Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

[ja1724]

I'm thinking of all the different ways I can cure my oven: paper. kindling, charcoal etc. Anybody ever use hardwood pellets? I have 3 tons for winter use here in CT so they would be handy?

Just curious if anybody has done this and how? If not, maybe I'll give it a go and document my results.

[Les]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

No reason why it wouldn't work. It just takes heat... They look a lot like rabbit shit and that would work if you can keep it lit.

[HeidiL2011]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Hello JA1724,

Good question about the pellets, Lets see what everybody else thinks.

You can use paper, kindling, however no charcoal.

Heidi
Forno Bravo

[ja1724]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Hello JA1724,

Good question about the pellets, Lets see what everybody else thinks.

You can use paper, kindling, however no charcoal.

Heidi
Forno Bravo

No Charcoal, really? I'm reading all kinds of posts about people curing their oven with charcoal this, and Minion method that? This is a 48" Pompeii I built myself, not a FB oven. Does the no charcoal rule still apply?

[david s]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

My feeling is that you wanT a gentle fire preferably without flame particularly in the early fires. Flame on the crown of the dome will lead to sudden temp increase which you don't want. Here in Australia for curing, we use what we call heat beads or brickettes, which are a charcoal kind of fuel. They just glow without producing lots of flame. I think they're ideal. What is the reasoning behind the no charcoal rule Heidi?

[HeidiL2011]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Hello Ja1724,

If it were a Pompeii kit bought from us, you cannot use charcoal without voiding the warranty. If you bought the materials and built the oven yourself, it's up to you.

You may want to check with the vendors of the materials, to make sure the coal will not damage your oven.

Thanks,
Heidi

[ja1724]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Thanks Heidi. I bought the materials locally. I decided not to use the charcoal and just use small kindling wood just in case. I've had a nice little burner going at between 200-300 degrees for about 3 hours now. Can't wait to do the next one tomorrow...

[mrchipster]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Hello Ja1724,

If it were a Pompeii kit bought from us, you cannot use charcoal without voiding the warranty. If you bought the materials and built the oven yourself, it's up to you.

You may want to check with the vendors of the materials, to make sure the coal will not damage your oven.

Thanks,
Heidi

My feeling is heat is heat and if you are concerned about direct heat on the floor put the charcoal on an elevated grate like they do in a Weber grill. if you really want to be safe put a cookie sheet under the grate and catch all of the ash. The coals will never touch the floor and a little ash may fall through but carbon is carbon.

Just my two cents.

Chip

[david s]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

I can't think why charcoal would damage the oven. Castable refractories are designed for boilers and furnaces that often use coal fuels. Does anyone know the reason that coal should not be used in a wood oven?

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

If it were a Pompeii kit bought from us, you cannot use charcoal without voiding the warranty.

There must be something in the application of coal heat that compromises the integrity of the specific Forno Bravo cast dome material. It sure would be valuable to share this with the cast oven builders on this site what injurious properties coal presents to their ovens.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Does anyone know the reason that coal should not be used in a wood oven?

Only to cover your arse.

[david s]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Can someone please shed some light on this charcoal mystery?

[Ken524]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

I notice in this discussion that the terms "coal" and "charcoal" are being used interchangeably. I also notice that we have members participating from two different countries (separated by a common language) . I wonder if we talking about two different things...

In the US, "coal" refers to the black rocks we dig out of mountains and burn for electricity (and in "coal-fired" pizza ovens).

When we talk about "Charcoal", it is a wood product made from wood chips that are compressed to a square shape and heated to a high temperature in the absence of oxygen.

I took a look at the Casa warranty on the FB website and it mentions that both charcoal AND coal will void the warranty due to uneven heating characteristics and possible excessively high heat.

My own opinion for a Pompeii is that using charcoal briquettes for curing is a waste of money.

So there you go!

[ja1724]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Ken,

That's what I figured also about the charcoal. So I just used small kindling and kept the heat between 200-300 for about three hours. I also tried to use the hardwood pellets once the fire got going a bit, but they just kind of put the fire out so I wouldn't recommend them to anybody for use in curing their oven.

[david s]

Re: Ever use wood pellets to cure the oven?

Thanks Ken,
That was the kind of answer I was seeking.
In Australia we have a poultice of brown coal which keeps our economy buoyant, but also happens to be the dirtiest kind of coal to burn re emissions.
Unless you blast this stuff with forced air (oxygen) it does not get super hot. I presume experience with floor damage has led FB to adopt the no charcoal/coal policy.
I still feel my remarks about avoiding flame to the crown of the dome still apply as excessive heat there can be damaging to the dome while the base is still way cooler.