Dissassembling ITC or Zircon coated ifb woodfire kilns

[Alyosha]

Hello, 

I have learnt the heavy refractory bricks of a wood kiln should be dissassembled every 10 firings to maintain it's portability by preventing glaze to glue the bricks together. In the case of an ifb class 26 wood kiln, it seems necessary to coat the bricks with Itc or Zircon to prevent damage, how can the kiln be dissassembled and reassembled then ? Would coating one side of each brick individually work better or would reassembling the kiln every few firing without coating again be ok ?

[Hulk]

On account o' bein' curious, read up on insulated fire brick (aka IFB) and ITC coatings:
  "BNZ-26 is the standard ASTM Grade 26" (BNZ is a vendor)
  The 26 and 28 products maximum mean temperature rating is 2200F.
  "BNZ-26-60 meets all requirements of an ASTM C 155 class 26 IFB, with a higher alumina content than the standard BNZ-26 IFB. This makes the BNZ26-60 specially designed for areas where furnace atmospheres require the chemical inertness of a higher alumina product. These include the exposed lining of ceramic kilns and special atmosphere furnace."

ITC
"ITC Coatings are high-temperature ceramic coatings for kilns, forges, furnaces, ovens and metal equipment. Our high-reflectivity coatings increase the efficiency of firing equipment and protect refractory and metal surfaces from heat, wear and corrosion.

The ITC line of coatings were developed in 1980 in Alliance, Ohio by Feriz Delkic, a ceramic engineer who was running his own pottery business at the time. He created the coatings as a solution to the crippling costs of operating and maintain his kilns. After applying the first original formula – now known as ITC 100HT -  to the interior lining of his kilns, he saw his energy bills decrease by more than 60%."

...which doesn't answer your questions. Sometimes a post on an orphan thread gets things going...

[neilestrick]

I have never heard of taking a kiln apart as a form of maintenance, and I think it's a really bad idea. First, I don't consider a kiln to be portable unless it can be picked up by one or two people, or it's built on some sort of trailer. You build the kiln, at some point you have to take it down, and you re-use whatever bricks you can. Second, taking it apart and putting it back together is a ton of work. Third, taking it apart won't solve any issues with the brick glazing together unless you remove all of the glaze from the surfaces of the bricks before putting it back together, which is impossible. Let the bricks fuse together. That's what happens in a wood kiln. It's not all that necessary to put a protective layer on the bricks, but ITC would probably work. It's super expensive, though. Build the kiln and fire it and have fun.

[Alyosha]

Thank you Hulk and Neile

[Mark C.]

I have used  a ton of ITC back when it was cheap-it coats bricks and will not come off. No need to take them apart.-Neil said it all above.