Is she insulated ok?!

[jon.adams]

hi all

i have recently completed building my first wood fired oven (casa 2g 100), and am ridiculously excited...

built an igloo style, with the usual 3 layers of blanket, followed by a vermiculite / concrete / sand mix, chicken wire, and then outer layer of render. looks awesome.

my only slight concerns...

a) the bit of left over mortar that came with the kit, used on outside of the dome joints, did not 'go off' and felt a bit crumbly... is this usual?

b) am now into the curing process, and last night was fire 3 - around 300F with kindling and small log. temp probably got up to 400F at one point on the top of the dome, and the outside at the top felt slightly warmer to touch than the rest of the dome - 75F ish (with my infrared thermometer!!) as opposed to 60F elsewhere.

is this usual and i am being paranoid, or do i have insulation issues?!

all thoughts welcome.

cheers

jon

[Neil2]

"is this usual "

Yes. Initial firings will generate some steam, this can sometimes be seen coming out near the top.

[jon.adams]

thanks neil

so as i continue the curing process should it cease to be warm on the outside?

cheers

jon

[jon.adams]

apologies, another quick query...

i have noticed that the cooking surface slabs have separated slightly. are there any issues with pushing them tight in the middle and filling the gaps at the edges with fireplace caulk?

many thanks indeed.

jon

[dmun]

are there any issues with pushing them tight in the middle and filling the gaps at the edges with fireplace caulk?

They will happily fill with wood ash. I wouldn't use any mystery compounds on your cooking floor.

[Neil2]

"any issues with pushing them tight in the middle "

Agree with the post above. These hearth bricks will always move around a bit because of the teat temperature range they go thru. Adding additional caulking may actually be detrimental.

[lwood]

Sounds like everything is going fine. Continue the curing process and the oven will get better as the the water escapes from the oven. It takes a number of fires to drive all water out. Even after the oven is cured, the oven will continue to improve it's heat retention properties.

[jon.adams]

thanks all.

[texassourdough]

You are on the road to pizza, Jon. Just be patient a little longer...And start using your residual heat to cook with - a roast, a stew, something you can put in covered and leave a while.

You will be there soon!
Jay