Small cracks

[kamdinsalek]

I have a Forno Bravo Vesuvio and followed the curing process of 300, 350, 400, 450, and 500 degrees for five consecutive days and for 6 hours each day. There was no water dripping or much black smoke. Everything seemed to look fine after the final curing day. A few days later, I fired it up and the dome got to about 750 degrees before I noticed some smaller cracks. I want to ask if these look to be a normal part of the process or if I should stop and get further help. If you would like better pictures please reply and I will send more angles once the smoke clears.

[Gulf]

Hi Kamdensalek,

There are a few Forno Bravo kit owners in this forum that may be able to respond to your post. Most members on this forum, however, are DIY builders (both brick and cast). Forno Bravo graciously maintains this forum as a free service. They don't actually follow this Community DIY Forum very closely. You may want to contact Forno Bravo Sales and Service directly at this link. That said, It has been my experience while following along on both brick and cast ovens is that some cracking is inevitable.

[LachlanReeves]

From what I've seen, small hairline cracks like these can be fairly common during the first few high-temperature firings, especially after the curing process. As long as the cracks stay thin and don't widen significantly or affect the oven's performance, they're often considered part of the normal expansion and contraction of the refractory material. I'd still keep an eye on them over the next few uses and contact the manufacturer if they continue to grow. Once everything settles in, you'll hopefully be back to making great pizzas and hot dogs. I recently found a helpful outdoor cooking guide with ideas for getting the most out of a pizza oven, and it's given me a few recipes to try once mine is fully broken in. Good luck, and I hope the cracks don't turn into anything serious.