mortar mix..

[The Darling Dome]

I built my oven using 1 portland cement, 5 lome (sand with clay) and 1 lime. I also used second hand red bricks from a fireplace/chimney. It has been over a week and the dome still smells of mortar. Was this mix and seconds bricks OK?

[Tscarborough]

Not unless that is all you had available.

[The Darling Dome]

This mix was recommended by Jussell Jeavons (he wrote a book on ovens) and I assumed it would all be good. Russel recommended brick sand, however all I could get was lome which is a reddish type sand that contains clay which should help to stop too much cracking. I was more worried about the portland cement after reading about the need to use refractionary.

[david s]

Your mix is essentially the same as the home brew lots of people have used. The loam you used probably contains a fair amount of bacteria which may be contributing to the smell. This will simply burn away once you start firing. I wouldn't be worried at all by a smelly mortar.

[The Darling Dome]

Sounds good then. Thank you very much for the reply.