Fire Clay for "Home Brew"

[mikeb21]

I want to crack on with my build but source of Fire Clay is a challenge, does anyone have any idea of sources?

Kiln linings have stock but minimum order £200

Castree Kilns are out of stock.

Clayman Suppliers are out of stock except for a couple of 2.5kg bags

Have found these:

www.valentineclays.co.uk/product/aa-fireclay

But they have informed me that it is an ‘As Dug‘ clay that is dried and then pulverised, so may contain sand/grit, is that OK for homebrew?

Alternatively what is the opinion on some kin of refractory cement such as:

www.ebay.co.uk/i/142414535738

Price of this puts me off as trying to do this at low cost.

[oblertone]

Go for the cheaper ‘as dug’ stuff, after all it’s what bricks are made from.

[downunderdave]

Jun 23, 2020 18:27:19 GMT mikeb21 said:

I want to crack on with my build but source of Fire Clay is a challenge, does anyone have any idea of sources?

Kiln linings have stock but minimum order £200

Castree Kilns are out of stock.

Clayman Suppliers are out of stock except for a couple of 2.5kg bags

Have found these:

www.valentineclays.co.uk/product/aa-fireclay

But they have informed me that it is an ‘As Dug‘ clay that is dried and then pulverised, so may contain sand/grit, is that OK for homebrew?

Alternatively what is the opinion on some kin of refractory cement such as:

www.ebay.co.uk/i/142414535738

Price of this puts me off as trying to do this at low cost.

Basically any clay should be ok, although avoid bentonite as it’s extremely small particle size leads to high shrinkage that you don’t want. If you are using it as a castable then it will be ok, but if for a mortar you might need to sieve the stuff to exclude any large particles.
The homebrew has proved time and again to be superior to refractory cement for oven service conditions. It is also far cheaper. The powdered clay you’ve found sounds ok. Another source is pottery or ceramics suppliers

[mikeb21]

Thanks, hoping that a 25kg bag in a Homebrew mix of 3:1:1:1 should be enough to build the basic vault.