33 inch cast homebrew Kent

[UtahBeehiver]

I remember somebody use a dehumidifier once and they were amazed how much water the collected something like several gallons.

[hughjamton]

I remember somebody use a dehumidifier once and they were amazed how much water the collected something like several gallons.

It'll probably take me quite a while to collect several gallons with my little machine, it probably only holds a litre or so in the pot.
If they drawer out that much water from the dome you've gotta wonder why they're not more widely used? Surely it must speed up the whole process and make the first fires less likely to cause damage.

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[UtahBeehiver]

Only seen it used once.

[hughjamton]

Only seen it used once.

Well the de-humidifier has worked better than I thought it would, (bigger pot than I thought as well, 3 litres) I've had just under 5 litres, so that's about 1 UK gallon I would have had to remove through firing. The water definitely came from the dome itself as I have completely sealed the entrance up with the dehumidifier inside, apart from emptying it of course.
It didn't quite go to plan today, I was going to put the blanket on a do the pumice layer, however, they've forecast 4 days of thunderstorms so this morning I thought I'd better make a temporary waterproof shelter for the dome seeing as the gazebo doesn't fit now the flue's installed.
If the storms miss us tomorrow or they're not to bad, I'll do the blanket and pumice layer. If the storms are too bad I'll drink beer and watch TV. SWHMBO is away on an art course for 4 days so no problem either way.

[Mullster]

Hang on - are you passing that off as a temporary shelter? It looks awesome!

[hughjamton]

Hang on - are you passing that off as a temporary shelter? It looks awesome!

Thanks, but it's all built out of scrap wood and pallets, some of the wood has still got cement on it from casting the slab, the covering is just D.P.M.
I've got other plans, I want to build it from bigger timbers and extend it to the right making a cubbyhole that I can store my Greek BBQ in.
That's the plan anyway, mind you I built a temporary bar out of pallets and scrap wood found in skips for a one off 85th birthday bbq party for the mother-in-law, that was 4 years ago, been a godsend through lockdown, and I'm in it most nights after a hard days work on the oven.

[Mullster]

You are going to be so popular with your friends if you aren’t already!

[hughjamton]

.Managed to get my superwool blanket on yesterday and my pumice coat.
Made a stupid error on my maths calculations, must've been the beer!
The external of my dome is 960mm, I calculated that I had enough 25mm blanket for 3 layers.
Stupidly it didn't enter my mind that after the first layer my external dome was 1010mm, next layer 1060mm. DOH!!!
Anyway, I didn't quite have enough, I had two triangular areas, about 400X300 at the widest, at the front of the dome, either side of the gallery.
So there's about 75mm of pumice there, about 50mm over the rest.
The dehumidifier is still drawing out water, but it's slowed down, what I have noticed since the insulation has gone on, it's really warming the dome up.
The pumice is nice and firm so I might start my first fire tomorrow, although it's just started to rain hard and there's more forecast so I might delay it for a bit.

[hughjamton]

david s I've copied part of your post below from Mullsters build concerning firing the oven.
If you don't mind I have a couple of questions.
I have so far done 4 fires, number 5 tomorrow.
In the FB guide to firing your oven it says to let the oven fully cool down between fires, but you say to keep the heat beads burning all night if possible.
I can see the logic in what you say, but not so much in letting the oven cool down, is there a reason for this that I'm not seeing?
Wrongly or rightly, I put my temporary door in place when the fire has died down, this seems logical to me, it's gentle heat, and as I see it, it can only help drive the water out?
There is still some warmth in the oven in the mornings.
I must admit, as I have plenty of time on my hands, I have been doing the fires for longer than you suggest, longer but not bigger, I have been very careful to control the fires and today, with a larger fire, I've had a metal plate between the flame and the dome. Tomorrow I'll remove the plate.
I can feel a slight dampness on the pumice insulation, and I have a plastic pipe through the pumice down to the blanket as a temporary vent that is wet inside from condensation (but can't feel heat) whilst firing the oven.
As I said, I am taking great care to control the fires, can you see a disaster in the making?

Heat beads are a good way of getting gentle heat into the oven, so as well as the wood, add one handful on Day1, 2 on Day2, 3on Day3 etc.

(You will probably notice dampness of the insulation layer as you heat the oven. This is normal and indicates that the oven is drying itself out. These damp patches will feel hotter to touch. This is a good indication of how the heat can pass more easily through wet material. Your oven will be far more efficient once it is properly dry. Some 50 litres of water has gone into the construction of the oven and considerable fuel is required to convert it to water vapour .Be careful- don’t be tempted to build up the fire too much, but try to keep those coals burning as long as possible- all night if you can)

This process is a bit laborious and goes through quite a lot of fuel. However, once properly dry you will be amazed at how little fuel your oven will use- around 4-5 Kg to get to temp. and that energy will be captured for hours of useful cooking time.

By all means use the heat you’ve generated to do some cooking. Maybe a loaf or two of bread, a roast, marshmallows or pastries etc. But don’t attempt to get up to pizza temperature yet. (You can test if moisture is still present by placing some plastic on the outside and seeing if moisture is collecting there.)

Driving off the moisture

Day 1: 1 sheet newspaper and half a dozen small sticks, 1 h’ful of heat beads (about 5 mins of flame)

Day 2: 1 sheet of newspaper and about 10 thicker sticks, 2 h’fuls of heat beads (about 10 mins of flame)

Day 3: Bigger sticks, plus 3 h’fuls of h’beads (about 15 mins of flame)

Day 4: More wood, plus 4 h’fuls of heat beads (30 mins of flame)

Day 5: wood plus 5 hfuls of h’beads (45 mins of flame)

Day 6: wood plus 6 hfuls of h’beads (1 hr of flame)

Day 7: wood plus 7 h’fuls of h’beads (1 ½ hrs of flame)