Replacing wood fire baffle

shaun16, Apr 17, 1:57pm
So my baffle in the wood fire is falling apart. It's half metal and half that promet stuff. Apparently it's around $100 to replace and the promet needs replacing every few years roughly. However I've also been hold if I take it to an engineer they can add metal to the existing metal and then it'll last basically forever. Has anyone done this? It sounds good and way cheaper long term but is it safe? Does it work the same? Surely if it's fine then why would they use promet at all? They would be made of all metal

firefly001, Apr 17, 2:10pm
We've done it. Hubby used some scrap bissloy (which is really hard apparently ). I don't know how many times we replaced the other stuff. We've shifted now so have to do it again. .

shaun16, Apr 17, 2:14pm
So without sounding stupid. It's safe to do, the fire still works fine etc? Thanks

budgel, Apr 17, 3:51pm
I talked to my fireplace supplier about doing the same thing.
He said it would be ok from a safety/technical point of view but suggested that it could be grounds for denial of any future warranty claim.

So, yes it is safe.

shaun16, Apr 17, 5:40pm
Ok thanks. Fire is well out of warranty so no worries there.

lalbagh, Apr 18, 1:38am
x1
Sounds familiar. we have a logaire micros and I have had to replace the baffle (once) and the air flow pipe (once, and it has only lasted a season before disintegrating and needs replacing again) and have had to replace the concrete tile lining at least twice, they hardly last a season without frittering and cracking. Conversely the old open fireplaces built with firebrick last decades.
Is it possible to get proper firebrick for linings- or borosilicate tiles like the ones they use in high temperature kilns- and it is possible to get baffles and pipes made of something more robust like cast iron or stainless? Surely it must be possible to design a firebox that lasts more than a couple of seasons. The poor durability of the standard parts is frustrating to say the least

budgel, Apr 19, 11:21pm
I have been experimenting making my own firebricks using perlite and clay with a little mortar as a binder. There is quite a bit about it online.

The firebricks in my Metro are only 22mm thick, which is a bummer on an otherwise great woodfire.

When I have some definite results I will post here how I went about it if they work well.

Even if they only last as long as the originals I will be happy, as now I have made the molds the material cost will be far less than buying them every year.

golfaholic2, Apr 20, 1:41am
Premix bags of refractory brick mix are not that expensive . in fact , you can crush old refractory and reconstitute it with high temp cement .
Ive made oodles of refractory for a burner I made . curing it is the only tricky part

yabba2, Apr 21, 1:45am
Try A firenzo brand fire.Ours is 10 years old and have not replaced anything.
Fire box is completely lined with fire brick.

.jillybeen., Apr 21, 2:33am
Do you put fire bricks on the base of the fire or just the sides ?

budgel, Apr 21, 4:16am
On my fireplace the instructions suggested leaving a layer of ash on the bottom. I just put a paving slab about an inch thick which does the job well.

budgel, Apr 21, 4:17am
Where do you buy them from? I've looked on here and found none.

golfaholic2, Apr 21, 1:02pm
I got mine at a fairly cheap rate , from memory $70 a bag .
I cant for the life of me think of the name .
I will make some calls tonight if I remember lol .

You could google fire bricks , and experiment with making some yourself . if they fail , you make more , nothing lost . be cheaper than

buddytom, Apr 22, 2:01am
Arlan engineers in Levin specialise in log fire repairs. give them a call.

tsjcf, Apr 22, 2:28am
Have got fire bricks from here before.
http://www.shinagawa.biz/index.pl?page=45

golfaholic2, Jan 26, 5:12pm
I remembered the name a minute after logging off last night lol. as above - Shinagawa .
If you google it , and find contact details , they will point you towards the nearest stockist of the mix .
Is easy to make . just add water to a dry dough like consistency . push into a mould and vibrate . I used an old massager .
Don't vibrate too much tho as the raising water will lift all the fine material to the surface and the brick will be crumbly .
Curing is the key . slowly ! . the seller here in Chch cured all mine in his oven , cost a dozen beers lol . mind you , there was over 100Kg of the stuff lol