Curing small cracks question(s)

[Cameroonian Kid]

I've just finished my dome, and had the oven resting for a week.

Today, I decided to do my first curing fire - tried to keep it at 300 deg, but the temp spiked at times up to 400 (only for a minute or so). It's been going for a few hours now. I decided to do the first fire without insulation, but will do all of the others with the insulation on (Blanket).

With the fire going, I could distinctly see smoke (not steam) coming from some holes (gaps) in the oven. I've rendered 90% of the oven, but didn't do all of it because I only have a couple of KG's of mix left, and so wanted to ensure that I had enough left to fill the cracks.

My question's are...

Now that I know where some of the crack/gaps are, should I plug them now? and, if so, do I need to alter the way that I do any subsequent curing fires?

And,

Do people remove the insulation after finishing their curing fires to plug any cracks that have formed, and then reapply the blanket? If so, how big does a crack have to be to justify this?

Thanks

[GordonAddison]

Make sure you grind out sufficient space around the crack to get a decent amount of mortar in. TBH I also would just buy some more mortar and render the whole dome. Job done

[Cameroonian Kid]

Thanks Gordon.

I've already rendered most of the dome - 90%. Its a 2.5hr round trip for me to get more mortar - so I'll try the grinding option first.

How long after I fill the cracks can I continue with fires? Also does it matter if I water the area prior to filling with mortar?