Fire Brick Changes to My Harman MKII

Cap · Post by **Cap** » Sun. Nov. 27, 2011 10:16 pm

Chuck_Steak wrote:
Cap wrote: Standard mild steel, if in contact with the coal fire, will rust out in short order. I experimented with these ideas back in '05. The store bought angle iron lasted one season. SS will last much longer. Stove steel while I am not a metallurgist, is certainly higher carbon and can handle the abusive nature of a coal fire.
Strange.
We replaced the angle that holds the rear firebricks in place in a Mark II, about 8 years ago,
with 1/4" angle, and it's still fine.

The angle I experimented with was less than 1/4" thickness and it was connected to a plate for a firebox reducer. So...it was buried in fire. Your bracket doesn't see fire 100% of the time. Or maybe you have higher carbon steel angle but unlikely if purchased from a big box store.

dlj · Post by **dlj** » Sun. Nov. 27, 2011 10:25 pm

Cap wrote: The angle I experimented with was less than 1/4" thickness and it was connected to a plate for a firebox reducer. So...it was buried in fire. Your bracket doesn't see fire 100% of the time. Or maybe you have higher carbon steel angle but unlikely if purchased from a big box store.

Cap, You must have been writing this just as I was writing a reply... Take a read of the post I just did ahead of this - your explanation here confirms what I was suspecting... (I wouldn't have written anything on this, except we switched pages, at least in my browser...)

dj

Chuck_Steak · Post by **Chuck_Steak** » Sun. Nov. 27, 2011 10:38 pm

Cap wrote: The angle I experimented with was less than 1/4" thickness and it was connected to a plate for a firebox reducer. So...it was buried in fire. Your bracket doesn't see fire 100% of the time. Or maybe you have higher carbon steel angle but unlikely if purchased from a big box store.

I understand what you are saying.

Our steel came from a steel dealer.
The same place we got all of our race car fab materials.

I understand the difference between 100% of the time intimacy, but I don't think that
front piece will be 100% "in it" much more than the angle at the rear??

Maybe I'm not visualizing it correctly..

Even if it did partially rot, I think one consideration is, even if it did last a year or two,
we are talking about one piece of stock about 18"-20" long.
Not gonna break the bank... not gonna blow up... not gonna fall on anyone's head...
I don't think I'd fret over not getting the exact material that the stove is built from.
Already we have seen 'free' rebar used.
If lasts 2-3 years... I'd say it's a good value.

Dan

Bear038 · Post by **Bear038** » Mon. Nov. 28, 2011 6:34 am

All the talk about what metals to use, that is why I did this with fire brick. The brick are not hard to work with, and they are easy to get. Even TSC has them in the 5x9 anyway. Yes it did take a little time, but it was all part of summer maintenance, and the actual fire is really only in contact with the brick.

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Mon. Nov. 28, 2011 8:56 am

Yep, come spring, I will be going the brick route w/ the Hitzer. Of course here in Freetown, we don't have none of them fancy wet-saw thinggys, but I do have a 4" makita with a tile blade & a garden hose. Now if I can stop shaking long enough to cut a couple straight lines, I'll be all set.

BUT, until then, my 5/8 re-bar is doing good.

Bear038 · Post by **Bear038** » Mon. Nov. 28, 2011 10:27 pm

Fred,

Would you please list me as one of the beneficiaries on your life insurance before you do that, PLEASE ( I really need the money, you know us poor old farm boys always in need)

Bear038 · Post by **Bear038** » Mon. Jan. 23, 2012 7:37 am

Just a quick mid season update:

This modification is working exactly as intended!!! If keeps a much more even depth to the coal, and It eliminated the ashing over in the front problem.

buck24 · Post by **buck24** » Mon. Jan. 23, 2012 10:18 am

Glad to see the adjustment you made is holding up and working well. Sometimes with these stoves a little tweek or adjustment is all you need for them to perform better.

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Mon. Jan. 23, 2012 1:56 pm

5/8 re-bar still holding the front bricks nicely snugged to the front of the Hitzer, but I'm still going to go the Bear route come next season.

rberq · Post by **rberq** » Mon. Jan. 23, 2012 2:20 pm

freetown fred wrote:5/8 re-bar still holding the front bricks nicely snugged to the front of the Hitzer, but I'm still going to go the Bear route come next season.

Yes, my four pieces of 1/2 rebar are working nicely, too, except a lot of ashes build up around the rebar and I don't dare vacuum them even though I think they are dead and cold.

Thanks for the idea, Bear.