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james, just wanted to understand your curing schedule a little better and thought i would start a new thread as the other one took a big turn into the properties of concrete. here is what you posted:
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To be safe, here is a good curing schedule.
1. Let the oven sit for a week or so after you have finished the dome.
2. Run a series of seven fires, starting with a small, newspaper-only fire.
3. Increase the size of the fire each day by about 100F
200F
300F
400F
500F
600F
700F
800F
4. Let the oven fall back to cool as soon as you reach the temperature you want. It is important to bring the oven up to heat gently, then back down to cold, each time.
5. If you don't have an infrared thermometer, try this schedule:
Newspaper only
Newspaper and a little kindling
1 stick of 2"x3"X16" wood
2 sticks of wood
3 sticks of wood
4 sticks of wood
5 sticks of wood
James
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my questions:
let's say it's day one (the first fire) and i'm trying to achieve 200f per your schedule.
1. using an ir thermometer, what part of the oven do i use to get my 200f reading from - the dome top, walls, floor? assuming it is the first fire and i use the top of the dome, the walls and floor will be much, much cooler, no?
2. once the first fire reaches 200f and i let it naturally burn/cool down, am i done for the day or do i repeat the process throughout the day, i.e., start another small fire, let it reach 200f and let it burn/cool down again?
3. during the 7 day curing process do i use the oven door at the end of each day (or fire) to maintain whatever heat the oven has absorbed?
4. as the days progress and i incrementally increase the heat of the oven per your schedule, is it important that i try to evenly distribute the embers so that i am exposing as many areas of the oven to the heat as possible? does it make a difference if i start each fire at the same floor location, say front/center of the oven, for each daily firing - or would i be better served starting each new fire at different locations on the floor?
5. once i am up and running i will maintain my fires on the left side of my oven while reserving the middle and right for cooking. should this be taken into consideration during the curing/firing process? in other words, would it be better to expose the left side of my oven to the majority of heat during the curing process by building the fires on that side?
i very much look forward to any responses!
==================
To be safe, here is a good curing schedule.
1. Let the oven sit for a week or so after you have finished the dome.
2. Run a series of seven fires, starting with a small, newspaper-only fire.
3. Increase the size of the fire each day by about 100F
200F
300F
400F
500F
600F
700F
800F
4. Let the oven fall back to cool as soon as you reach the temperature you want. It is important to bring the oven up to heat gently, then back down to cold, each time.
5. If you don't have an infrared thermometer, try this schedule:
Newspaper only
Newspaper and a little kindling
1 stick of 2"x3"X16" wood
2 sticks of wood
3 sticks of wood
4 sticks of wood
5 sticks of wood
James
==================
my questions:
let's say it's day one (the first fire) and i'm trying to achieve 200f per your schedule.
1. using an ir thermometer, what part of the oven do i use to get my 200f reading from - the dome top, walls, floor? assuming it is the first fire and i use the top of the dome, the walls and floor will be much, much cooler, no?
2. once the first fire reaches 200f and i let it naturally burn/cool down, am i done for the day or do i repeat the process throughout the day, i.e., start another small fire, let it reach 200f and let it burn/cool down again?
3. during the 7 day curing process do i use the oven door at the end of each day (or fire) to maintain whatever heat the oven has absorbed?
4. as the days progress and i incrementally increase the heat of the oven per your schedule, is it important that i try to evenly distribute the embers so that i am exposing as many areas of the oven to the heat as possible? does it make a difference if i start each fire at the same floor location, say front/center of the oven, for each daily firing - or would i be better served starting each new fire at different locations on the floor?
5. once i am up and running i will maintain my fires on the left side of my oven while reserving the middle and right for cooking. should this be taken into consideration during the curing/firing process? in other words, would it be better to expose the left side of my oven to the majority of heat during the curing process by building the fires on that side?
i very much look forward to any responses!
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