Cure before adding extra mass??

[DaveW]

I am planning on adding extra mass to the oven dome in the form of the homebrew mix. Should I partially cure the dome before doing this?
thanks,
Dave

[nissanneill]

Not unless you have a pile of wood and time to waste!
Why dry out your bricks and mortar and then again after adding extra thermal mass. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Neill

[DaveW]

Originally Posted by nissanneill

Not unless you have a pile of wood and time to waste!
Why dry out your bricks and mortar and then again after adding extra thermal mass. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Neill

Thanks Neill, I'll wait and fire it when it's done.
dave

[lwood]

Hi Dave,
I know how you feel, "I just want to see a fire in the darn thing after 6 months of work"

[david s]

It is generally considered better to cure the oven after insulation, but before making the outer shell.

[Kingfisher]

fire it up 6 to 8 times let the dome crack big time and then fill in the cracks with the cement mix which includes the stuff that expands then add the extra mass it will crack anyway just go with the flow.

[Neil2]

I agree with Kingfisher.

Put on all your mass and your insulation then fire it up. Any cracking or problems will show up and you can patch and correct if necessary before putting on the final finish. My dome expanded considerably but the outer vermiculete layer seemed to stay and not shrink back, so when I put on the acrylic stucco layer I didn't have much cracking.