The refractory supplier I used sent Vesuvius #3000 Mix 22 for high temperature mortar. I am building the mattone cupola 28". Will this be ok to use on the standard brick edging and bonding the oven to the base?
Hi William, and welcome to the BrickWood forum.
I’ve asked @BrickWood to weigh in on this. I’m going to say as a preliminary opinion that you should not be using this material for your oven. The general rule is that any pre-mixed mortar that comes wet, in a bucket, is not suitable. Checking the data sheet, it will resist at least 3,000°F heat (thus its name), but it won’t resist outdoor weather conditions, to which the brick frame and base are exposed.
Again, @BrickWood will have the definitive opinion on this, but I’d advise against it.
We’ll get you pointed in the right direction, though, and for less money, so hang in with us, and again glad that you’re here!
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Matt
I came to the same conclusions after reading more online. The Vesuvius is now on Craigslist and I ordered some dry mix HeatStop.
Thanks for verifying my conclusions.
Poured a monolithic hearth slab today. Depending on the weather, I hope to have the oven completed by the end of the month.
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Sorry about the late entry on this - but @bikerbudmatt is 100% correct!
Never use high-temp mortar on the exterior of an oven. High-temp (dry or wet) needs to be in direct contact w/ fire to fully cure. If you put the high-temp mortar on the exterior, it would eventully crack and look like the back of an alligator.
When I wrote the instructions awhile back, I stated that high-temp could be used on the edge brick, but that is homemade mortar and it can cure / harden under normal conditions. Factory mortar on the otherhand is a bit different and needs fire / flame to fully cure.
Those changes are planned to be made on Directions 2.0
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