Does firebrick offer any insulation qualities?

[737diesel]

Hi there, I'm building a 24x48 standard offset, and I just welded on my firebox on. My firebox is 24x24, steel pipe that the pipe yard calls .330
They claim it was supposed to be 3/8 but it came out a little under. Anyways, it's some heavy stuff. I asked earlier if having a firebox at 150% (according to the calculator) was going to be a problem, and most said no way. I am using a lot of ideas from Workhorse 1975 pit, and their firebox is the same as mine.
I am in the Pacific NW, and my question is, does firebrick help any in insulating during colder weather?

Thanks
Chris

[Big T]

Quite a few guys have used fire bricks for insulating their FB. I wouldn't bother putting them on the floor of the FB because there's very minimal heat loss through the floor. You could put them in the floor if you're just trying to cut down on the volume of the FB.

[sandro]

Some pit builders insulate the bottom of the firebox to retain heat from the coal bed (ie: Fat Stack); however I don't think it's that much of a game changer beyond the first couple of hours of cook—it won't be long until you'll have a good thick layer of ashes between the live coals and the metal. That said, firebricks are so cheap I wouldn't even bother discussing it, get some and try. RaleighSmoke had good results on his Brazos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6HI-EhQVME

[Dirtytires]

Only drawback to firebricks is they are heavy. You already have a heavy pit but it can be a concern just the same. You added extra steel weigh with an oversized firebox and are going to fix it by adding heavy bricks. Not much of a problem it it's stationary but, believe me, every pound counts when you try to move these things around.

[sandro]

Our firebricks come in 1" and 2" thickness, usually 8x4" in size, around 3lb each for the 1" thick ones. Shouldn't be too too much added weight

[737diesel]

Ok, thanks for the input. I'm going without them!
Cheers!

[ThinBlue]

Some pit builders insulate the bottom of the firebox to retain heat from the coal bed (ie: Fat Stack); however I don't think it's that much of a game changer beyond the first couple of hours of cook—it won't be long until you'll have a good thick layer of ashes between the live coals and the metal. That said, firebricks are so cheap I wouldn't even bother discussing it, get some and try. RaleighSmoke had good results on his Brazos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6HI-EhQVME

I personally don't understand the insulation on the bottom of a firebox. Heat rises and therefore if you want to retain it you would insulate the top if nothing else. The advantage has got to minimal at best and snake oil at its worst.

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[Brewmaster]

Firebricks on the floor really help in maintaining the coal bed, and temper temp-swings/stability when adding splits quite a lot. It's like adding a big heatsink in there to help stabilize things. We've added them in 6 pits total now with noticeable improvements observed in all. They'll also help extend lifespan of the firebox floor (coal bed temperatures are hard on the steel) I'd say go ahead and get to cooking, after a few cooks add the bricks and see if there's any difference. We also use the thin ones.

My Workhorse style firebox pics with bricks, these things really work superbly with these huge fireboxes, it's incredible how much better they run. Cheers and good luck

[Brewmaster]

I'll also add that since your fb is 3/8" (almost) that you'll likely experience perhaps somewhat less improvement than ours, as most are 1/4" thick boxes, with one that's only 3/16". Regardless, give it a whirl and report back!

[ThinBlue]

Brewmaster, do you find that you use less wood with the firebrick as well?

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[Brewmaster]

Brewmaster, do you find that you use less wood with the firebrick as well?

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Maybe a bit, hard to tell. I've never paid that much attention and they're all pretty efficient in that a pretty small fire in there to keep them running at temp (which is definitely easier to maintain) Certainly more problematic trying to keep a coal bed without the bricks.