At 09:39 AM 10/1/04 -0400, you wrote:
>while on the subject of ceramics, I have been trying to find a meaterial
>What material can I get (in the US) for this?
>ron ginger
Ron,
The material being called "firebrick" is a misnomer as that refers to
a hard fired clay brick as used by masons for fireplace construction. This
is a light weight refractory in "brick" form and is used for furnace and
firebox linings. It's porous and is made in half a dozen different
temperature grades from about 1600F to 3200F which conveniently correspond
directly to its porosity. I have found that the #K-28 (2800F) grade, in
the list below, has just the right porosity to make it a replacement for
asbestos wicks in drip-fed meths burners or for gas emitters. Once up to
temperature, with either fuel, the refractory will become incandescent and
radiant.
There is a range of light weight refractory brick products made by
Thermal Ceramics Inc. which should be available at
refractory-foundry-boiler-heating suppliers. Their brick products (and
numbers) are as follows:
# Density Sevice Temp
K-20 29 lb/F³ 2000°
K-23 31 lb/F³ 2300
K-25 42 lb/F³ 2500
K-26 48 lb/F³ 2600
K-28 51 lb/F³ 2800
K-30 51 lb/F³ 2900
K-3000 58 lb/F³ 3350
(There was a K-24 but it's no longer made.)
This material is a porous solid, the fired clay equivalent of sintered
metal, and the #K-28 seems to me to be just about the right density
(porosity) for Ga1 burner use. It can be easily cut with a bare hacksaw
blade, it's sandable, carvable, but it's also quite brittle and somewhat
fragile.
Regards,
Harry Wade
Nashville Tennessee
