Threw away $200 on bad forge cement last month

I bought a 50 pound tub of that cheap refractory cement from the big box store to reline my forge. Figured it would save me some cash over the name brand stuff from the supply house. Mixed it up exactly like the bag said, let it cure for three days, and fired it up. First heat cycle and it cracked into about six pieces. Then it started flaking off after the second session. I had to chip it all out and start over with the good stuff from Centurion Forge. Total waste of an afternoon and $200. Anyone else get burned by cheap furnace supplies?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubyschmidt29d agoTop Commenter

Yeah, "first heat cycle and it cracked into about six pieces" pretty much sums up my whole experience with that cheap stuff too. I tried a different brand from the hardware store and it did the same exact thing, just crumbled right away. That three day cure felt like a total waste of time when it all fell apart. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for with this kind of thing.

parkerp8029d ago

Was it the one in the white and red packaging?

eric_murray2628d ago

My buddy tried that same brand last month (the one in white and red) and his tubing literally blew a pinhole leak on the second use. He spent the whole afternoon draining and patching it while his kids were asking why the pool looked like a swamp. The worst part was he had to rip out half the setup just to get a refund from the store.