Could you cook on a DIY BBQ made from Fire Bricks?

[Pravda]

Something like this, so firebricks on all five faces of the box, except the top.


The "proper" Japanese version

Both, really nice set ups

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

The bricks used in night store heaters, have never killed anyone. Jeez, its anal sometimes.

I bet they would if they fell from an upper floor window.

 

[stevec67]

I bet they would if they fell from an upper floor window.

Crucifixion's a doddle.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Just a flesh wound.

 

[Vinny]

No. I want to know if fire bricks made from Alumina are safe to be used for cooking food.

Are you serious?
What do you think alumina is? What do you think coats all anodised pans and the very surface of all aluminium?

 

[Vinny]

A big problem with gold is that because it has a very high melting point it melts other metals that touch it in its molten form

No it does not. Gold melts at 1064C, iron, just as an example, melts at 1538C.

 

[Mullardman]

I use Skamolex panels in our wood burning stove. This apparently is made from exfoliated Vermiculite - what ever that is.

watching this project with interest.

AIUI, Vermiculite is degraded Mica, which has been expanded by heating..

Vermiculite - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It's OK once you have built something to keep the rain off. Then you only have to worry about the midgies.

Diatomaceous Earth, mentioned above, is I believe a form of clay which contains Silica in the form of very tiny sharp particles derived from 'fossilised' ' Diatoms'. Some people apparently ingest it in powder form for various medical reasons. It's also used to control insects, including Ants, Dust Mites etc. which really really don't like it. It might help with the Midges, but you'd be breathing it in too, which you really don't want.

Diatomaceous earth - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[wulbert]

Are you serious?
What do you think alumina is? What do you think coats all anodised pans and the very surface of all aluminium?

Yes. I'm serious. I had no idea what Alumina was. I'd assumed aluminium was coated with aluminium oxide.

Are you serious?

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Are you serious?
What do you think alumina is? What do you think coats all anodised pans and the very surface of all aluminium?

You could have just said 'yes'.

 

[Vinny]

Mica, amazingly, is mined and comes out of the ground in upto large block, but each piece is made from multiple individual sheets - like pages in a book. The sheets can be seperated very easily, just using your fingers and/or a sharp blade. Main source - Russia
Sheets above an inch or so square have value as sheets and by the time the sheets are several inches "square, they are worth a lot of money as it is used as windows in various places where it has to run very hot - far hotter than any glass can realistically stand. It has a brownish/yellowish tint, far less obvious as the sheets get thinner.

Chop mica into smallish chips, and heat, and the mositure within it expands them, just like popcorn - that is vermiculaite. Crush vermiculite and you can squeeze it flat very easily.

Reconstitited fine mica dust is opaque silvery grey and used as formers for heating elements and the like.

Diatom skeletons are all but pure silica and is traded as diatomaceous earth. It is extremely unpleasant as a dust - we had to use BA when using it at work. The idea that it can be used to control insects/arachnids is BS - it has been plugged for controlling mites and lice in poultry for well over 20 years. It does not work.

 

[Pravda]

I bet they would if they fell from an upper floor window.

Could we get Itchy Nutsack to stand below?

 

[stevec67]

Yes. I'm serious. I had no idea what Alumina was. I'd assumed aluminium was coated with aluminium oxide.

Aluminium is coated with aluminium oxide, by the very nature of the stuff. It's a reactive metal and fresh aluminium will react with the oxygen in the air very quickly indeed. It's very fortunate that the oxide is insoluble and inert, otherwise it would be very difficult to use in nature. If you want to test this, get some ally outside and give it a good scrub with a green nylon scourer until it's shiny. Then leave it outside in the rain for a couple of days and have another look, it will very quickly reoxidise and return to its grey dull finish.

 

[Barrymagrec]

You could have just said 'yes'.

Not snippy enough.

 

[Mullardman]

Diatom skeletons are all but pure silica and is traded as diatomaceous earth. It is extremely unpleasant as a dust - we had to use BA when using it at work. The idea that it can be used to control insects/arachnids is BS - it has been plugged for controlling mites and lice in poultry for well over 20 years. It does not work.

I can't comment on its effect in poultry, but it's effects on mites etc, in other situations seems pretty well established.

From Wikipedia:

Pest control​

Diatomite is of value as an insecticide because of its abrasive and physico-sorptive properties.[25] The fine powder adsorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of the exoskeletons of many species of insects; this layer acts as a barrier that resists the loss of water vapour from the insect's body. Damaging the layer increases the evaporation of water from their bodies, so that they dehydrate, often fatally.

This also works against gastropods and is commonly employed in gardening to defeat slugs. However, since slugs inhabit humid environments, efficacy is very low. Diatomaceous earth is sometimes mixed with an attractant or other additives to increase its effectiveness.

The shape of the diatoms contained in a deposit has not been proven to affect their functionality when it comes to the adsorption of lipids; however, certain applications, such as that for slugs and snails, do work best when a particularly shaped diatom is used, suggesting that lipid adsorption is not the only factor involved. For example, in the case of slugs and snails, large, spiny diatoms work best to lacerate the epithelium of the mollusk. Diatom shells will work to some degree on the vast majority of animals that undergo ecdysis in shedding cuticle, such as arthropods or nematodes. It also may have other effects on lophotrochozoans, such as mollusks or annelids.

Medical-grade diatomite has been studied for its efficacy as a deworming agent in cattle; in both studies cited the groups being treated with diatomaceous earth did not fare any better than control groups.[26][27] It is commonly used in lieu of boric acid and can be used to help control and possibly eliminate bed bugs,[28] house dust mite, cockroach, ant, and flea infestations.[29]

Diatomaceous earth is widely applied for insect control in grain storage.[30] It is used to control cannibalistic behaviors in confused flour beetles, which infest flour storages.

In order to be effective as an insecticide, diatomaceous earth must be uncalcinated (i.e., it must not be heat-treated prior to application)[31] and have a mean particle size below about 12 μm (i.e., food grade—see below).

Although considered to be relatively low-risk, pesticides containing diatomaceous earth are not exempt from regulation in the United States under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency.[32]

I recall coming across substantial sheets of mica when I was a youngster. Maybe 2-4 inches. Used in its natural sheet form as an insulator, but I'm struggling to recall the exact application. It may have been in an old domestic Iron.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Used in cloud chamber windows too IIRC

 

[wulbert]

Have managed to source some storage-heater bricks rom my brother ( delivery tomorrow!).

I'm not sure it's the right material though. I would have thought that what I need is a good insulator; light and heat-proof. These heater bricks are very dense, high thermal mass. Might be fire-proof but won't they wick heat away from the charcoal core to their outside surface?

I'll have a play around with them anyway.

 

[wulbert]

Mica, amazingly, is mined and comes out of the ground in upto large block, but each piece is made from multiple individual sheets - like pages in a book. The sheets can be seperated very easily, just using your fingers and/or a sharp blade. Main source - Russia
Sheets above an inch or so square have value as sheets and by the time the sheets are several inches "square, they are worth a lot of money as it is used as windows in various places where it has to run very hot - far hotter than any glass can realistically stand. It has a brownish/yellowish tint, far less obvious as the sheets get thinner.

Chop mica into smallish chips, and heat, and the mositure within it expands them, just like popcorn - that is vermiculaite. Crush vermiculite and you can squeeze it flat very easily.

Reconstitited fine mica dust is opaque silvery grey and used as formers for heating elements and the like.

Diatom skeletons are all but pure silica and is traded as diatomaceous earth. It is extremely unpleasant as a dust - we had to use BA when using it at work. The idea that it can be used to control insects/arachnids is BS - it has been plugged for controlling mites and lice in poultry for well over 20 years. It does not work.

That's very interesting.

 

[stevec67]

Have managed to source some storage-heater bricks rom my brother ( delivery tomorrow!).

I'm not sure it's the right material though. I would have thought that what I need is a good insulator; light and heat-proof. These heater bricks are very dense, high thermal mass. Might be fire-proof but won't they wick heat away from the charcoal core to their outside surface?

I'll have a play around with them anyway.

Thats what you want. Bricks, however dense, don't conduct heat. But you want a mass of fire, and a mass of hot bricks that return the heat to the cooking surface. Go for it.

 

[gez]

Have managed to source some storage-heater bricks rom my brother ( delivery tomorrow!).

I'm not sure it's the right material though. I would have thought that what I need is a good insulator; light and heat-proof. These heater bricks are very dense, high thermal mass. Might be fire-proof but won't they wick heat away from the charcoal core to their outside surface?

I'll have a play around with them anyway.

This has set off large red flag in my head. Be VERY sure you're not dealing with Asbestos before you go anywhere near those heaters. I'm not saying what's inside IS Asbestos, but the material was used in a lot of applications up to the point it was realised how harmful it was.

I'm probably just being overly paranoid, but I treat all products with heat proof (protective) materials in them with utmost suspicion.

 

[stevec67]

This has set off large red flag in my head. Be VERY sure you're not dealing with Asbestos before you go anywhere near those heaters. I'm not saying what's inside IS Asbestos, but the material was used in a lot of applications up to the point it was realised how harmful it was.

I'm probably just being overly paranoid, but I treat all products with heat proof (protective) materials in them with utmost suspicion.

you're right to watch out for asbestos. Google says it wasn't used post 1974. I'd imagine that it was used in panels, there's no reason to put it in the bricks be cause they don't need fibre reinforcement.