Furnace Recommendation
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JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
damn!
Those look to be some pretty porous bricks. Have you tried a different brand? How did you cut them?
I've never encountered what you guys have shown.
Those look to be some pretty porous bricks. Have you tried a different brand? How did you cut them?
I've never encountered what you guys have shown.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, you can build a highly effective controller for less than that. I have around $400 in mine including 3 Johnson Control boxes, 8 RIB spdt relays, a homemade enclosure (couldn't find one big enough) and wiring. A friend offered to design and print a circuit board to the same end, but it's hard to imagine anything working better than what I have.
Does burning green wood cause the fire brick to spalt like that? I bought a used Quadra Fire insert that had little use but the brick were trash, looking like they had all "popped:" on the fire side over and over again. They were burning unsplit wood that was "seasoned" a year and the firebox looked awful.
I believe wet wood does cause that kind of damage in the brick but I can't prove it.
Yeah I don’t understand how this is happening at such an extreme. People been burning for years and never had one clinker. I’ve got tons of them! Worst part is... I have probably 2 rick or more of the same wood already cut and split
I cut the new firebrick myself, so I cut them to fit quite a bit closer than the factory brick. I used an angle grinder with a tile blade. Cut like butter.
Yeah I don’t understand how this is happening at such an extreme. People been burning for years and never had one clinker. I’ve got tons of them! Worst part is... I have probably 2 rick or more of the same wood already cut and split
I cut the new firebrick myself, so I cut them to fit quite a bit closer than the factory brick. I used an angle grinder with a tile blade. Cut like butter.
It is the red elm, I get the same thing. It's great firewood when you find them standing dead, not one spec of bark and bleached from the sun, top half ready to go. Well worth it despite the clinker issue.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Oh I have burnt plenty of wood that makes clinkers...just never had them stick to the bricks before. But might be because I rarely clean the ashes out down to bare bricks....
Well I religiously pull the coals to the front of the box when reloading, but I also religiously keep the area in front of the bottom front air supply clear. This probably doesn’t help the issue.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
really? I scrape the bricks clean every time when I pull the coals forward....?? You must have a different rake to pull the coals forward. Mine is the one I got with the furnace, it has a flat edge.
yep, same here.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
I have the factory rake, but mainly use my homemade one...it's a 1/3rd of an old garden rake welded on to a rebar handle...works really well...it doesn't clean the bricks bare though...fine with me
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woodey
Feeling the Heat
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
I have'd my furnace for 8 years and never replaced a brick. I burn some elm but not a lot. We burn mostly ash due to EAB. From looking at your picture it looks like your brick are lot more porous than what I have on my Caddy. I wonder if PSG is cheapening some things up on the Tundra line in order to meet a specific price point.
I think the lightweight bricks are better for insulation and combustion in the firebox.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
For the consumer I think they are more expensive, but for a large company like SBI, I'm sure there's not a significant difference in cost. I heard in the past, they were used to help lower shipping costs of the units, considering it would add up significantly with multiple units. I've considered trying them if I ever found them cheap enough, but I would still use the dense bricks on the floor of the furnace since it's not exposed to the cooling of the blower.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
Sounds to me even though they may insulate better, they probably are not as durable......compared to the ole' heavy ones.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/regular-and-light-weight-firebrick-differences.92242/
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/regular-and-light-weight-firebrick-differences.92242/
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sloeffle
Minister of Fire
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
I think this post from @FyreBug awhile ago in the link @JRHAWK9 posted supports my case about them cheapening up the bricks on the Tundra.
regular and light weight firebrick differences
Specifically the last sentence:
"Since we use both, we are well aware of the properties of either. We use the lightweight bricks for our 'value' brands and the heavier for our premier brands."
regular and light weight firebrick differences
Specifically the last sentence:
"Since we use both, we are well aware of the properties of either. We use the lightweight bricks for our 'value' brands and the heavier for our premier brands."
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