3 questions for the experienced

[Rickaroonie]

Hello everyone,

I finally got around to reading about the fireing off. Seems to be 2 camps on that one. First, fire off without the insulating blanket and 2nd, with the insulating on and both good arguments for both in my mind. Not sure what I'm going to do yet now.

The 2nd question, how does one hold the chicken wire in place when rendering? I havnn't seen one mention in all my reading hear. Any ideas anyone?

And 3rd, I have about 1.5 bags of cement left over. Is it a good idea to mix it and put it over the bricks simply because I have it and dont want to waste it? Or is this just overkill?

Any help with any one of these would be much appreciated.

Rickaroonie

[Les]

Re: 3 questions for the experienced

Hello everyone,

I finally got around to reading about the fireing off. Seems to be 2 camps on that one. First, fire off without the insulating blanket and 2nd, with the insulating on and both good arguments for both in my mind. Not sure what I'm going to do yet now.

It most likely doesn't matter but I would cure with the blanket off

The 2nd question, how does one hold the chicken wire in place when rendering? I havnn't seen one mention in all my reading hear. Any ideas anyone?

I put the wire over a re-bar dome. If you are just going over brick I would use some pieces of brick for a spacer - maybe 1 inch thick?

And 3rd, I have about 1.5 bags of cement left over. Is it a good idea to mix it and put it over the bricks simply because I have it and dont want to waste it? Or is this just overkill?

Overkill - the brick is enough mass.


Rickaroonie[/QUOTE]

[SableSprings]

Re: 3 questions for the experienced

RE: initial firings/drying time with or without insulation blankets

Remember that the idea of the curing is to eliminate the residual moisture held by the bricks & refractory mortar (and insulating perlcrete or vermicrete if used). Since the insulation blankets are open weave, the moisture can eventually escape. However, I favor initial curing without the blankets just so I can watch for any excessive outside cracks that may develop and help speed up the release of moisture from the outside of the oven. After curing my oven without insulation, I added a layer of diatomaceous earth before adding a perlcrete insulation cap. Subsequent lower temp firings dried out my perlcrete and then I finished with an outside brick facade. With the insulating blankets, you won't need an additional outside cladding "dry out".

RE: holding the chicken wire in place.

I helped install a Casa 2G90 a couple of years ago and we first laid down two "strips" of chicken wire under the base insulation pieces. After the dome was mortared together, we pulled the chicken wire up & over the insulation blankets. We cut and/or folded the wire where it puckered and used small pieces of wire to tie the wire as tightly together as we could. After it was all tied together, we applied the base stucco layer. I've attached a couple of pics to help show how it looked during that process.

RE: extra cement

Think about creating a "cement moat/ring" around the base of the oven to either secure your chicken wire or give a broader foundation for your outside stucco (or whatever cladding...)

[Rickaroonie]

Re: 3 questions for the experienced

Appreciate that Mike. At least gives me an idea of where to start.
By the way, I went to high school in Beaverton Oregon! (77)

Thanks again, and you too Les.

Rickaroonie

[david s]

Re: 3 questions for the experienced

Q 1 I prefer to eliminate the water with the insulation on so that there is not as much difference in the inside and outside temperature of the refractory which leads to uneven expansion.

Q2 I set in thin wire anchors into the dome, that also act as a depth gauge to get the vermicrete layer the correct depth and shape.

Q3 depends if you want more thermal mass or not. A layer on the outside of your bricks should help give it more strength, but will increase time taken to fully saturate with heat.