ray648•7d ago

Why does nobody talk about how fire brick quality can ruin a furnace repair?

I was working on a 20-year-old furnace over in Gary last Tuesday and the customer handed me some cheap bricks he got online. Told me they'd work fine. I tried to explain they'd crack after one heat cycle but he insisted. Three hours later I had to redo the whole thing because two bricks exploded. Now I always check the density rating before I even start. Has anyone else dealt with clients bringing their own materials like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

blakem827d ago

That same thing happened to me last winter with a customer from Hammond. Brought in some off-brand fire bricks he swore were just as good as the real ones. First time I fired it up, one of them split right down the middle and sent chunks flying into the blower. Took me an extra two hours to clean up the mess and replace the whole liner. Now I tell people flat out, I don't touch their materials unless I've checked the density rating myself.

benbrown7d ago

@blakem82 Ever think that customer knew the bricks were bad and just didn't want to pay for new ones?

shane_moore876d ago

Yeah but blakem82 a split brick isn't really an explosion... I mean I get the frustration but those cheaper bricks just crumble under heat, they don't usually blow up.