Oh no - my oven is wet

[PizzaArthur]

I bought one yesterday from Home Depot. The smallest they had. It has three settings, fan, low, high.

I tried it on low within a closed oven and that shut off pretty soon. Last night I had it on fan with the closed oven and I think that was a good prep. This morning I have it on low with the oven door off and the unit's rear right by the opening in the oven (so as not to overheat). After 2 hours it's still running and the wetness is going away

I'll probably keep it running all day today. Shut is off at night, then again all day tomorrow. On Wednesday I'll start lighting a newspaper, then....

[PizzaArthur]

Update:

I let the space heater run all day yesterday then shut it off at night. The wet spot definitely dissipated. This morning it looked a little discolored so I assume there is still moisture behind the oven dome. I have the space heater on all day today. In Virginia the nights are getting to freezing so I'm still a bit concerned.

My plan is to light up a newspaper tonight, then some kindling tomorrow and so on (unless someone offers advice otherwise).

[jengineer]

Is there a reason why you are shutting the heater off at night? I would think that if the temperature is the dome is not flaming hot that athe low continuous heat would be better at pushing out the moisture rather than starting and stopping the process.

If the heater keeps tripping off due to overheating of the unit then try leaving the door partially closed rather than full open or closed.

I would be tempted to McGyver my wifes New Orleans propane oil fryer head into the oven. Get myself a 10-15 gallon tank from a neighbors house on wheels and let it slow cook for 48 hours. Yes the burning of propane will add some moisture to the inside as the process of burning propqane does result in H20. It is a toss up on the electric bill and adding a small amount of vapor that will escape out the flue.

[PizzaArthur]

Yes, you are right. I will probably leave it on all night tonight. I have the door 75% shut and the heater is still on.

Originally Posted by jengineer

Is there a reason why you are shutting the heater off at night? I would think that if the temperature is the dome is not flaming hot that athe low continuous heat would be better at pushing out the moisture rather than starting and stopping the process.

[PizzaArthur]

Ran the heater over last night (so 24 hours straight) and then this morning I started the curing process with a small newspaper. The wall got up to 250 degrees and the floor by the newspaper was 100 - 350 degress during the flame.
Tomorrow AM will be the newspaper and some kindling.

[james]

Arthur,

Do you feel pretty certain that the water came in the front, then wicked its way around the insulation? It would be a shame to slowly but surely dry the oven out, only to find another way water is getting in.

Go slow, as you had real water.

James

[PizzaArthur]

Honeslty I'm not 100% sure. The oven is pretty enclosed in stone and mortar so I can't really see anyplace where the water can come in. The only thing that makes sense is the vermiculite that is exposed in the front got really wet and water accumulated under the hearth and made its way to the back of the hearth and walked up the back of the dome. It's supposed to rain in the next few days so I'll watch for signs of more wetness.

When you say "go slow" what advice do you have? I used the heater for two days (after probably a week of no rain) and now I'm starting with a newspaper. Should I be waiting longer?

[james]

Arthur,
Keep going. You should look out for any signs that you are getting hot enough to turn any visible moisture to steam.
James

[PizzaArthur]

Thanks James. It started to rain hard today. I covered the entire oven for now. I have the mason coming tomorrow who built the stone facade so he will hopefully have some more ideas on how the water is getting in.

[PizzaArthur]

It's been several days since it rained. A few updates. The mason strongly believes that it was the wet vermiculite that went under the oven (hearth) and up the back. It really looks like there is no other answer. After 2 days of using a space heater the back of the oven seemed to "look" ok. I lit a newspaper and then the next day some kindling. Today one 2x2x12 stick or so. The walls look fine (and very black of course). I did notice a hair line crack along the back wall (inside the oven dome), but very faint. It might have been there before but I never really looked this hard. I did not see any moisture or steam at all - just a lot of smoke since I used a newspaper the last two days. Hopefully I'm in the clear but I'm still quite worried about it since I can't fix any cracks since the oven is covered with stone.