Curing oven

[trockyh]

Just finished the oven dome yesterday. Is it ok to put a light in it to warm it up, or should I wait a week or two?
I am thinking of doing the whole curing without insulation, is this ok?
My plan is to buy the insulation when we go to the expo in Feb. to save on the shipping.

Thanks everyone for your help, I would not have gotten this far without you.

Tom

[dmun]

Re: Curing oven

Let it cure for a week. Keep it damp: concrete curing is called "hydration" for a reason. Premature drying will weaken the chemical bonds of the mortar. After a week you can proceed to dry it out.

[trockyh]

Re: Curing oven

Thanks David for your reply. The drying out. Should that be done with a heat lamp or lighting small fires?


Tom

[Neil2]

Re: Curing oven

There are basically two types of mortar/concrete.

Portland Cement Based: This will not take heat levels above 550 F or so. This material needs water to cure. It would be kept well damp for a minimum of 7 days perferably 21 days.

Refractary Mortar; This does not need water to cure. It is cured by firing.

[trockyh]

Re: Curing oven

So Neil, will keeping a tarp over the oven be enough? I built it with the home brew.

Tom

[Neil2]

Re: Curing oven

"So Neil, will keeping a tarp over the oven be enough?"

Give it lots of water for 7 days. Lift the tarp and soak it down periodically. The "home" brew has both Portland and lime , The Portland part will cure with water for 7 days. The lime part will kick in when you fire cure it. The lime based bonds will give it the long term strength - the portland cement bonds will start to weaken as the oven temperatures go up to 600 F and back. The only reason the portland is added is for the initial workability and shaping.

You want to avoid the term "drying out". One cures with water, the other cures with deliberate and escalating heat. A slow drying out, as such, is to be avoided.

[nickadeemistify]

Re: Curing oven

sorry for hi jacking this thread.... but could u guys perhaps direct me to a thread pertaining to some scientific standards for heat and materials used in the dome.?

or what i should look for, in terms of the composition. I see u mention lime here, would that affect the curing process in any way??
or are there standard ways for curing?

I ask this because here in South africa we dont have "your" standard mortars.
I think by knowing what is in the cement would help me in finding proper quality refractory products..

thank you so much..