Should I use fire bricks

[daverobitaille]

Hi all,

Still learning here and I have a question for the more experienced guys.
I use a steel drum with a smoke stack with my new 2X3 evaporator. I was wondering if I should lined the bottom of the drum with fire bricks? Would it make a difference at all. Last year I did not and it worked well.
I assume it would keep the heat longer? Any advise would be nice.

Dave

[firehouse.syrup]

Gidday Dave
Our operation started as 6 buckets and a turkey pot on propane. Every year have grown, gradually up to 2 18"X63" evaporators and 300 buckets. I had a homemade arch years back, just lined the sides with brick. On one hand you want as much heat possible to be directed at your pans,, on the other hand, I used to be able to cook a pizza directly underneath my homemade arch !! That was handy at 3 A.M. All kidding aside, the more you brick, the hotter it gets, the faster you boil.

Rob

[SPM in King]

Dave, I use fire brick on the sides and patio stones on the bottom. My rig is a rectangular box. I also use a blower to get the fire much hotter. The blower sends air up and sideways. I think the ash must protect the bottom (ash insulates well). Perhaps you should insulate the sides with some regular brick to see if it helps. You can buy fire bricks later, if it works. If you decide to use a blower, use fire brick! My cinder blocks, on the sides, fell apart quickly when I started using a blower.

Steve.

[randomseeker]

Steve,

What kind of a blower did you use and how did you hook it up? I have a Lapierre Junior 18x66.

Bob

[SPM in King]

Bob,

I used an old fan from a roof mounted kitchen vent. I build a shroud for it and put it into 6" spiral. From that I ran it under the grates in the arch using 2 - 4" x 4" square tubing - 1/4" thick. I drilled 1" holes on the sides and top to move the air evenly under the fire. I use a rheostat to control the fan speed. It runs HOT! At night, I can see 3' of red firing out of the top of the stack.

Steve.