Broken fire brick

[G-runner]

Does anyone know if it’s bad to burn your pellet stove without the firebrick insert? Mine just broke on my Lopi 400PS. I really don’t want to spend $125 to by a new one.

Does it deflect the heat to keep the back of the stove to keep from overheating? Or are they more for esthetics?

 

[Washed-Up]

It deflects the heat away from your hopper, yeah it’s bad to run without it

 

[G-runner]

That’s what I thought.

Thanks

 

[G-runner]

Now I know people are going to laugh at this but I need the stove running this week because it’s gonna be cold and will have to order I guess a new firebrick.
But I was able to Frankenstein the two pieces back with some heavy gauge wire so it would hand in place.

Don’t laugh to hard.

 

[johneh]

Good job I have seen worse
No laughing here

 

[BigJohnfromCT]

How about filling the crack with some furnace cement?

 

[Washed-Up]

Or fill it with high temp rtv

 

[G-runner]

So I had actually thrown the two pieces away. I was deep cleaning the Lopi today because the weather was mild for a few days before the temps drop again next week. The piece was proper up against the stove the fell over and I knew it cracked. It wasn't until I posted and Wash-Up responded that I pulled the pieces and thought to try and fab them as a temp fix. But I've also been looking at the Lopi troubleshooting guide. It says the firebrick is a cement based material. I'm thinking I might try and fab my own out of cement and see if it works.

 

[G-runner]

The material is pretty brittle. I burn my Lopi as a primary source of heat through the winter. I figured it was a matter of time before it started to deteriorate. It's filled with a bunch of tiny pieces of metal. Like pins I'm guessing to bond the cement.

 

[Ssyko]

Better yet make your own (broken link removed)

 

[G-runner]

Thanks Ssyko! I'll take a look at this.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Way back when we (there are a few of us on here, Pete and Kap and a few others that were on the defunct IBC forum), anyway, one of the industrious corn burners on there busted his backer board (don't know why they call in fire brick because it's not, it's molded refractory compound, the Rutland stuff Ssyko linked to.

What you need to do is build yourself a wood box the dimensions of your old backer board, mix the stuff with water and pour it in (like a concrete form) and let it dry. You can emboss it with a popsickle stick to look like brick if you want to or just leave it flat. Anyway, what you do is let it dry out pretty much and put it in you r wife's oven and bake it at 350 degrees for a couple hours to drive all the moisture out and viola, you have a new backer board. The auger hole can be put in while it's wet with a suitable sized inverted plastic glass,

I need to make one too, I have a small crack in mine and it needs to be there as it reflects heat away from the fuel hopper (as statae above in another post)

That is an excellent link Ssyko. Should be in the header on the top of the forum.

 

[tbear853]

Better yet make your own (broken link removed)

I knew someone once told me something to use to rebuild a broken molded log, I just remembered what it was.

Thank You.

 

[G-runner]

Thanks SidecarFlip and to everyone who had suggestions. I’m definitely going to purchase some Rutland and build my own. Wondering if I should reinforce it with wire in the ceneter like most people use rebar when laying concrete. Might make it hold together longer.

 

[rickwai]

Way back when we (there are a few of us on here, Pete and Kap and a few others that were on the defunct IBC forum), anyway, one of the industrious corn burners on there busted his backer board (don't know why they call in fire brick because it's not, it's molded refractory compound, the Rutland stuff Ssyko linked to.

What you need to do is build yourself a wood box the dimensions of your old backer board, mix the stuff with water and pour it in (like a concrete form) and let it dry. You can emboss it with a popsickle stick to look like brick if you want to or just leave it flat. Anyway, what you do is let it dry out pretty much and put it in you r wife's oven and bake it at 350 degrees for a couple hours to drive all the moisture out and viola, you have a new backer board. The auger hole can be put in while it's wet with a suitable sized inverted plastic glass,

I need to make one too, I have a small crack in mine and it needs to be there as it reflects heat away from the fuel hopper (as statae above in another post)

That is an excellent link Ssyko. Should be in the header on the top of the forum.

I kinda forgot about the old IBC forum. I hated to see it go.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Thanks SidecarFlip and to everyone who had suggestions. I’m definitely going to purchase some Rutland and build my own. Wondering if I should reinforce it with wire in the ceneter like most people use rebar when laying concrete. Might make it hold together longer.

In a nutshell, no. The Rutland mix is fiber reinforced and needs nothing added. I guess you could lay a layer of metal screen in it but it's not necessary.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I kinda forgot about the old IBC forum. I hated to see it go.

The guy that hosted it was running it on a home server and it got out of hands size wise so he let it go. Yes, too bad, was a good venue and a few member on here were there, me included but it was really a corn burners forum, not processed wood pellets.

 

[G-runner]

Thanks again!

 

[zrock]

hardi board is also fireproof... not sure of the proper spelling but the house siding. You can get it in sheets or strips... At a old job we had a outdoor fire wood boiler that we used it to protect the heating coils never failed. We used a torch to try and burn through it and nothing and it was actually fairly cool on the back side so you could put your hand on it.

 

[G-runner]

Nice!

 

[G-runner]

So, its been two seasons since I posted anything. I finally had to make a new fire brick for my Lopi because the repair job on the original finally gave out. Right after my posting and the responses to the question of making a new brick I purchased the Rutlands Refractory Cement from Tractor Supply but it sat in the garage till this year. I followed SideCarflips advise and made a frame using a piece of plyboard as the base and some 1X2"s for the sides. I lined the inside of the built frame with Saran Wrap. I mixed the Rutlands as per the instructions. I made a wire tic-tac-toe shaped insert that I sunk in the mix once I put the concrete mix in the frame. I also added some spacers for the cut out on the fire brick that goes around the auger tube, (not shown in the pics). I didn't do a very good job at photographing the job while I was doing it, sorry.

The instructions for setting the concrete say to not let the surface dry out so I put saran over the concrete once the concrete was in the frame and wire placed down inside the mix. Also, the reason for saran on the bottom inside the frame. I'm guessing the idea is to allow the concrete to dry from the inside out.
I let the whole thing set in my garage, 60 degree temps over the next 24 hrs. My new brick is 3/4" thick where as the original was 1" thick. I used a Dremel to cut the hangar mounts. Think next time I'll take the hangar from the inside of the stove and press it into the concrete while its setting for better results.
I also placed it into the oven at 350 for a few hours after the original setting of 24hrs. The results were pretty good. Not perfect but its solid. I started burning later then usual because temps haven't been as cold as last year but I've burned it for a full week and half straight and the new brick is nice and solid.

Here are some pics of my old brick in pieces, the frame I built, really simple, and the new brick. Hope this helps anyone who might not want to spend to buy a new brick. Good advice for a DIY.

Thanks again to all with the good advice!

 

[tbear853]

It'll do I think, looks great too.

 

[Washed-Up]

Yeah man, pretty decent for a first try at one!

 

[Mt Bob]

I think I would have just bought a new one. But nice job.

 

[rickwai]

So, its been two seasons since I posted anything. I finally had to make a new fire brick for my Lopi because the repair job on the original finally gave out. Right after my posting and the responses to the question of making a new brick I purchased the Rutlands Refractory Cement from Tractor Supply but it sat in the garage till this year. I followed SideCarflips advise and made a frame using a piece of plyboard as the base and some 1X2"s for the sides. I lined the inside of the built frame with Saran Wrap. I mixed the Rutlands as per the instructions. I made a wire tic-tac-toe shaped insert that I sunk in the mix once I put the concrete mix in the frame. I also added some spacers for the cut out on the fire brick that goes around the auger tube, (not shown in the pics). I didn't do a very good job at photographing the job while I was doing it, sorry.

The instructions for setting the concrete say to not let the surface dry out so I put saran over the concrete once the concrete was in the frame and wire placed down inside the mix. Also, the reason for saran on the bottom inside the frame. I'm guessing the idea is to allow the concrete to dry from the inside out.
I let the whole thing set in my garage, 60 degree temps over the next 24 hrs. My new brick is 3/4" thick where as the original was 1" thick. I used a Dremel to cut the hangar mounts. Think next time I'll take the hangar from the inside of the stove and press it into the concrete while its setting for better results.
I also placed it into the oven at 350 for a few hours after the original setting of 24hrs. The results were pretty good. Not perfect but its solid. I started burning later then usual because temps haven't been as cold as last year but I've burned it for a full week and half straight and the new brick is nice and solid.

Here are some pics of my old brick in pieces, the frame I built, really simple, and the new brick. Hope this helps anyone who might not want to spend to buy a new brick. Good advice for a DIY.

Thanks again to all with the good advice!

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Speaking of Sidecar Flip, Has anyone heard from him this season?