Recreate refractory with firebrick

[qyota]

Howdy y'all!

This spring we moved from a 1,000 sq ft house heated by a Hearthstone Tribute woodstove (which we absolutely adored), to a 3,000 sq ft house with a big ol' natural gas furnace. Lucky for us, there is also a fireplace in the lower level, so we can still enjoy burning wood.

The fireplace is an older Security Chimneys BIS 1. Nice hearth, and has the heat exchanger ducts above. It won't heat the house, but it will help a bit. It has been neglected. While the chimney (external, bricked facade) is in great shape, the firebox needs some help. The original refractories are shot, so I pulled them out. I'll need to replace the sides, back, and top baffle. Since these are expensive parts, I'd like to replace the back and sides with 1.25" firebrick. I'll recreate the original dimensions, cutting and mortaring the bricks together. Anyone see a problem with that? For the baffle, not sure what I'll do yet. A replacement is at least $60, and I'll have to drive an hour to get it. Not a big deal, in the long run.

Another thing I noticed when cleaning the firebox, is a few holes in the firebox. They appear to have been drilled, since they are perfectly circular, and lined up along the left side of the box (near the top). Any idea why these might be here? Should I plug them with mortar? I assume I want the firebox as tight as possible, except for combustion air and of course the flue.

Thanks for your help. Here are some pics:





left side, small holes are for refractory bracket. Larger holes above are suspect. Yes, it's also cracked near the opening.



Right side, only the bracket holes appear here.

 

[begreen]

If there were any issues it's doubtful that insurance would cover a modified fireplace as this would void the UL testing. As for the holes, can you post a picture? Are they only on one side or on both?

 

[qyota]

If there were any issues it's doubtful that insurance would cover a modified fireplace as this would void the UL testing. As for the holes, can you post a picture? Are they only on one side or on both?

Pics added. Good thought on the insurance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[begreen]

That is peculiar. Not sure why they are there. It doesn't look like furnace cement would stay there. It'd probably fall out. Maybe they could be filled with a 1/4" pop rivet?

 

[qyota]

That's a good idea. I do have a small welder as well...I could try to plug the holes or just weld a rectangular patch across them. The rest of the firebox seems OK...just "dirty". I'm going to hit it with a flapwheel on my grinder before building the refractories back up. I just wonder if someone drilled those holes to get more air above the top baffle...for some reason.

This stove has two sliding levers (one on each side under the doors), not sure what they do. If you pull back the louver under the doors, there is another spring-loaded door (steel flap) to the left. I assume this is for combustion air. There is an air inlet on the back of the chimney outside.

 

[begreen]

What shape is the upper baffle in?

It would be good to locate a manual for the fireplace before firing it up. Maybe contact Security and see if they can email you a copy?

previous thread on this fireplace
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/help-with-my-older-bis-fireplace.124574/

 

[qyota]

Upper baffle was replaced by a hunk of 1/4" steel at some point. I was pretty warped, so I took it out. I will replace it with ceramic fiber board, most likely.

I can't find a manual. From what I can tell, Security doesn't have it either. NED has parts for this stove here:
http://www.woodstoves-fireplaces.com/security-bis-1/

 

[begreen]

Maybe give them a call?
Tel: 450-973-9999
Tel: 1-800-361-4909 (US)
Tel: 1-800-667-3387 (Canada)
Fax: 450-973-2222
2125 Monterey, Laval, Quebec, Canada, H7L 3T6

 

[qyota]

New bricks and baffle in! It's basically ready to fire up. Just need some cold weather!