Cracked fire brick

redlady_1

I have a multi fuel stove (Little Thurlow) and have just noticed that at the back I appear to have a cracked fire birck which is cracked from the tertiary air to the bottom. This is my only source of heating so it is used heavily.

Is this dangerous (I have a carbon monoxide detector anyway) and how much roughly could I expect to pay to have it replaced. I have had the stove for two years.

Thanks very much.

Swipe

Not dangerous at all. You could repair it with a little fire cement or just live with it. A replacement shouldn't set you back too much (probably less than £20)

redlady_1

Thanks very much. I dont mind it being there but just thought it may be dangerous. Needless to say it will stay like that for the foreseeable future.

muckybutt

Nothing wrong with cracked fire bricks and certainly not dangerous.

I always tell my customers that have cracked bricks to repair them with fire cement.
First rake the crack out to make it a little wider and deeper than it already is.
Then dampen the cracked area.
Then get a good handfull of fire cement in your hand, moisten it slightly, then roll it into a sausage shape.
Carefully knead it into the crack smoothing it out as you go along, easy to do this with a wet sponge or cloth.
Wait a few hours for it to dry off, then light a smallish fire, not too hot as you dont want it to crack the new cement and it drop out.

Dependant upon price of new bricks another alternative is to use vermiculite sheet the same size and thickness of your brick.

norfolk.enchance_2

I would buy some vermiculite sheet of the same thickness off flea bay. You can them have some spare should the need arise in the future.

YORKSHIRELASS

Just to say we have had a cracked fire brick in our Multi Fuel Stove for a couple of years now. The crack hasnt got any bigger and hasnt affected the stove at all. Ours is a Farndale, by the same manufacturer as yours I think.

avongirl3

We have had a Little Thurlow, made by Town & Country, for 3 years now and the back firebrick has recently vertically cracked. The gap has been getting bigger and the left-hand half slipped down. I found a replacement on Ebay for £17 and have just spent a dirty couple of hours cleaning out the stove and replacing it. Its a bit tricky as you need to take out one of the side firebricks before you can get the baffle plate out. My fire looks like a new stove now as I got carried away with it all and Zebo'd the whole thing! I'm going to take a photo to show my husband before I mess it up this evening with a wood fire. I'd rather sacrifice a brick or two than risk damaging the stove.

Greenfires

The back brick often seems to go on this stove - replaced one for one of my customers just last week. They're only supported at the sides so the crack tends to open up more at the bottom as the brick sags. Only a few minutes to replace - just be careful getting the side bricks out as they may well be harbouring fine cracks already!

As said already though - if the bricks are pretty much "all there" it's not a major issue.

gamakly

Does anyone know how to put the baffle back into a Farndale wood burner? It isn't the latest model. We've just put new bricks in but my husband can't remember which way the baffle came out. I have an idea of how it should be but as it came second hand we don't have instructions and I can't find them online.