If you intend to independently lay down the stove or fireplace in your country house, then even without our instructions you know about the complexity of this process. Unfortunately, newcomers do not always realize that even with the choice of material for such a responsible work, problems can arise. For example, do you know what chamotte brick is and why the stoveman needs it?
For domestic stoves, special alumina varieties of it are used, made from a special mixture of quartz and
refractory clay. The latter is better known as “fireclay clay”. It is this circumstance that gave the name to the material obtained.
By the way, chamotte brick contains up to 70% of such clay, which determines its high performance properties. The process of firing occurs at extremely high operating temperatures, and for greater accuracy, computer-controlled mechanisms are most often used.
The fact is that at the slightest deviation in the direction of increasing degrees (which often happens in semi-artisan enterprises), the fireclay brick is covered with a specific glassy film, which makes it impossible to make a normal masonry, since the binder solution is not fixed on it. Because of its specific color, such a waste is called “iron ore”. Do not think that it is useless: because of the same film, it is distinguished by excellent waterproof properties, which is why it was loved by builders laying
basement floors from this material
.
Normal fireclay brick is characterized by a rich straw-yellow color, structural density, as well as a specific granular structure. It is not only extremely refractory (can withstand more than 1000 degrees Celsius), but can also resist aggressive chemical environments for a long time.
Among other things, its characteristic feature is the ability to accumulate the received heat. It is because of this that those stoves in the masonry of which this type of brick was used, warm up more slowly, but provide uniform heating of the room and high temperature stability in it. This is very important, since the main drawback of furnace heating is just the same daily jumps.
Therefore, fireclay
bricks, the characteristics of which allow its use in the most difficult places, should have ideal quality. His choice should be approached with the greatest possible responsibility. Tap on purchased material: upon impact, a specific sound similar to metallic should be heard. If you hit it, then a brick of this kind should break into dense large pieces. In the case when the "refractory" material does not meet these requirements, it is worth thinking about its origin and abandoning the purchase.
The fact is that the absence of basic quality indicators indicates poor firing when the desired temperature has not been reached in the furnace. The danger of such a product is its hygroscopicity, which exceeds that even for ordinary brick. If you build a furnace from such material, then in a couple of years it can simply fall apart.
Pay attention to the weight of fireclay bricks: it should be higher than the same figure for a regular ceramic variety. It can be from 2.4 to 6 kg, depending on the type and size of the material.