We had a multifuel stove installed in February this year. Within three months the upper fire brick had split in two and we needed a replacement. Four months later the same brick split and so the stove was unusable for the second time in its six-month lifespan. Again a new brick was sent out from the stove company. That was six weeks ago. Yesterday we saw that the same brick, plus another one are both cracked and are also about to break in two, rendering the stove unusable for the 3rd time in 9 months.
After the 2nd time I spoke to someone at the stove company who said he hadn't received any other complaints about this stove or the bricks so it clearly wasn't a bad batch of bricks. He ran through a few questions with us to make sure we were using the stove "correctly" (ie is there a cowl on top of the flue, what are we burning, what temperature does it burn at etc etc) and couldn't get to the bottom of it at all. We also spoke to the retailer of our stove who said the demonstration model in the showroom had been burning quite happily with the same bricks for more than 2 years.
The company is an established reputable one and we are delighted with the stove and its installation in every other respect, but something is causing the bricks to crack (and this time after only 6 weeks). I am going to call the stove company again tomorrow but would really appreciate any ideas as to what might be causing this, as we can't just keep calling up to complain and getting a replacement brick sent out every couple of months without getting to the bottom of the problem. Any ideas?
