Quick Curing Question

[ErFornaio]

I recently had to remove the chimney and replace it. The original construction had not used the correct chimney pipe and had been covered in brick and mortar. Well, in my pizza cooking days, I started seeing significant cracks at the base of the chimney.

Between cracked mortar and the weight of the bricks (chimney was 72 inches high), I started worrying that it could come down on my kids, and I had it changed.

Now, I want to cook in the oven, whose basic structure was left untouched. The only part that war removed was the front and the chimney.

Do you guys think I need to cure the mortar of the chimney base? The exhaust from the oven remained the same as well, so we just built up a part to put on the anchor plate and secure the chimney.

If I have to cure it, is it the same process as before? A full eight days, getting the oven to pizza cooking temp?

Thanks!

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Quick Curing Question

hey erforn...
By the base, do you mean the arch ?? Would like to see a pic if possible ?? Is it refractory mortar ??? My chimney (firebrick) gets up to 250-300 degrees sometimes, so Im thinking you may need to fully cure,, but would still like to see some pics so I can understand the situation better
Cheers
Mark

[ErFornaio]

Re: Quick Curing Question

I meant the part right above the arch. The base of the chimney was rebuilt there and then we extended the duratech 8" pipe on top. however, the chimney hole from dome to outside was not touched, as we had no problems with that. i have decided to start the curing process again, though. :-( No pizza for a week!

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Quick Curing Question

So basically you replaced the brick with the pipe ??? and there wasnt a lot of cement work involved ??

It certainly wont kill you (i know, i remember waiting) to wait a week,,, Just think of it as insurance so you dont have to repair it again...

Good luck
Mark

[ErFornaio]

Re: Quick Curing Question

Yup... It won't kill me. What I never understood, even in the first time curing, was where to take the temperature of the oven, and what temperature to make the fires. I slowly brought it up to 1000, but was never sure that I had done it right... I guess since it had little cracking inside, I must have done ok.

The inside is refractory, but that base is mostly regular mortar. It gets warm, but certainly not as hot as the firebrick inside.

I may pull the whole thing down next summer and rebuild anyway, just so that I can do it right.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Quick Curing Question

Why tear down,,, If your cooking nice pizza's you did it right...

[ErFornaio]

Re: Quick Curing Question

Long story short, my floor isn't insulated correctly, so I am having a bit of a problem getting it to the 850, even if they rest of the oven is at >900. I can't see a way to retrofit the insulation without teardown...

I've thought of putting the insulating boards below the concrete base, which would help, but is not ideal...

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Quick Curing Question

Ok,, In that case I may have to agree with you,, Are your firebricks mortared to the floor ? I hate to see you tear it down..

Mark

[ErFornaio]

Re: Quick Curing Question

Yes, we followed the Pompeii oven instructions, except that we thought we couldn't use vermiculite (that's what the local materials place told us).

I wish the Pompeii oven kit had been advertised in the store (FB) because I would have just purchased that and built it to spec. As it turns out, I saw the kit after I had already had the oven built.

I think the bricks are mortared down. I could have the whole floor taken out, insert the FB boards below and rebuild the floor... Not sure how well that would work out, though, nor how much work it would take...

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Quick Curing Question

that could work, only problem is it would change your dome to door height ratio,, I was thinking along those lines,,, I dont know how much the ratio would affect your oven..

you should buy another 30 or so firebrick, lay them over (temporarily) you present floor and see if you can heat the oven better,, I dont know if it will act too much like a heat sink, But i think for 35.00 for the bricks its a cheap test, would like to hear what anyone else thinks...

[SCChris]

Re: Quick Curing Question

I don't know if you have access to 1" insulating board, IB, and the 1" thick firebrick, but the beauty would be that you only raise the floor 2" inches and likley get the insulation that you need. I know that here, SoCal, I could have foundry service supply any size IB as long as it's 4' X 8' or less and 2.5" thick or less. Anyway best of luck.

Chris

[ErFornaio]

Re: Quick Curing Question

Chris thanks,

I think I'd be buying the FB IB that they sell on the site. Not sure where I'd get the 1" firebrick. I have to look at the Pompeii plans to see if there is a concrete layer over the insulation but under the brick.

I cooked yesterday and really struggled to get the oven to temp. I know it's colder now than the summer, but if properly insulated I wouldn't think i'd have this much trouble.

That said, my pizza was spectacular. Problem is that I don't retain enough heat from day to day to make it cost efficient...

[SCChris]

Re: Quick Curing Question

I'd be really surprised if you couldn't find the 1" firebrick at anywhere that you'll find the standard dimension firebrick. Also fire off a quick message to James and see if he can refer a place that has 1" IB in the bay area. It's there, I'm sure of it..

Chris

[dmun]

Re: Quick Curing Question

I'm not convinced that one inch firebrick will give you enough thermal mass on the floor to get the results you want. You should be able to get them anywhere that sells firebrick. Call around to brickyards and ask for "firebrick splits" which is the term of art. Around here they cost the same as full sized firebrick, so there's no price advantage.