Oven Curing

[gsuter]

I just finished the dome on my 42" oven. I'm wondering if I should start curing the oven before I build the vent and before I cover the dome with the fiberglass blanket?

Also, I have some minor spaces between bricks in the upper part of the dome. Should I try and fill them in with castable cement? I have covered the entire dome with the refractory mortar and I will be covering the dome with 3" of fiberglass blanket. I will be enclosing the entire dome and covering it with insulation as well.

Thanks for the help!

[mrchipster]

Re: Oven Curing

I just finished the dome on my 42" oven. I'm wondering if I should start curing the oven before I build the vent and before I cover the dome with the fiberglass blanket?

Also, I have some minor spaces between bricks in the upper part of the dome. Should I try and fill them in with castable cement? I have covered the entire dome with the refractory mortar and I will be covering the dome with 3" of fiberglass blanket. I will be enclosing the entire dome and covering it with insulation as well.

Thanks for the help!

1) When reading other posts Fiberglas is not a good choice for insulating material. a Ceramic fiber or vermiculite or perlite are better choices.

2) Minor spaces between bricks on inside should be filled with refractory mortar.

3) The question on cure before of after vent should be answered by someone else. Would someone like to chime in on this?

Chip

[Faith In Virginia]

Re: Oven Curing

From when you set your last brick on the oven itself I would give it at least a week to 10 days before starting any small curing fires. so when you do build the vent give it time to set before any raging heat.

Chip's advice is on the money

Faith

[fishn4daze]

Re: Oven Curing

I started my cure with a 300 watt light bulb. Worked great to get the process started and get the removal of moisture.

[pchak]

Re: Oven Curing

My vault has been curing for about 6 weeks. I was trying to finish the chimney, and then get the first layer of insulating concrete on. It cured about 2-3 weeks. I used a propane burner (like for clam bakes) on low. I letit stay about 200-250F for 24 hours. Yesterday, I took it up about 150 degrees. I'm going to run it today, and maybe do a fire tonight.
Cheers!