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I've got a Jotul 602N.
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I've been given a few firebricks, they're more like tiles really, 230x115x25mm.
I know I could just try it and see what happens, but is there any definite advantage to putting a layer of them on the bottom of the log burner ?
Any good reason why I shouldn't ?
I suppose they would act as a heat reservoir. Taking longer for the heat to radiate when I first light the fire, then continuing to radiate heat after the fire dies down.
Sounds good, so I can't help wondering why they are not common on log burners.
They are common in log burners. At least in my house they are.. We have two log burners, both with fire bricks in.
Id put them on the side rather than the bottom.
You may find you "reload" more often, but I think the idea is that you use a little less fuel too, but also lower the kW output.
My neighbour was considering it as he has a monstrous Village 20kW thing that eats trees each night and they have to move the furniture to the other side of the room 😀
Most stoves have fire bricks up the sides, and up the back if there isn't a backboiler fitted. The purpose is to protect the stove from the heat of the fire and the bricks will need to be replaced eventually as they degrade with the heat over time.
I wasn't aware they are common. I guess the few log burners I've looked inside have been the odd ones.
I'll give it a go then.
I can lay them on the bottom easy enough, how do you fix them on the sides so they don't fall in ? Are they normally made to shape and wedged in, or are there brackets to hold them ?
In mine the firebricks are at the back and sides. They are shaped to fit and held by one clip each side at the front.
They are not really firebricks as I remember them: much lighter modern stuff btw.
I put a load in the back and side of my sister in in laws mahooosive vintage log burner - it reduce the size of firebox, reducing log consumption and slowing output down - it now is like a storage heater overnight.
My FX5 has them in. They do degrade. I had the choice of paying £50-odd for replacement ones, or £52 for a huge board of vermiculite.
I went with the vermiculite, as I can get about 5 sets out of it. And I like the word 'vermiculite'.
Sounds good, so I can't help wondering why they are not common on log burners.
They are very common on more modern stoves. They protect the stove body from the heat but they also act as an insulating 'box' (if they are on the back and sides also) to keep the wood burning hotter and therefere cleaner/more efficient.
As teethgrinder says, get a vermic board and give it a bash if there is space on the sides to put them in.
Ours has them side and back.
The purpose is to [s]protect the stove from the heat of the fire[/s] increase the burning temperature and therefore make the stove more efficient
Jotul don't do refractory finishes (firebricks) for some reason.... I guess the stove heats up quicker. I'm being given an F100 later this year, might be too big for my office!!
Side back and top. They aren't really bricks as such, they are quite delicate. You can buy from eBay and cut to size with a saw. Don't put them on the bottom because they will break when you chuck your logs in and would be a pain to remove the ash.