refractory cement vs. furnace cement: Do I grind it down?

[RickBlaine]

I cold chiseled only the cracked mortar between the fire bricks in my fireplace. No firebricks are loose, just some of the mortar was cracked here and there. Perhaps just 10% of the total mortar in my fireplace was cracked.

I will be installing a wood burning stove in this brick fireplace next week. Should I use furnace cement, refractory cement, or a type of mortar between these fire bricks in my fireplace?

Should I use my angle grinder (with a masonry grinder wheel) to grind down to a uniform depth ALL of the mortar between the firebricks of my fireplace, or is it OK to simply patch up the few spots where the mortar was cracked?

Again, this is NOT the firebrick in my wood burning stove, just the firebrick in my fireplace.

Better to use the "tub" or the "tube"?

Thank you!

 

[BrotherBart]

Not a mason but I would use the grinder to cut into the spaces and then use refractory cement. So it has surface area to adhere to. Furnace cement likes to stick to metal. Refractory cement likes to stick to bricks and mortar.

Just a novices opinion.

 

[RickBlaine]

.....but a wise novice! Thank you, BrotherBart.