Bricking plus blanket?

[zandstrafarms]

question is, do you put down fire blanket first, then break over top of it? Husband wonders if it won't be solid enough to hold bricks against? My understanding was you blanket first in fire box, then break over top of blanket with mortar to protect the fire blankets.is it better to use both blanket and bricks or can we just brick? I have a 25 foot roll of fire blanket and lots of bricks so I have the supplies already for everything.

also, we are wondering how to apply the mortar. There are no instructions on the container, we opened it up and there's a lot of liquid on the top so it's not a powder. Do we use it as is or do we thin it down?12951d

[psparr]

Blanket first and only need brick where your loading wood to protect the blanket.
As for the mortar, should just apply as is. Just mix it first.

[billyinvt]

You'll have much better results with the mortar if you can apply it and let it set in fairly warm temperatures (over 40F). It's worth using a small heater if necessary.

[bigschuss]

Depends on how you brick your arch, but when I did my Mason 2x4 the mortar just basically fills in any gaps between bricks, nooks and crannies here and there. The bricks are not actually mortared to the sides of the arch or to the other bricks. Some people do a skim coat of mortar over the surface of all of the bricks. Can't hurt. If you do this, I'd be sure to soak the bricks in water or the mortar will dry too fast and crack and peel off the bricks on you. See my comments below in red.

Hope this helps.


question is, do you put down fire blanket first,...then break over top of it....yes? Husband wonders if it won't be solid enough to hold bricks against? My understanding was you blanket first in fire box, then break over top of blanket with mortar ...no mortar between blanket and bricks...to protect the fire blankets.is it better to use both blanket and bricks ...yes...or can we just brick...yes too, but blanket is better? I have a 25 foot roll of fire blanket and lots of bricks so I have the supplies already for everything.

also, we are wondering how to apply the mortar. There are no instructions on the container, we opened it up and there's a lot of liquid on the top so it's not a powder. Do we use it as is or do we thin it down?...use as is, but mix well.12951d

[zandstrafarms]

Thanks for the tips!

Especially on soaking! I did plan to cover with heat for a,few days based off a previous post. Gonna hit -5 this week so heat to cure is a definite! Not to mention whIle working ;)

[lakeview maple]

I put the blanket down in the whole arch sides and bottom, then used fire brick splits to cover the fire box and ramp , anywhere firewood would damage the blanket. Then skim coat refractory cement the whole thing. I put a small heater in it and left the stack cover on and it dried fine.

[Shirlsaw63]

lakeview are you saying you skim coat the cement on the blanket too or don't you have any exposed blanket in your setup?

[Bricklayer]

If you look up "Firebrick evaporator" on YouTube there is a pretty good video by Leader on bricking an evaporator. I'm a mason and have done hundreds of fire boxes and kiln ovens with lots of different types of firebrick. proper way to lay firebrick is with very tight full mortar joints. there will be little expansion in the brick but metal will contract and move a tiny bit but the blanket will provide enough room for movement. Joints should be about 1/16". I've never soaked fire brick in water. If I was laying them in the Sahara desert maybe but at normal temperature you shouldn't have to. Especially if you are trying to heat your evaporator to cure the fire clay it will slow down the curing time by introducing water. Probley not good to get the ceramic blanket wet either. It's -25 here in Ontario right now so I haven't been able to brick mine yet ( unheated garage) but I was able to get the base in. I did not put blanket down in the bottom of firebox. 3 layers of firebrick for a solid base. pulled the third layer back a bit by cutting it. This way I had a lip to set my grates on. If you do side walls first then front and back. The side walls will be supported. You could bond team all together to overlap in corners but would be lots of cutting. On the ramp if you lay blanket down on sides and bottom lay the firebrick on sides first then bottom. If you get it tight the bottom brick will support the side brick. And still have enough play with the blanket for movement. A more rigid way of supporting your brick and does pretty much same thing as blanket is arch board. Doesn't do well with direct flame though. I've never used it so can't really comment on it. If it gets warmer out here soon I will brick mine and post some pictures

[lakeview maple]

lakeview are you saying you skim coat the cement on the blanket too or don't you have any exposed blanket in your setup? No only on the brick and the ramp , sorry for the confusion

[woodey24]

Do you need to brick all the way to the stack? I have blanket and brick in the fire box but only blanket half way to the exhaust. Sorry to jump in on someone else's thread but only a few weeks away here and want to see if I need to make another run to the store. Thanks

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

put down as much blanket as you can, only need to brick where the wood goes,but if you also brush your flues you dont want to rip up the blanket so you would lay brick on the blanket no need to mortar there.

[woodey24]

Thank you.

[Vtmbz]

Here in Vermont we have available a product called arch board, which comes in panels about 12x24 I think. It's an inch thick and holds its place. Not solid enough to take any abuse. I lined my small arch with that in the firebox and then was able to use 1" firebrick instead of the 2" on top of it, which saved money. I lined my entire arch with arch board and 1" firebrick mainly because you can fit it better and it stays where you put it. I cut the firebrick with a cheap plastic tile saw. They're not that hard to cut, but crumbly to break

My used arch had some burnout on the steel panels where the previous owner used just blanket and it fell away during firing. The heat is intense; sometimes the firebrick glow red after a long fire, so you want to spend some time on bricking.

[zandstrafarms]

We were all set to brick with bits of blanket for small gaps, but went to the maple store and the lady was horrified that we were only doing brick.

She said the outside will be very hot and burn you. This alarmed us as we have both kids and pets! I hadn't seen anyone on here mention brick alone will not keep heat away from the outside.

We decided to spend an extra $30 and get the last few sheets of board they had. At the very least we will do the sides of the firebox. Everything else will be bricked and maybe blanketed.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

i did brick only when i first started, i had to stand as far back as possible to reach the draw valve so my thighs wouldnt burn, then i learned about blanket.

[derekp]

My first year I only used brick and I couldn't even stand anywhere near the arch...the rivots on my pants would burn my legs every night!!you end up losing a lot of heat without properly insulating. Another thought, as someone else mentioned, fire bricks can actually glow red and hold a bunch of heat and in my opinion, radiate that heat back into the arch. I have brick over blanket 1/2" under my flue pan which I think helps radiate a bit more heat under the flues...not sure if it actually helps but the thought sounds right..

[Hunt4sap]

Im new to site and building a barrel type cooker.
So, i need fire brick on bottom and what on sides/ front/back?
Where do i get this insulation board?

[Turtlecreek]

Hunt, i have abarrel evaporator too under a 2x3 continous flow pan. I put 1" ceramic all around my barrel and then I put 1/2 bricks on top of that I can almost put my hand on the barrel when I am firing it is insulated that well. The only place that i did'nt put the blanket is on my "ramp" in the back.