Lang 60 Firebrick Mod

I had 8 firebricks collecting dust. They were leftovers from my old BSKD mod. They are 1-1/4 split firebricks. I asked Ben Lang what he thought of my idea, and he said it sounded like a great idea, so I decided to proceed. I needed to buy 10 more firebricks to complete this mod. I purchased them for $2.05 each at "Robinson Brick". The total cost for all 18 firebricks was $36.90 plus tax.


These firebricks are 1-1/4" thick.



I used these thinner sized firebricks so the impact to the airflow would be minimal.



This view is from inside the firebox. This is the flue which runs the length of the cooking chamber (5 feet), under the cooking grates. I used a long 2x4 to push the firebricks to the far end of the cooker.


There are 6 rows of 3 firebricks. I was able to push 2 at a time to start each row, and then the last one to complete each row. I pushed the first center firebrick all the way down until it came in contact with the grease drain.

My thought is the firebricks will retain heat longer than the 1/4" steel belly of the cooking chamber would on it's own, thus making the cooker more efficient. My Lang 60 already cooks evenly from end to end, so I don't expect to gain an improvement with that.

I just did this mod so I haven't tried it out yet. I can't wait to test it out!

BBQ Bandit said:

Sounds like an interesting idea... keep us updated!

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I will for sure! I'm not cooking this weekend, but I will probably cook the weekend after.

armor said:

Have you considered placing a few in bottom
of firebox?

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Yes I have. I did that in my old BSKD. My only concern is raising the fire grate. I don't want to burn the paint off the top of the firebox every time I cook. It might also blast more flame into the opening of the flue, possibly causing a hot spot in the cooking chamber. Ben Lang suggested placing firebricks on top of the firebox (exterior). He knows a customer that does this year round and likes the results. I may try that too, but I like to preheat my wood on top of the firebox. I'm not sure if I will still be able to do that with the firebricks on top of the hot metal.

Divemaster said:

Sounds like a good idea and I'm looking forward to hearing how it turns out!

Question, have you tried putting a wool blanket over the cooking area? We started doing that a couple of years ago and found that the extra insulation made a big difference in how often we had to feed her.

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I remember reading about that in an earlier post. I asked Ben about that and he told me my cooker is a 3rd generation model. Ben said it wouldn't be necessary. I can't see how that can hurt, so I might try that in the future. I can honestly say this... I have not noticed a difference in fuel consumption rates between summer & winter cooking.

MattG said:

I would like to know how this comes out also, great idea.

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Thanks!