School me on ceramic bricks?

[TJ-Bill]

I cleaned out the ole stove tonight. Emptied it more then I ever had in the year I've been here. I noiced there's no bricks on the bottom of the stove. is this normal? also how do you tell when the brick are done? I have a few in he back of the stove that look to be in sad shape.

thanks

 

[KsWoodsMan]

I'll leave some ash on the bottom to act as an insulator. I guess this is normal for some stoves. As long as there arent pieces missing I wouldnt worry much about some in less than perfect shape.

Unless it is cosmetically apparant that there is something wrong with them. I guess they could be moved around a bit to get them out of the hottest part of the stove or replaced if readily available in your area.

Don't take just my opinion on it though. I don't know just what kind of stove you have. Mine is more like a metal box with a loading door and flue pipe.

 

[mini14]

the only reason bricks are in stoves is to keep the metal from warping, i wouldn't worry about, if it hasent warped yet id say the metal is pretty tempered

 

[KsWoodsMan]

the only reason bricks are in stoves is to keep the metal from warping, i wouldn't worry about, if it hasent warped yet id say the metal is pretty tempered

Agreed that they help keep the metal from warping. Missing pieces will cause "hotspots" on the outside and cool the burn chamber.

That's part of it. They also direct the heat back into the fire to help hold the firebox temps up for a more complete burn. This makes for a hotter fire, more complete combustion, lower emissions and a warmer house with more even output from the heater.

 

[excess650]

My understanding of firebrick is that they are made in a way so as to resist the affects of heat as well as to act as an insulator. If you have some missing or broken in your stove, replace them. They only cost a few $, so not a major expense. I've replaced several in my coal stove over the years. BTW, the coal stove dosn't have bricks on the bottom, but rather, on the sides. The cast iron grates on the bottom seemed to do OK with the heat.

In a more extreme case, I had visited a potter who used a gas fired kiln. The kiln was hot when we were there and he pulled a brick out with his fingers, and it was glowing red on the inside! Whatever these particular bricks were, they were extremely lightweight.

 

[hausfire]

Man I just bought bricks from tractor supply 5 for 10 dollars and to get them to the right size I just cut them with a tile saw.

 

[TJ-Bill]

Thanks Guys, I think I'll leave them for another year.. all the bricks are there it's just the back ones that look like they're starting to loose some material in the middle, probably from throwing wood in. I was curious about the bottome but I'll leave it empty since there's none in now..