It was about all I could do to get any kind of a fire going - and again, for multiple reasons. First and probably most important, this test oven is not built to the correct specifications. The dimensions of an oven require a specific door size in order to obtain the correct draft needed for fire. Also, there's no vent hole or stack. And even though I'm surrounded with woods and dead limbs, branches, etc. , everything here is still so damp after all the rain we've had. A wood storage box is definitely in my future.
With the help of charcoal I was able to get one started, although the flames died out quickly. I continued on with just the charcoal, and was able to reach an internal temperature of 350 degrees. Steam was visible coming from the outside top of the oven, and an instant-read thermometer placed on the top read about 115 degrees as it's hottest. It's about 3:30 now, and the oven's exterior is drying noticeably. There are very small cracks in the clay. I don't know how important that is yet, if at all. I hope to speak with my step-daughter Heather's pottery
instructor from Cecil Community College and ask her professional opinion on the results. If I had to take an uneducated guess, I would say this clay is going to work. And then, I'm going to have to work to get this clay.
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