What are those kiln bricks made of? Well, let me tell you, it ain’t as simple as mud pies. I heard it’s some kinda special stuff, not just any old dirt. You see them kiln bricks, they gotta be tough, like, real tough.
They gotta stand up to the heat, you know? Like when you’re bakin’ a whole mess of taters, only way, way hotter. So, they use this stuff called fireclay. I reckon it’s like regular clay, but tougher, like it went to school or somethin’.
- That fireclay, they say it’s got some fancy name…hydrated aluminum…silicates?
- They say it has like 25% to 30% of alumina.
- And 60% to 70% silica.
Sounds like somethin’ a witch would use in a potion, if you ask me. But it makes them bricks strong, I guess.
And it ain’t just fireclay. They throw in other stuff too. They talk about this other stuff. Minerals. High in somethin’ called “aluminum oxide.” Like bauxite, diaspore, and kyanite. I don’t know what those are. Maybe rocks from the moon? Or some kinda gemstones the rich folks like? They grind that all up with the fireclay.
They also use silica. That’s like sand, right? Beach sand, river sand, maybe even that fancy colored sand you see in them little bottles. I bet they use the cheap stuff, though. They say they use sand and quartzite. And quartzite, that’s just a harder kinda sand, ain’t it? Like it got all tough from bein’ out in the weather.
And there’s more! Magnesia somethin’. Magnesite, dolomite, forsterite, and olivine. Goodness gracious, that’s a mouthful! Sounds like a bunch of Italians, if you ask me. But I guess it helps make them kiln bricks even tougher.
Oh, and chromite! Like chrome, like on them fancy cars, but I bet it ain’t the same. They say it’s a “solid solution.” I don’t know what that means, but I bet it ain’t cheap. And those bricks can be used in making the kiln, you know? The big oven, very big. It needs some good bricks for sure.
So, how do they make these kiln bricks? Well, first, they gotta crush and grind all that stuff up. The fireclay, the aluminum stuff, the sand, all of it. They grind it up real fine, like flour for a cake, but probably not as tasty.
Then they mix it all together with water. They make it like, uh, like dough, I guess. They call it a “plastic mass.” Fancy words for mud, if you ask me. But it ain’t just any mud, no sir. It’s special mud. And, they also put oxides of magnesium, calcium, and potassium in it, which sounds like the stuff you find in medicines or somethin’. I don’t know, but I guess that’s what makes these bricks so strong and good for building them kilns.
A kiln, that’s just a big oven, you know? Like the one your grandma used to bake bread in, but way bigger and way hotter. They use these kiln bricks to build the inside of them kilns. The fire touches the bricks and it needs to be strong.
And them bricks, they gotta be tough. They gotta stand up to the heat, like I said. Otherwise, the whole thing might just melt down like a snowman in July. And nobody wants that, ‘specially when they’re tryin’ to make somethin’ important in that there kiln.
So, next time you see a kiln brick, you remember, it ain’t just a brick. It’s a special brick, made with all sorts of fancy stuff, ground up real fine and mixed together just right. It’s a brick that can stand the heat, a brick that can do the job. And that’s somethin’, ain’t it?
I don’t know everything. But I know that kiln bricks are made of some real strong stuff. Fireclay, aluminum, silica, magnesia. All that mixed together to make bricks that can stand up to a whole lot of heat. It’s all just a big old mix of ground-up rocks and stuff, really. But it works, and that’s what matters, right? You need good bricks for a good kiln. Just like you need good strong coffee in the morning.
