Curing Fires

[Throw Deep]

Okay...the keystone is in on my 36" Tuscan and it has been just sitting there out of the weather for the last 3 days. I have a mind to make the first curing fire tomorrow.

Now, what I have seen on this forum is that the curing process involves a series of 7 fires over 7 days starting with a 100 F degree fire and ending with a 800 F degree fire. It seems that the curing can be done either with or without the insulation. So, what are we measuring...the temperature of the bricks or of the air inside?

I did install a couple of thermocouples...one in the cooking floor and the other one about 4/5 of the way up the dome...both should be about 3/4 inch from the inside surface of the firebrick. If I use the thermocouples to measure the temperature, should I rake out the fire a little in advance of it reaching the desired temperature (to not overshoot the mark) or should I wait & see the target temperature before killing the fire?

Thanks...Bob

[Throw Deep]

Never mind...I just found the sticky posts on curing.

Looks like i need to wait a few more days before lighting a fire anyway. Bob