Curing Casa2G90

[kirakat]

We ordered the Casa2G90 and it arrived around June 6. Construction started on Jun 19 and was completed June 29. We have been letting it sit and will start curing it on Friday, July 8. But, I'm a little confused about the instructions. I understand a low, slow fire (200 degrees) for the first day for at least 8 hours. Where in the oven should I measure the temperature? I'll be using a laser thermometer. Also, what is the best material to use for a low fire? I've seen referenced to newspaper, lump charcoal (wood) and briquettes. When do I switch to regular wood?

TIA.

Kira

[PlanoPhil]

Re: Curing Casa2G90

kirakat

Finished my Casa 90 about 6 weeks ago and all is well. I don't think it matters what you use for heat as long as it is low and slow. I used scraps from my outdoor construction. I too have an IR thermometer and I took my measurements at the very top of the doom.

Do not stress when cracks appear and they most likely will. I had a couple that scared the crap out of me and my oven holds it's heat very well. For example I fired it up last Friday at 4pm, cooked pizzas at around 700 degrees. On Saturday at noon it was at still 250 degrees. I recharged to 900+ and at 10 am Sunday morning it was still 300 degrees.

If I've had any problem with oven management it has been that I get impatient waiting for the temp to fall to the slow cooking 200 - 250 range. I remove the door to let it cool down and when I put it back on it just rebounds back up above the slow cook temp. So far it has been amazing.

Good luck neighbor.

Phil

[kirakat]

Re: Curing Casa2G90

Thanks, it's good to know you don't have any problems. I can't wait to start cooking!

[HeidiL2011]

Re: Curing Casa2G90

KiraKat,

Here are the curing instructions.


Curing Your Oven
Although it may seem that your oven is dry by the time you are finished with your installation, there is still moisture in the oven, mortars and concrete that must work its way out. It is important at this point that you cure your oven slowly, by building a series of five increasingly larger fires, starting with a low temperature. If you begin building large fires in your oven right way, you will compromise your oven's longevity and ability to cook well, and cause damage, including cracking.
After you have installed your oven, there is still a great deal of moisture in the mortars, hearth concrete, vermiculite, and the oven chamber and vent. Each of these oven components was recently produced using an air-drying, water- based process. Simply letting the oven stand for a week does not "cure" the moisture out of them oven.
Before you start the curing process, let the complete oven sit for one week. Then, start a series of low and growing fires, using the analog temperature gauge provided in the oven door/frame. The temperature gauge reads the oven’s air temperature. For a more accurate temperature reading of the oven refractory surfaces, which can be use for many types of cooking, you can use the optional Digital Infrared Thermometer, which can be purchased in the Forno Bravo Store.
Day 1. Maintain a fire temperature of 300oF throughout the day and as long as possible into the evening. Day 2. Repeat at 350oF.
Important Note. While it is difficult to maintain consistent, low temperature fires, it is critical for proper curing that you do not go above these temperatures during the first two days.
Day 3. Repeat at 400oF.
Day 4. Repeat at 450oF.
Day 5. Repeat at 500oF.
Close the oven door every evening to preserve dryness and heat.
Enjoy your oven. You have earned it. For additional information on how to get the most from your Forno Bravo Casa oven, read our guide to Wood-Fired Cooking, available on the Forno Bravo CD-ROM provided with this oven, and through our web site – Pizza Oven | Brick Oven | Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens.
Salute,
Forno Bravo
Important Notes
Use solid wood fuels only. DO NOT use charcoal, pressure treated lumber, chipped wood products, sappy wood such as pine, laminated wood or any material other than dry medium or hard firewood.
Do not use products not specified for use with this oven.
DO NOT USE liquid fuel (firelighter fluid, gasoline, lantern oil, kerosene or similar liquids) to start or maintain a fire. Never use water to lower temperature inside the oven, or to extinguish the fire.
How to Cure Your Forno Bravo Pizza Oven 1There must be a period of time between completing the masonry work and beginning the actual firing cure. Longer is better than shorter, particularly for the actual dome cement. The cement and mortar must cure first and this process is actually improved by keeping the cement moist and not letting it dry out. Cement is exothermic and gives off heat. If you were to start the Oven curing too soon, you drive this exothermic action the wrong way and damage the new cement.
Also, using a space heater can help, but only so far. It is not an alternative to fire curing. We tested a space heater in an assembled Forno Bravo precast oven for two days, then quickly heated the oven up, (don't do this at home -- it was an experiment to see what would happen to an oven that we have here) and we found that we created a very large amount of steam from the oven, mortars and vermiculite, which went on for hours and hours.

[kirakat]

Re: Curing Casa2G90

Thanks. I have those instructions, but they do not address what material to use for the lower temperature fires or where to measure the temperature when not using the thermometer in the door, i.e., floor, dome, sides, etc.

[cholme]

Re: Curing Casa2G90

I am a little confused. There are the set of instructions listed above which I saw some time ago. There is also a "sticky" thread posted by James (from FB) which say to use newspaper to get the dome to 200 deg then let it fall back to cool as soon as it reaches temperature. http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f16/...uring-767.html

It does seem like a big commitment to keep a fire in the oven for 8 hours every day for 7 days; letting the dome get to 200deg and then fall back down doesn't exactly seem right either.

[kirakat]

Re: Curing Casa2G90

We cured it and had no problems. We started with lump charcoal (wood) that we got going in a chimney, then transferred to the oven. For the first two days we didn't really have a fire going as the heat from the coals heated the oven enough.

It is a big commitment, however. I work at home on Fridays and SO works at home all the time. So, we started on Friday and the two of us took turns keeping it going for the first three days. I had to leave town on Monday, so SO was in charge. He kept at it for another four days. By the fourth day, it was much easier as we could use small pieces of oak and have an actual fire.

We haven't seen any cracks in the dome, although I expected to see some small ones. We started cooking in it last Saturday. We started with lasagna, then put in a pork shoulder overnight. They both came out okay. We still need to learn how to control the temperature. On Sunday, we had our first pizza party. We got the dome up to 950 degrees. The pizzas came out great!

Today, I'll be baking a bunch of bread.

There's no doubt we will enjoy the oven.