Hello All,
I thought my curing days were done. Upon removal of the Kaowool I found an undercoating of soot and a crack. Upon closer examination of the inside of the dome, the crack was easy to find. I took a look at the photo I posted after the first fire and discovered that it was present with that photo after the first 300 degree fire, I just didn?t notice it. For weeks before I started the curing fires the halogen had been burning round the clock and the top of the dome was at 140 degrees, so I had little reluctance to starting the fires at 300, but in hindsight that was a bit too aggressive. Had I to do it over, perhaps one day at 200 and the next at 250 before hitting 300.
So, I have a fairly significant crack that runs down the left side of the dome. Given the soot it is obviously seeping smoke at some point but I had the oven up to 900 degrees yesterday and no smoke was coming through.
I have about ?? of mortar cladding over the exterior of the oven.
What I was thinking to do for a fix was to grind out the crack to make it ?? wide for the entire crack length in the cladding and then grind out the cracks in the brick below about ?? wide for the length and about 1? into the brick. After the grind I was going to fill with refractory mortar.
Can someone please advise me on this approach? Is mortar the way to go or would furnace caulk be preferable? Should I attempt this when the oven is hot or a bit cooler? Afterwards do I re-cure?
Thanks for any help. And for everyone who posted their experience with cracks in their dome, many thanks, you preserved my sanity. My initial state of mind when first discovering the crack was something less than cheery.
Jim
I thought my curing days were done. Upon removal of the Kaowool I found an undercoating of soot and a crack. Upon closer examination of the inside of the dome, the crack was easy to find. I took a look at the photo I posted after the first fire and discovered that it was present with that photo after the first 300 degree fire, I just didn?t notice it. For weeks before I started the curing fires the halogen had been burning round the clock and the top of the dome was at 140 degrees, so I had little reluctance to starting the fires at 300, but in hindsight that was a bit too aggressive. Had I to do it over, perhaps one day at 200 and the next at 250 before hitting 300.
So, I have a fairly significant crack that runs down the left side of the dome. Given the soot it is obviously seeping smoke at some point but I had the oven up to 900 degrees yesterday and no smoke was coming through.
I have about ?? of mortar cladding over the exterior of the oven.
What I was thinking to do for a fix was to grind out the crack to make it ?? wide for the entire crack length in the cladding and then grind out the cracks in the brick below about ?? wide for the length and about 1? into the brick. After the grind I was going to fill with refractory mortar.
Can someone please advise me on this approach? Is mortar the way to go or would furnace caulk be preferable? Should I attempt this when the oven is hot or a bit cooler? Afterwards do I re-cure?
Thanks for any help. And for everyone who posted their experience with cracks in their dome, many thanks, you preserved my sanity. My initial state of mind when first discovering the crack was something less than cheery.
Jim
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