If you are going to fold the stove or fireplace yourself in your country house, then you know about the complexity of this process even without our instructions. Unfortunately, beginners do not always realize that even with the choice of material for such a responsible job, problems may arise. For example, do you know what a fireclay brick is and why a stove-maker needs it?
For household stoves, special alumina varieties are used, made from a special mixture of quartz and refractory clay. The latter is better known as "chamotte clay". It was this circumstance that gave the name to the resulting material.
By the way, fireclay brick contains up to 70% of such clay, which determines its high performance properties. It is fired at extremely high operating temperatures, most often using computer-controlled mechanisms for greater precision.
The fact is that at the slightest deviation upwards in degrees (which often happens at semi-handicraft enterprises), fireclay bricks are covered with a specific vitreous film, which makes it impossible to make normal masonry, since the binder solution is not fixed on it. Due to its specific color, such a waste is called "iron ore". Do not think that it is useless: because of the very film, it has excellent water-resistant properties, which is why builders who lay out basement floors from this material fell in love with it.
Normal fireclay bricks are characterized by rich straw-yellow color, structural density, and specific granular structure. It is not only extremely fireproof (withstands over 1000 degrees Celsius), but can also resist harsh chemical environments for a long time.
Among other things, its characteristic feature is the ability to accumulate the resulting heat. It is because of this that those furnaces in the laying of which this type of brick was used warm up more slowly, but provide uniform heating of the room and high temperature stability in it. This is very important, since the main disadvantage of stove heating is its daily jumps.
Therefore, fireclay bricks, whose characteristics allow its use in the most difficult places, must be of perfect quality. His choice should be approached with the greatest possible responsibility. Tap on the purchased material: on impactYou should hear a specific sound, similar to metal. If you hit it, then a brick of this type should split into dense large pieces. In the case when the "refractory" material does not meet these requirements, you should think about its origin and refuse to buy.
The fact is that the lack of basic quality indicators indicates poor firing, when the required temperature was not reached in the furnace. The danger of such products is in its hygroscopicity, which exceeds that even for ordinary bricks. If you build a furnace out of this material, it might fall apart in a couple of years.
Pay attention to the weight of fireclay bricks: it should be higher than that of the usual ceramic variety. It can be from 2.4 to 6 kg, depending on the type and size of the material.
