jrgpots Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 I just got 188 of these fire bricks for $75. They measure 4" x 4" x 11.5". They were unused liner bricks for a steel foundry. They have no name just the following: " l5l17 ". Each weighs 10.4 lbs. Has anyone seen this type of brick before? Some of the tongue and groove bricks I see on the internet are made to withstand cone 32? Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrgpots Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 The nomenclature markings might be: The Absolute value of 5 followed by 17. Could this be a PCE 17 brick with 5% of an additive like mullite? I plan to place one of these bricks in a cone 10 reduction firing and see what happens. If it holds up, I will use these bricks for a 12 to 15 cubic foot kiln Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 These are industrial custom bricks-they lock together but I cannot figure that tongue as it looks like it still will have space missing in the stack. Liner bricks can be hot face or backing bricked-these are pretty unusual shapes- Looks like a gamble as to how they will hold up. My rule of thumb learned the hard way is unusual shapes are hard to build with so I always avoid them now. If you have a plan that can use them great but in the future you will find standard shapes are easier to work with. No telling on manufacture or specs. Let us know? Steel mill my guess- sounds like a Salt Lake steel mill gone bust and scraped. They do not look like hot steel was on any face. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JBaymore Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 FYI.............. the hard brick PCE number rating is a bit confusing if you don't know the way it works. It stands for "Pyrometric Cone Equivalent". What that actually means is that if the brick material was made into the standard cone form, the cone would melt and the tip would reach the base at the PCE number. It is not the cone that the brick is rated to withstand or the use temperature or anything like that. It is when the brick materials will MELT. best, ..............john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrgpots Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 They were never used. They came from the Geneva steel mill in the 1950-1960s. I think I can use IFB on the interior walls giving me 8 1/2 inch walls. The hard brick will be used for the floor and outer shell. For a 12-15 cf kiln, would you make it a side draft or down draft? Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrgpots Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 FTI.............. the hard brick PCE number rating is a bit confusing if you don't know the way it works. It stands for "Pyrometric Cone Equivalent". What that actually means is that if the brick material was made into the standard cone form, the cone would melt and the tip would reach the base at the PCE number. It is not the cone that the brick is rated to withstand or the use temperature or anything like that. It is when the brick materials will MELT. best, ..............john That's not so good news...any ideas about the code printed on the brick? Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 My thoughts is since these bricks where esentially free (75$) you could chip a corner and fire it to cone 10 and see what happens-I would contain that piece in a bowl. At this point you have not much to loose and everything to learn. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JBaymore Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 That's not so good news...any ideas about the code printed on the brick? Nope.. no idea. Sorry. Mark gave you some good advice above. I would fire samples repeatedly before putting them into use in a kiln structure. Looking at cumulative heat work plus heating/cooling stress cycles impacts. best, ................john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 I will offer to test fire a small piece to cone 11 as I'm firing every week until the 3rd week in December. You could mail me a small chunk soon. Just PM me for my address. I'm very busy now but this will not take any time.You would need to mail it soon as I'm gone in early Dec at a show. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrgpots Posted November 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2015 Thanks to Mark for placing a piece of my brick in his kiln. The bricks will hold up to temps of cone 11. So, would you make a salt kiln with 8" hard brick walls and floor? Or would you make a kiln with with IFB chamber walls? How much more does it cost to fire a hard brick kiln vs IFB lined kiln? Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 27, 2015 Report Share Posted November 27, 2015 Salt kilns eat up IFB so for me I would use hard bricks in floor and walls around burner ports. I have been able to use coated IFB in salt kiln only becuase they are in areas that do not get a lot of salt like the back walls (downdraft) and upper sections. I like to spary salt in in liquid form which really eats up anything except hard brick. Our combo kiln fires fast and uses less than 50$ in energy as its got a lot of soft brick in it. As far as long life a hard brick salt kiln will last the longest but will I will guess cost 2x as much to fire. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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