Taking forever to heat oven

[cbond]

After sitting dormant for 5 months, I fired my oven last night. After 4.5 hrs with a blazing fire, the dome was about half cleared. It has been raining a lot here in western NC. I assume this is because of built up moisture? Should I periodically fire the oven to prevent this even if I'm not cooking? How often? Thanks for the advice!

[azatty]

Re: Taking forever to heat oven

How fast did the oven heat before it went on hiatus? How is the oven insulated?

Wet insulation is possibly the culprit, or it could be that your bricks got really wet, too. Is your enclosure vented to let water vapor out?

[SCChris]

Re: Taking forever to heat oven

Cbond, It sounds like you need some shelter for the oven to keep it dry. Is a shelter something that you can do?

Chris

[cbond]

Re: Taking forever to heat oven

Thanks for your replies. The oven is outside, and built into a stone/masonry structure. It stays dry on the inside, but it is exposed to weather. When I built it I was under the impression that they are made to be outdoors.

[david s]

Re: Taking forever to heat oven

If you've not used your oven for a fair while and it's been idle during wet weather, it will get wet even if it has been waterproofed. The porous refractory will suck water from the atmosphere and it will probably get some water through the door. Simply fire it slow and gentle a few times and it should be back to normal. I live in the tropics, my oven is outdoors and gets pretty wet every year during the wet season, but it dries out ok.