George's Pompeii progress

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Hey! No rain! Back to work!

Here's yesterday's progress:

Two rolls of blanket got everything covered to a 3 layer thickness, except for about a four square foot area on the back side, which has just two layers. For whatever reason, it seemed like the top of the dome was more important to insulate, so I managed to get four inches of thickness across the top, and in one area, five.

I lit a fire immediately after putting on the blanket, then started putting on chicken wire, which I felt would be easier to work with than lath. Maybe I should have waited for the fire 'cause I was eating smoke from my chimneyless oven the whole time I worked on the top of the dome.

It turned out that I tightened down the chicken wire too much, so that there was no space for the vermiculte/concrete mix. The wire holds it in against the blanket rather than acting as a scaffold to for it to adhere to. I ended up going back and loosening it all up a bit and put on an inch or so (two in the back and on top).

The vermiculite layer seemed a bit excessive considering the amount of blanket I had on there. I'm still thinking of doing a stucco finish, and for that reason alone, it seemed that the firm layer of insulation would be easier to apply the stucco to.

My arms were completely worn out after this work. Seemed like I spent the whole day laboring with my hands above my head. I'm sure glad I don't do this for a living!

Anyway, except for some small areas at the front that didn't get covered (and likely never will), this step is complete. The stuff is pretty well set up this morning, and no rain in the forcast for the next few days! The oven seems a hell of a lot bigger after all the insulation. From the other side of the yard, it really does kind of look like a big bug sitting out there. Maybe I'll do the VW finish...

I sure wish my chimney would get here. I got the wall strap and chimney cap yesterday. The other parts are yet to ship, so I'm kind of spinning my wheels again...... Back to curing the thing I guess. I've had four fires that were hot enough to make my arms hairless. I've still got steam and sweat coming out, and the dome isn't getting that hot, even after an hour of fire.

Anybody else experience this? Without a door, the morning burn, (till about 11:00 AM), my oven had cooled down to probably 150 - 200 degrees by mid-afternoon. I was expecting better than that after putting on the insulation.

From what I've read, it sounds like it takes many fires to finally drive out the moisture, and at that point the oven gets easier to heat and will hold the heat better as well. I'm resisting the urge to build an inferno in there, which would no doubt have the same result, but might be a bit too hard on the mortar joints.
G.

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Ahh so! I got it. Seems liked you'd really need a full enclosure to keep it in place when it's applied dry.

G.

[asudavew]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Dave,
Did you have slumping of the perlcrete after those fires? I would think the stuff would have set up after that.
G

I didn't mix my verm/perlite with cement.

I built a screened enclosure and poured the verm in. I figured the dry verm/perlite would be a better insulator.

As for the slumping.. The screen was not tight enough around the cage that I built, so the sides have filled up with my perlite/verm that used to be on top of the dome. No biggie though. It just means my WFO is better insulated. I will add some more this weekend and maybe start on my stucco housing.

I hope this makes sense~!!!

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Dave,
Did you have slumping of the perlcrete after those fires? I would think the stuff would have set up after that.
G

[asudavew]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

George,
I used 2 boxes of the 1" - 50sqft blanket on my 42" oven. I think that will be sufficient judging by feeling the outside after a few fires.

Not until my 5th or 6th really hot fire, did I finally feel heat on the outside of the verm/perlite layer. Not hot to the touch, but definitely warm. And it was the next day....

[Ken524]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

George,
I used 2 boxes of the 1" - 50sqft blanket on my 42" oven. I think that will be sufficient judging by feeling the outside after a few fires.

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Thanks guys,
Good guidance. I was torn whether to go with two or three rolls of the blanket. I was standing there in the High Temp Inc. office and waffling on my numbers and costs. It got me distracted and I forgot to purchase the Kaowool board I was going to use for the door. I was 20 miles towards home before I realized my error.

In the end, it turned out that the vermiculite and perlite (2 bags of each) cost just as much as the blanket.

Dusty, I still like the idea of the football helmet too. I used to be a fanatic, but kind of lost the faith over the Navy years. Too much time out of the country - it made it hard to follow the teams without network TV, sports pages, Superbowl parties etc. You just get used to doing other things on Sunday mornings.

[Ken524]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Two layers of ceramic blanket and two inches of vermiculite/cement should get me close to the insulation recommended, right?

I agree with Dave. Sounds like you're in the ballpark. I have 3" of blanket and the top most layer stays cold when the top of my dome is white. I don't have the Vermiculite installed yet. I'm going to use about 2-3" loose Vermic.

Anybody have suggestions as to cutting the ceramic blanket? Will scissors do the trick? Utility knife?

I used a retractable box cutter/utility knife. Works great! Stuff is easy to cut. Have fun!

[dusty]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

A Cowboys fan, huh? .

Nah... not so much. But like I said before, I think the football helmet for the dome would be great. Sea hawk, silver star, whatever. If you are a fanatic, that would make the statement.

Everything ok up there with you and yours? Been hearing alot about that nasty rain storm. On the front page of this mornings paper was a guy sitting on top of his car in what looked like the middle of a lake. It was the middle of the street! Hope all's well.

dusty

[asudavew]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Two layers of ceramic blanket and two inches of vermiculite/cement should get me close to the insulation recommended, right?

Sounds like plenty to me! I have a 1/2 inch of ceramic blanket and about 5-6 inches of verm/perl on the sides..the verm/perl on the top of the dome has gravitated toward the sides... so ... I need to get another bag to refill the top.

Anybody have suggestions as to cutting the ceramic blanket? Will scissors do the trick? Utility knife?

Scissors should work just fine!
It's possible to tear it with your hands... so I wouldn't worry bout that.

A Cowboys fan, huh? No wonder you and Dave think alike! I won't hold it against you.

Isn't everyone?

Go Romo!

As you were!

Dave

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

As predicted, a great rainstorm. Flooding everywhere....but here! A really good rainstorm. 5 inches, more or less. I-5's shut down stopping all traffic from Seattle to Portland for days!

I took the opportunity, with the reduced traffic on the freeway, to go to Portland and pick up a couple of Kaowool blankets at High Temp Inc. $62 a roll. Not too bad. I ran across town and picked up two bags of vermiculite and two of perlite. I'm still not sure of how I'm going to finish the oven, so this should cover me pretty well no matter what I do. Two layers of ceramic blanket and two inches of vermiculite/cement should get me close to the insulation recommended, right?

I plan on putting on the blankets tomorrow and firing up the oven one last time to 700ish degrees. Still no chimney yet, but I'm going to deal with the smoke and cook something in the next day or so.

Anybody have suggestions as to cutting the ceramic blanket? Will scissors do the trick? Utility knife?

Thanks
George

[gjbingham]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

I'll keep you in mind when I'm down that way Dusty. I'd love to spend some time on the river.

A Cowboys fan, huh? No wonder you and Dave think alike! I won't hold it against you.

It's snowing outside my window this AM. Big wind/rain storm for the next couple of days. I'm not going to make any progress on my oven for at least a week or so. I'll just sit and watch everyone else and be envious.
G.

[Acoma]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Don't cover the boat if you like steelies, tough but fun.

[dusty]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Acoma,
When you turned left on Occidental, if you were to keep going straight, instead of making an immediate left onto my street, you would have run into the main stem of the American River. Upstream, about 400 yards from there is one of my favorite fishing holes. You are more than welcome any time. One day, my oldest son caught and released 9 king salmon in that hole. About an hour later, I caught MY limit... 2! He is still the only person to out fish me in my own boat. I loved it! And I would love to have you guys come try! And WIN. That would be fantastic. It may be a bit of a stretch for big Dave, but very doable for you, Robert.

And maybe for you too George. Keep in touch. You may have cause to come a bit south next fall. If so, let's throw some line!

dusty

[Acoma]

Re: George's Pompeii progress

Dusty, you will need to add me to your list. I will pay for fuel. It takes me under two hours to reach you. Where do you fish?