curing my new oven

[mgraban]

I'll post reports about my curing fires here.

I've done two so far, one with just newspaper and one that added some kindling.

I ran the 2nd fire earlier today at about noon. It's 4 PM now and the oven dome is still 60F, which seems amazing considering it's 30F outside and the outside of the oven measures 30F, of course. I guess there's not an issue about how well the oven is insulated.

I'm letting it cool back down toward ambient temp before I do my 3rd fire. Is this right? I've read how some people do the curing fires daily, some people have run two a day (early and late). I'll see how the temperature goes later, I guess.

[mgraban]

My 3rd firing is dying down, used a few small logs. Got the oven dome to a nice sustained 300F. The dome seems to be holding heat very well. As I move down the dome toward the floor, it's cooler: 200 halfway down the dome, and 105 near the floor. I assume this is normal.

My floor is measuring about 150F outside the fire zone in the middle of the oven. Does this also seem normal? Keep in mind that it's 30F outside, it's freezing cold out.

[PizzaArthur]

Yes, sounds very normal. Always go slower (more fires over more days) if you are not sure.

Even when my oven is ready for neapolitan pizza my dome is 1000+ degrees, the side of the walls are less than that and the floor ranges from 600 - 900. So having a range of temps in the oven is expected.

[james]

Mark,

Are you starting to get the serious storms and weather we've been hearing about?
James

[mgraban]

Originally Posted by james

Mark,

Are you starting to get the serious storms and weather we've been hearing about?
James

Yes, I'm trying to brave freezing rain to get out there to do another fire. Roads are bad, trees are icy... it's a day to stay home, stay warm.