I've finally started our oven in Costa Rica

[berryst]

Fine job indeed, well done!

[Dutchoven]

Yeah! Wonderful job! Now you could call this thread "I have finished the oven dome!"
Congratulations!
Dutch

[sarah h]

Congratulations, Carlos - it looks great!
Bet it feels great too to have arrived at this point!

Sarah

[carloswlkr]

Thanks, everyone. Yes, it feels great to have gotten this far. I probably wouldn't have had the courage to try it myself without all the help and encouragement from everyone here, the PDF, and all the posts I've read.

Now that I'm to this point, I'm frantically re-reading all I can about curing. I'm hoping to be able to innaugurate the oven for our annual Oscar's Ceremony pizza party. We've been throwing a party for a group of friends for several years now, using quarry tiles in my kitchen oven. Last two years I've thrown together 16 pizzas in short order. Everyone is encouraged to top their own if they want, so we've had some creative pies.

Anyway, given that the Oscars are on the 22nd of February, I have slightly under three weeks and two trips out of town before I would like to use the oven. Does the following schedule sound too ambitious: finish work on the opening hearth / arch / chimney this week, as I let the dome sit for a full week. Perhaps about mid-week next, start my low-BTU curing fires (fires 1 - 3). We've got a trip to the beach for the weekend of the 14th, so the next fire (4) would have to be Sunday night, the 15th, followed by fires 5 and 6 on Friday the 20th and Saturday the 21st (I have to go back to Honduras that week). I know the mantra is 'go slow' but hopefully I can fit my schedule.

In the end, if the oven isn't cured by then and I can't use it, we'll just have the party indoors and use the kitchen oven one last time, and it'll be fine.

thanks again for all the feedback.

Carlos.

oh, in case anyone is curious, i'm planning on the ceramic fiber blanket followed by vermiculite/concrete, finished in stucco. I will probably just attach the blanket next week, and finishing the oven the vermiculite and stucco layers some time after the 22nd.

[Les]

Carlos,

When you are away, would it be possible to use a small electric heater. May accelerate the cure.

Les...

[carloswlkr]

It's worth lookin into... I don't have one, but will ask around to see if any friends do. they're not particularly common down here :-)

[j6ppc]

Originally Posted by carloswlkr

It's worth lookin into... I don't have one, but will ask around to see if any friends do. they're not particularly common down here :-)

Alternately you could run a 150 watt or so light bulb inside w/ the archway closed off. I'm guessing the heat from it would certainly warm the interior enough to help things dry out.

[sarah h]

I'm betting it's do-able but even if not, you could still have a lower-temp curing fire that night and just do some kind of appetizer (like Dave's crab stuffed mushroom caps?) in your oven to show it off. Or just a fire ...
Good luck!

Sarah

[carloswlkr]

thanks! all good ideas. will focus on finishing the opening arch and attaching a chimney first!

[exceloven]

I used a small 500 watt halogen light in the dome before my fires and it worked well.

Mark