Greetings from Minnesota!
I'm working on a design to rebuild a simple backyard maple syrup arch, which presently consists of concrete block. It's basically three short walls, about 3' long and 2' tall, forming a "U" shape. The large stainless pan sits on top, the wood goes in the front, a length of black pipe on the rear serves as the chimney. It has worked great for four or five years. But the high heat has caused the concrete to crack and crumble away.
I want to keep things very simple. I could of course buy or make a larger steel evaporator, but for me that would take some of the rustic fun out of it.
So I'm thinking about rebuilding the same exact thing, but lining it with fire brick. My thinking is that the exterior concrete block won't get quite so hot and should withstand the process. The problem I'm encountering is that Rutland's fire brick setting compounds (both mortar and refractory cement) say they are for indoor use only.
Anyone know why? Any ideas how I can get around this?
I'm working on a design to rebuild a simple backyard maple syrup arch, which presently consists of concrete block. It's basically three short walls, about 3' long and 2' tall, forming a "U" shape. The large stainless pan sits on top, the wood goes in the front, a length of black pipe on the rear serves as the chimney. It has worked great for four or five years. But the high heat has caused the concrete to crack and crumble away.
I want to keep things very simple. I could of course buy or make a larger steel evaporator, but for me that would take some of the rustic fun out of it.
So I'm thinking about rebuilding the same exact thing, but lining it with fire brick. My thinking is that the exterior concrete block won't get quite so hot and should withstand the process. The problem I'm encountering is that Rutland's fire brick setting compounds (both mortar and refractory cement) say they are for indoor use only.
Anyone know why? Any ideas how I can get around this?