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  • Cracking in oven

    hello all. Im completely new to brick ovens. I waited 10 full days before starting my first fire and I've developed some cracking. I'm sure there is a million threads on here about this but I've worked super hard on this and im just not sure how much cracking is too much cracking. I have been firing it for 3 days at progressivly higher Temps. The first 2 days were 200-300 deg F and last night was 400-500deg F. I used refractory mortar and refractory brixks for the build. I will be using ceramic blanket over the dome followed by vermiculite concrete then tile. Please let me know what you think or if I need to do anything. I'm really worried that all my time and money has been wasted if this is going to fail.
    Last edited by JRPizza; 08-21-2020, 09:49 AM. Reason: Moved to Newbie forum as Ask Me Anything is "Reserved for scheduled live interactive sessions with industry experts."

  • #2
    Do you have any pictures of what kind of cracking the interior has? Many/most ovens have some cracking (mine does) and the ovens are still stable and usable. You are probably OK but interior pics would be good.
    My build thread
    https://community.fornobravo.com/for...h-corner-build

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    • #3
      I can get one but its really hard to see because of the soot. The cracks all but disappear when the oven is cool.

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      • #4
        I forgot that you are still curing and have probably not cleared the dome. Any pics of the interior will be tough with black on black. You might as well continue to cure (won't cost you anything) and then you can see what the cracks look like on the inside. There is some evidence that curing with blanket on reduces thermal shock by allowing bricks to be similar temp on inside and outside so you might want to at least drape your insulation over the oven during curing if you don't want to permanently install it and you can keep it from blowing all over your yard if the wind kicks up.
        I don't know if it will make you feel any better but here is a pic showing my cracks. In places it went along a joint and others right through a brick. The oven and those cracks will likely outlive me. If you don't have anything else going on inside damage wise you are probably OK.
        My build thread
        https://community.fornobravo.com/for...h-corner-build

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        • #5
          Oh cool thank you. I did try and look ave nothing sticks out to me being the whole way through. Hard to see though. But you have one large one where I have a few bigger ones. Not close together but they are there. Asking around isn't going to change that fact that it will either fail or be fine but its nice to have a few outside opinions. Just trying to settle my nerves because I'll be devastated if it breaks.

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          • #6
            Can I ask what we are looking at? You used bricks for the dome but I see a smooth surface. Is that your refractory mortar smeared over your bricks? How thick is it? Could be the cracks are just in that layer/render. You'll know when the soot clears. Go slow on your cure!

            Cracks don't necessarily mean you have a structural issue. The dome will still be self supporting. The arch and physics are in your favor!
            - George

            My Build
            https://community.fornobravo.com/for...mente-ca-build

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            • #7
              This is the outside of the brick. I just smeared the excess around with a sponge. Sorry for the not so great photo. I've never posted on here before and it was a huge pain to add just the one I did. Haha I've went 300 is for the last 3 days. I'm gonna put the blanket on tonight and give it a little more heat. I want to use it in a few days for pizzas. It just seems like I have more cracks than others and it concerns me. Someone else told me that it was basically junk because the outer mortar joints were too large.

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