That cheap firebrick I bought turned out to be a real hazard

Last month I picked up a pallet of firebrick from a surplus place outside Columbus for $180, seemed like a steal. I lined my forge with it and fired it up for a demo. Within 20 minutes I heard popping sounds and one of the bricks cracked right down the middle, shooting a chunk toward my workbench. Turns out they were soft insulating brick meant for low temp kilns, not forge hot enough to handle repeated heat cycles. I learned the hard way to check the density and the rated max temp before buying, even if the price looks great. Has anyone else gotten burned by mislabeled refractory material, and what do you look for to tell the difference fast?

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ryanh7720d ago

Man, that's how it always goes with the cheap stuff... you pay twice in the end.