Hi All,
The stuff you are talking about is made from Alumina and is used as insulation on high
temperature piping and
vessels. It is the replacement for the dreaded asbestos block or bricks, and sheets.
It is available in a host of forms.
Sheets being the best for making wicks. Search for "insulation". The stuff is not
what everybody in the industry thinks
of as fire brick.
Lurk mode ON
Rich
On Sat, 22 Dec 2001 17:07:22 -0600, Harry Wade wrote:
-At 01:19 PM 12/22/01 -0800, you wrote:
->I have been reading, with much interest, about the possibility of
->substituting some form of porous "firebrick" for use as alcohol burner
->wicks . . . . . . . diamond dust . . . . coolant . . . . . . .
->Kevin
-
-Kevin,
- What you've described is what would be required to work fired clay
-masonry "firebrick" which is not the material called for and what I've
-tried to clarifiy and distinguish. Even though it's "firebrick" it is
-clearly a different material. The refractory I have (which yes is in brick
-form) cuts like a hard bread. Half an old hacksaw blade (with a duct tape
-grip), a kitchen paring knife, and 40 grit sandpaper are nearly overkill.
-That's all the tools needed.
- I suspect that if I turn a small box chuck to be held in my cruddy
-old electric hand drill, and "wax" the firebrick plug into the box chuck
-using a hardening mastic or ahesive of some kind, or even shellac, a
-cylindrical plug can be turned in seconds. Some of you may get to try this
-before I get around to it. If so I would do this job outside, or at least
-not in the same room with any other tools or equipment becasue it looks
-like it's probably going to throw up a cloud of talcum powder-like ceramic
-dust. Thus the cruddy drill.
-
-
-Cheers,
-Harry
