Giardino door questions

[SableSprings]

Welcome to the forum! The door does need to be open or out when you have an active fire. As you thought, the fire does need that oxygen to burn and heat the oven chamber and the design of the oven brings air in low, it feeds the fire, beats up and circulates up the back of the dome and then forward to exit the oven through the front top of the opening into the chimney. Normally when doing pizza the door is removed throughout firing, loading, and cooking. The temp probe is intended for baking after the oven has been fired and remaining coals have been removed or have died down (No active fire or remaining fuel). Most people purchase an infrared temp gun to get a cooking surface reading on the cooking floor. There are also several other ways to see if the oven is ready for pizza, but the gun is the best (imho). I have used my oven without a door probe for years and rely on my IR gun. I've used an oven with that door temp probe, but don't really trust it...more of a general temp indicator for the door area not the deeper chamber...

Hope that helps a little...and remember to go slow on your curing fires (I'd actually recommend you go through the curing process before applying the out side render...or the final layer since you've already started). Moisture (steam) will need a path to escape.

[mek363]

We have a Giardino 60 kit and we are on our 2nd stucco coat. All is going well. But I had a question about how the oven door should be used. It seems strange that the door closes inside of the vent, and the thermometer is on the door. Am I only supposed to use the door when there are no active fires? If so, how should I get a temperature reading? Should I keep the door on the platform but pulled away from the opening to allow for airflow? Would that give an accurate reading? Or should I occasionally put the door in place for a few seconds to get a temperature reading?