Hit 500 hours on my main forge and the firebrick finally gave out

I was working on a set of fireplace tools yesterday when I noticed a pretty big crack running through the back wall of the firebox. I checked my logbook and I've put exactly 500 hours of heat on those bricks since I built the thing three years ago. What's a good sign it's time to replace the whole lining versus just patching the one spot?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessesingh9d ago

My forge lining lasted half that time.

sandrap409d ago

Wow, 500 hours is actually a solid run. A single crack like that is often just a patch job if the surrounding brick is still sound. I'd only tear it all out if you see multiple cracks spiderwebbing out or the brick feels soft and crumbly to the touch.