rainy day

[SkaterAndy]

Couldn't get the oven fired up today. Hopefully someone has some suggestions. It was about 55 degrees & rainy. not a down pour but not a drizzle either. My wood was dry & I normally use cedar wood shims as kindling. I used a lot more cedar shims than normal. I'm not sure but the cedar shims may not leave the hot embers that the logs leave. The fire was burning & I went through a lot of logs & the oven temp never made it up to the 750 plus degrees that I normally get. After 2 hours , the cooking surface never made it up above 200 degrees even with the fire sitting right on top of it. I also use a battery powered blower to concentrate air at the base of the flames to create a white hot area & to help stoke the fire and spread the flame. I've used this method at least 10 times in the past with no problems. What did I do wrong???

[brickie in oz]

Re: rainy day

The humidity will keep the temp of the fire down, Ive noticed that here too.

[SCChris]

Re: rainy day

Andy, you may want to try a iron/steel fireplace grate to lift your fire off the floor.
It should help your air flow to the wood and so it also should help keep the heat pounding in. Andy the first thing that came to mind was that you might still be curing or that the oven got wet. 10 burns and 750F should be good for the curing, how is your oven protected from the weather?

Chris

[SkaterAndy]

Re: rainy day

The oven has an exterior stucco. I don't see any cracks in it. I have not used it in several months. When I took to metal door off, I noticed the inside of the oven was a little damp. I do use a piece of metal to lift up the wood & its worked great in the past.

[SCChris]

Re: rainy day

When I took to metal door off, I noticed the inside of the oven was a little damp.

Do you feel that the oven was wet? This is the feeling that I'm getting. If you noticed it was damp, my bet is that it was and maybe even wet. I'd think about what I could do to guarantee it stays dry. Can you cover it with a little structure or water sealant or??

Chris

[SkaterAndy]

Re: rainy day

I didn't want to put a structure over it if I can help it. It looks nice the way it is. I could find out what to coat the thing with but the manufacture of the stucco says the stucco is waterproof . I will say that when I am done cooking, I put the metal door on to smother the flames. That may take a day or so until the temp goes down after use. After that, I may not remove the door again for a month or so when I use it again. Whenever I do, I always notice condensation on the oven-side of the door. Again, not sure where the moisture is coming from. if it is sealed & doesn't leak, could there be some residual moisture left in the unburned portion of the logs left in the fire?

[SCChris]

Re: rainy day

I have the feeling that the dome is dry but the underlying deck is not. I think I'd find a good quality car cover that breaths but sheds the rain and maybe tailor it to the oven. If it breaths, then the moisture should escape. I'm thinking something like GoreTex or some such would help you.

Chris

[cobblerdave]

Re: rainy day

Gudday
The dome can be sealed the stand sealed and watertight but the firebrick of the dome and hearth will just adsorb water from the air . There is not much you can do to prevent that just learn to live with it. On spot though would be better to check is the junction between dome/entrance and chimney if anyplace will crack on the exterior it's there. Problem is to its usually a direct pathway to the dome insulation. A cover over the entrance hearth could help as well , any rain on them and its straight down the cracks between and into the hearth insulation.
Regards dave