Coating the outside of the dome prior to insulation

[George T]

Quick Question. If my joint are all filled, do I need to put another coat of fireclay over the entire dome prior to the insulation blanket going on?

Thanks.

[Les]

Re: Coating the outside of the dome prior to insulation

Have you brought it up to temp yet? I had a few minor cracks, so I went ahead and covered it up. If you develop some massive cracks, you may want the ability to fill them in.

Les...

[dbhansen]

Re: Coating the outside of the dome prior to insulation

It's not necessary. The blanket can go right on the brick. Depends on how much thermal mass you want in the dome.

[egalecki]

Re: Coating the outside of the dome prior to insulation

I coated mine all over because I was sloppy about "backfilling" while I was building. So I used a bag to force it into the gaps, and then just slathered it on the outside to tidy it up a bit- I didn't have a saw that cut the whole way thru bricks, so I had a lot of broken ugly edges I didn't want to tear up my blanket with.

It's all about the mass- I think you'll be ok if you've been better than I was about filling as you go.

[asudavew]

Re: Coating the outside of the dome prior to insulation

It's not required, but if you want more mass for cooking bread, or even cooking a brisket the following day(sometimes 2 days later) then go for it!

It will increase your heat up times some, but probably not by more than 15-20 minutes.


DAve

[George T]

Re: Coating the outside of the dome prior to insulation

Thanks everyone. I hope to complete the insulation tomorrow.