone have any insight.

Ricky

It’s not just the lime, the floor takes the greatest beating and homebrew does not stand up to it. It will spall fairly quickly, because of the Portland cement content which begins to degrade north of 300C, rapid temperature rise (thermal shock) and uneven heating (thermal expansion). Castable refractory fares better. The larger the refractory section the greater the chance of cracking. Firebrick laid loose, to allow for uneven thermal expansion is best for longevity and worth the extra cost if you want an oven to last decades, or generations.