hearth heat

[stevenki]

Geting good heat from the dome but not great on the floor. It seems as if the heat from the dome is not getting to the floor even with good ratio's 65% and 20" ceiling height.

Steve

[james]

Steve,
How many fires have you had? It can take a number of fires, even after you have done the curing (a series of small, then growing fires that dry the oven out) to really get the oven dry to where it heats up really well and holds heat well.

Give it some time, and it will keep getting better.
James

[stevenki]

Thanks James. Yeh just my first fire. i started it up front then moved it back. Speaking of which do you use any sort of support under your wood to get air under the wood?

Steve

[james]

Good question. I have started using a small log holder that we are now carrying in the Forno Bravo Store. It's a nice little curved metal log holder that fits well in a residential size oven. It's about 12" long and costs $25.

The link is here:

http://fornobravo.com/store/product....cat=249&page=1

It works well.
James

[DrakeRemoray]

Does your hearth brick rest directly on an insulation layer or on a hearth slab? Just curious.

Drake

[stevenki]

Unfortunatley I think its probably right on the slab. He also mortared the joints instead of floating the hearth to allow for thermal expansion. I questioned him about this and he told me this was the way he made his ovens. Will this be a minor problem or a major problem down the road.

Steve