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42" In South GA

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  • SableSprings
    replied
    You're doing the right thing by moving the fire around...and yes, an oven that's in the early stages of curing has trouble supporting a fire. Sounds like you still have considerable moisture contained in the build, as Russell noted...the turtle wins. As to temp variations, yes that's normal and we've all had that yikes moment when what seems like a tiny piece of wood put us way too hot. Generally those hot spots are just surface readings that aren't a problem, especially when the temp drops quickly after the fire is moved away. Have you considered using lump charcoal to get a more controlled burn? Since no two builds are the same, just relax & rest assured you are doing everything right at this point. Seeing evidence of moisture being slowly driven out is all proof of the slow cure "working". Relax & breathe easy!

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  • edonovan
    replied
    So starting seeing a little condensation on the inside of my plastic drop cloth, however I wonder if it could also be from it being 98 here during the day and when the temp drops...some condensation forms? I am hovering around 350-450 now and just may stay in this range for a couple days. Is it good practice to move the fires around from middle, back, Left, right? Like I said before temp management is proving difficult, and maybe it is just cause it is a 42"...I shoot 320 on the back wall and 415 at the dome if I have the fire right in the middle, and so forth, higher on the left and lower on the right if that fire is slightly to the left. I have definitely got nervous on a couple occasions as add a "relatively" small piece of wood...starts going up and I shoot the wall nearby and hit 450, however as the flame dies down the wall evens out to around upper 200's to low 300's...this normal?
    You all got me nervous on this stage, and you say slow and I say...I can go slower LOL!! As I keep going up in temp, I am good to go all the way just being my blanket on there correct? and once I have that first 800-900 degree fire I can start on my perlite layer?
    And on a cool/frustrating note...If I walk away from my fire for a little bit and come back and It has gone out, it is proving challenging to get it flamed up again with a small piece of wood (maybe I am impatient) and it smokes a lot, so I get that cloud of smoke building in the dome...but once it flames up...watching that build up of smoke just fly up the flue is SOO cool!!!

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  • UtahBeehiver
    replied
    Probably not in the temperature range yet at 270 F interior for water to condense on exterior or the blanket is absorbing some of the vapor. Turtle wins the race in curing.

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  • edonovan
    replied
    UtahBeehiver Oh yeah definitely going slow, if there is anything I remember from all my research it is to go slow. As I have transitioned into small wood fires I am finding temp management to be challenging…I’ll see 250-270 on a particular spot on the wall and then lower further away. So I am trying to keep an average and move the fire around. Question, if I don’t see any moisture coming out on my clear drop cloth around the dome…is that a bad thing?

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  • UtahBeehiver
    replied
    Really be patient with curing fires, this is where we see a lot of builders go too fast, too hot and damage all their hard work.

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  • edonovan
    replied
    Sorry for the sideways pictures

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  • edonovan
    replied
    Alrighty!!! So much progress!!! Used up what I could of my insulation! And threw an old halogen shop lamp in there while I worked on the chimney. Chimney went up great! And have been having a weekend of first drying fires. The charcoal is definitely not as exciting as the first actual fires! And definitely had to have a celebratory drink!!

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  • david s
    replied
    Up to you, but if you have the extra blanket, paid for it and have the room to install it, why not use it. It can be way thicker on top, which is where it will get hotter anyway. The vermicrete or perlcrete will even out the form of the uneven blanket. Here's an example of two layers of blanket on the sides, because that's all the room I had, but 4 or 5 layers on top.

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    Last edited by david s; 06-11-2022, 02:16 PM.

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  • edonovan
    replied
    david s Thank you again. I think I’ll wait, the remaining chimney parts will be here Wednesday, so not too long of a wait. Got 2 layers of ceramic blanket down. Yay!! Now to just to keep that dry until I get the pecrete and stucco over it. ‍♂️
    I do have about 15 feet of blanket left over, is it advised to just use it up, say have a 3rd layer over the dome and not the sides? Or (what I am thinking) does that create a shaping issue when I get to the pecrete?

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  • david s
    replied
    All new ovens are somewhat smoky for the first few fires and sometimes it's hard to keep the fire alight, so don't be too dismayed if you get a fair bit of smoke out the front, things will improve markedly once the oven has dried somewhat, also the lack of a flue pipe won't help the situation. I suggest you try it to see what happens and "play it by ear." (or in this case by nose)

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  • edonovan
    replied
    Thank you for the tips david s, was able to find a large bag of perlite at my local hardware store...it was up on a top shelf and I had to ask for it and the guy asked what it is used for...I said probably mostly planting and things like that...however...here is what I am using it for ...phone came out and all to show some pictures.

    Pictures are where I am at for flue area and bricks my base plate are sitting in and cap bricks to hold plate down in addition to high heat sealant...really want to avoid putting bolts in the brick and think I can do that with the sealant and cap bricks.

    New question for anyone...I plan on doing my ceramic blanket tomorrow...and have the rest of my chimney ordered and would rather make sure everything fits before mortaring bricks and cap bricks, sooo, is there a functional reason that I can't start drying fires once I have the blanket on? other than I will only have about a 6" "chimney" and it will smoke up my outdoor kitchen? Am I also going to get a bunch of smoke out the front due to not have "draw" and make the front real black? Just thinking I want to keep things moving but can also wait until chimney is in place if it will help that much more.

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  • david s
    replied
    Dry loose perlite is a slightly better insulator than vermiculite, but as soon as you add cement to either it’s insulation value drops drastically so there’s no measurable difference between the two, even in a lean mix. I’ve heard of builders going as lean as 13:1, but 10:1 is as lean as I can go and still have it workable and resulting in it strong enough as a firm substrate to render against.
    Even at 10:1 I add a little powdered clay to make it a bit stickier. Both vermiculite and perlite come in different grades. The coarse stuff requires less water but is not as workable as the fine stuff. I compromise and go for the medium grade, but now use a combination of fine vermiculite and medium perlite. Buying big (100 litre) bags from an agricultural supplier is way cheaper than the little bags from hardware stores.

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  • edonovan
    replied
    mongota Thanks!! I think that is kinda what I had in my head…not too sure if I am going to try and mess around with any bolts or screws…probably just recess it in some brick and then cap it with some other decorative brick or something…
    question for all…
    1)is there a preference between vermiculite vs perlite on covering my insulating blanket?
    2) is 10:1 the best ratio that most have used?
    3) is this just the standard perlite/vermiculite that I would find in a garden center for planting?

    had a little snafu with the front arch and needing a little sliver of a brick but oh well…”makes it more authentic” ‍♂️
    home stretch!!!

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  • mongota
    replied
    For my build specifically, I thought of it as being more of a belt and suspenders type of approach.

    I used high temp RTV to bed the anchor plate to the bricks. I thought of it more as a bedding compound and a gap filler rather than an adhesive. It simply sealed any gaps between the top surface of the not-so-smooth fire brick and the bottom of the slightly wavy metal flange of the chimney anchor plate. I also used four expansion bolts to tie the anchor plate to the brick. I didn't crank them down to where there was a threat of cracking a brick. I simply snugged them up, but firmly. The bolts held the flange of the anchor plate tight to the brick, helping to compress the RTV bedding between the brick and the anchor plate. Lastly I covered the anchor plate with a cast concrete capstone. THAT is what I used to lock the anchor plate firmly in place so it could provide a strong base for my exposed chimney pipe. The others (RTV and bolts) surely do provide assistance, but the weight of the capstone and how it captures the anchor plate as a whole was the key to a secure chimney in my build.

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  • edonovan
    replied
    UtahBeehiver appreciate you rubbing that in lol…yes I get all my powder day emails…it was definitely a late start to the season and fairly dry peak season and now everyone is getting dumped on…our other favorite spot (big sky) just got 11”
    good points with it not being refractory mouldable and for inside…will order the kaowool product to be safe…plan right now is probably to recess my anchor plate in some bricks like your last picture and then probably 1 layer of brick over it to close it in…how would that change how I would seal around the plate?

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