Coating the outside of the dome prior to insulation

[George T]

Quick Question. If my joint are all filled, do I need to put another coat of fireclay over the entire dome prior to the insulation blanket going on?

Thanks.

[Les]

Have you brought it up to temp yet? I had a few minor cracks, so I went ahead and covered it up. If you develop some massive cracks, you may want the ability to fill them in.

Les...

[dbhansen]

It's not necessary. The blanket can go right on the brick. Depends on how much thermal mass you want in the dome.

[egalecki]

I coated mine all over because I was sloppy about "backfilling" while I was building. So I used a bag to force it into the gaps, and then just slathered it on the outside to tidy it up a bit- I didn't have a saw that cut the whole way thru bricks, so I had a lot of broken ugly edges I didn't want to tear up my blanket with.

It's all about the mass- I think you'll be ok if you've been better than I was about filling as you go.

[asudavew]

It's not required, but if you want more mass for cooking bread, or even cooking a brisket the following day(sometimes 2 days later) then go for it!

It will increase your heat up times some, but probably not by more than 15-20 minutes.


DAve

[George T]

Thanks everyone. I hope to complete the insulation tomorrow.