Castable

There is a wide range of refractory castables, grouped as follows:

Conventional castables, normally with 15-25% binding cement, are easy to mix. Their setting time is 1-4 hours, and they have medium strength.

Low-Cement castables (LCC) usually have only 4-6% binder (cement and chemical), and require careful mixing in a paddle mixer, with accurate proportioning of water and vibration to assure their proper settling. Their setting time is usually 3-4 hours.

Self-floating castables are a sub-category of LCCs, but contain an additive that makes it unnecessary to vibrate. These are not recommended for field work.

Non-cement castables normally contain > 1% binder. Their setting time exceeds 5 hours, and they are difficult to mix. They are not recommended for use outside controlled environments.