Mortar setting times

[Ian.m]

Morning all.
juts a quick one,
what are the normal setting times of home brew refractory mortar? I know it’s very weather and location dependent.
I’m in the uk with yesterday’s temp of around 18c.

I only ask about settings times as I see a lot of mentions in other builds saying how little time you have to work with it and how quickly it sets.

I found with my home brew mix that I wasn’t overly rushed and it’s still fairly soft this morning. I’m just concerned the mortar may be wrong in some way.
ive used the 3:1:1:1 mix.

thanks.
Ian.

[fox]

It is only the high temp refractory mortars that have fast setting times, home brew is as you point out dependent of temp and humidity but also on the amount of water you add to the mix.
It should remain workable for a couple of hours and set firm in 6-8 hours but not go hard for at least 24 hours but if the bricks are very dry they will suck up the moister from the mix and can make it crumbly and hard quite quickly. I would cover any work exposed full sun with damp sacking to stop it drying out to quickly.