re-bricking a Supra woodstove

[muskox37]

I have an old Supra woodstove, originally manufactured in Obernai, France. Three of the four firebricks at the back of the stove are cracked and broken, some into fairly small pieces. I'd like to try replacing them with some regular firebrick that I will cut to fit but I don't want to create a monster that will burn somebody's house down.

This stove has quarter inch thick panels at the top and sides but the front and back are only sheet metal with fitted bricks inside. There is a small viewing window on the front of the stove and the bricks are still quite good. It's the bricks around the stove exit pipe that are pretty badly crumbled.

I plan to cut regular three dollar bricks to the right size using the original as a pattern. Do I need to mortar the bricks in or should I just cut them as accurately as I can and ensure a fairly tight fit. Is an eighth of an inch play too much to allow? I will try for tighter but I'd like to get an idea of just how much space I can allow between the bricks without creating a hazard.

 

[begreen]

Greetings. Now that you've brought up this interesting stove you know you have to post a picture of it. Maybe post one of the interior, rear bricks too.

Normally they are not mortared in place. What holds the rear bricks in now? One thing to check is the current brick thickness. They may be metric and not match stock bricks. This may not be a big deal, but something to consider.

 

[muskox37]

The original bricks have been formcast to have a narrow ledge along the bottom. This fits into a channel at the bottom of the stove. There are also indentations to allow for various bolts that stand out from the side of the stove. The top is curvecast to fit the exit pipe.

I can't see a problem cutting the ledge out of regular bricks because I have a tile saw that should take care of that. A bit more tricky cutting the curves for the exit pipe but not impossible.

There is nothing burned through on the stove anywhere and the casting seems to be in good shape.

Bob

 

[begreen]

It will be tricky, but seems possible. It's good that you have an intact brick to measure off of. How thick are the bricks?

As an alternative, you could have a steel plate cut to fit. (A plasma cutter will do a pretty nice job.) Ceramic insulation board could be cut to fit and the plate could be bolted in with spacers in front of the insulation board.