After 4+ years some of the firebrick in my Napoleon insert need to be replaced. I’ve noticed several types available a ceramic type and I believe a clay (pottery) based. The insert came with the ceramic type. I found ceramic ones online from Menards at a pretty good price. Tractor Supply and the local masonry supply have the clay based. What are the pro’s and con’s with each type? I bought 2 boxes of these. The pink brick was purchased at Tractor Supply, the broken one came with the insert, and the gray brick is from the Box (Menards). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Any of them will protect the stove and insulate the firebox...the lighter they are the quicker things heat up, but then don't hold the heat as much at the end of the burn...the heavier ones heat up slow but help keep the stove warmer longer at the end...the softer/lighter ones sometimes are a little more easily damaged...IMO, pick what you like and burn away. I've used the cheap ones from TSC/RKO/Menards...seemed fine, especially for the price
I wondered this myself as I put my brick in my stove. Stove brick for me is a white brick, I believe it is ceramic as its pretty light for what it is. The brick I bought for a project is from tractor supply. I’ll lay them out here. Tractor supply brick on left, my stove brick on the right. One thing I just noticed is the white stove brick is a bit thicker. The brick is looking much like pumice, the volcanic rock that is formed when it hits cold water quickly so its loaded with air holes. Heats up quickly but cools the same way. Just as brenndatomu says, they keep heat in your firebox. Its just a liner for your firebox to prevent warpage from the extremes. I’ve read on other stuff about using soapstone. Soapstone density allows for high heat dissipation over time but takes quite awhile for it to heat up in the first place.
I bought some of these.. If you buy 16 or less, the shipping is a flat rate $7.95. If you buy more, it goes up astronomically.. United States Stove Company Single Firebrick by United States Stove Company at Mills Fleet Farm
I think there are two basic types of fire brick, the standard hard (heavy) and the less common soft (light), that have different purposes. The soft brick is insulating brick, usually pumice... it is not going to absorb as much heat, and helps keep heat in by insulating. I think mostly used in kilns, but would be used in a wood stove if the idea is to heat up the firebox more quickly and hold heat for better secondary combustion. The standard firebrick is going to add density to the stove (and protection, I imagine) so the stove would be slower to heat up and take longer to cool down. There is a significant difference in weight and durability, with the insulating brick being FAR lighter and more prone to damage and abrasion. That hard brick is going to have a weight and density similar to standard construction brick. If you have two different color bricks that are about the same weight and size, they are probably for the same application even if they seem to be of different composition. The insulating brick is really light and noticably different. I'm sure many people have used them interchangably, but I would stick with the general type that the stove came with, since it was obviously designed with a certain application in mind. My Harman came with heavy brick that was a refractory material cast into specific shapes, meaning I couldn't just replace them with cheap firebrick. They were really expensive and prone to crack... just another reason to give up on that stove!
