Older Defiant

[Gary A Wood]

I purchased a second hand Defiant, front and side load. I don't see an obvious place to add fire brick. The standard brick looks too large to fit anywhere. What am I missing, where does the fire brick go? Someone at a local stove shop said I don't need any? Help..... thanks in advance.

Gary

 

[homebrewz]

Welcome! If the stove did not originally come with firebrick, you shouldn't need to add any. Some older stoves were made to run with a layer of ash or refractory sand on the floor of the fire box to protect the base of the stove from excessive heat and to avoid damage. You should look into the specifics of your particular model and see if that is the case. If the manual recommends a layer of ash or sand, then you definitely need it.

Do you have a manual? You might be able to find one here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/vermont-castings-older-stove-models/

 

[peakbagger]

The previous poster is correct, the bottom of the firebox is filled with sand and then ash keeps it level, there are ribs in place to prevent digging own through the sand/ash layer when cleaning

 

[fbelec]

that's what i use in my defiant. ash. build your fire on top of the the ash that is level or a little above the ribs on the bottom of the stove. that's it.