Hypothetical fire brick question

[TresK3]

We were out shopping for an insert on Friday and a thought crossed my mind as I looked into the FPX-33 Elite and the Hearthstone Clydesdale sitting next to it.

If soapstone holds the heat better then conventional firebrick, why couldn't you replace the firebrick in the FPX-33 with soapstone? Would you gain any benefits? The Clydesdale is cast iron and the FPX is steel. Would that matter? Other than voiding the warranty, what problems or safety issues might develop? I'm not saying I want to do this, just wondering if it would work.

 

[Highbeam]

The inside of my hearthstone stove has two slabs of soapstone on the firebox floor to protect the cast iron ash pan underbelly of the unit. It appears to be a direct swap for firebrick in this case where the soapstone serves no aesthetic value. Good question.

 

[Todd]

I think fire brick radiates the heat back into the fire better than soapstone? So it might effect the combustion efficiency or secondary burn if you replaced all your fire bricks with soapstone? I had a Hearthstone Homestead a few years back and the back wall of the firebox was regular fire brick and the rest was soapstone. My current stove is all soapstone except the fire box floor, which is fire brick. I bet alot of testing goes into these soapstone stoves to get the right combination for a clean burn.