Wood burner with no fire brick?

[2zwudz]

    I have inherited a plate steel stand alone wood burner with no fire brick in it.  The name on it says its a Black Bart.  It has a 4" air cavity all around it with a fan on the back to push air thru it and out the front of the burner.  Is this supposed to be lined with fire brick or should I ask what is the purpose of firebrick in a wood stove?

Thanks
Mark

[John_C]

These people might know

http://servicesales.com/woodburning/stove_parts/black_bart/black_bart.html

[Redoverfarm]

2zwudz some of the earlier stoves did not have firebrick.  They relied on a baffle air space.  I think the main purpose of the firebrick was to insulated the steel plating from the heat to reduce warping in the metal plate. There is no reason you could not stack firebrick on the interior of the stove 1/2 way up the sides but then you will reduce the firebox size and the ease of cleaning.

[glenn kangiser]

I used to build wood stoves.  At high heat with excess oxygen, plate steel will burn.  My rocket stove with 1/4 inch plate steel would likely have destroyed itself in about a year.  Using firebrick eliminates nearly all of the oxidation making stoves last a lot longer.  They also store some heat evening out temps for a bit longer. 

The ones I built had the firebricks in steel channels about 4 inches above the bottom then an ash pan under them.  The ash pan could be pulled open a bit to allow under fire air at startup to get a rip roaring fire going right away -- usually hot in a few minutes with good wood.

[ScottA]

I have an old peoria wood stove circa 1879 it has cast iron plates on either side of the firebox with an air space between the plates and the outer stove wall. No bricks.

[glenn kangiser]

Cast Iron will hold up much better than steel.  Cast iron is just above natural iron...steel is much more refined .  The farther away from natural it gets, the faster it wants to return to natural.

We have a 1920 PD Beckwith Estate Round Oak wood stove.  It has a cast iron bottom and misc parts and a rolled body.  It is a very good old stove.  Also - no fire bricks.

I really enjoy the old stoves that are still working today.