Installation and
Operating Manual
Forno Bravo
Casa2G and Premio2G
Residential Modular Refractory Ovens
30
©Forno Bravo, LLC 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Ver. 2.0
Tips and Techniques
Build your walled enclosure the same way you
would build a partition wall using wood studs. Set
the vertical studs on 15" (38 cm) centers, and always
center your concrete board seams directly on your
vertical studs.
Use the flat head screws design specifically for
attaching concrete board to metal studs, as they do a
good job of drilling into the metal studs, and leave a
flat surface that can be easily finished with stucco or
stone.
11. Curing Your Oven
It is important at this point that you cure your oven
slowly, by building a series of five increasingly larger
fires, starting with a low temperature. If you begin
building large fires in your oven right way, you will
compromise your oven’s longevity and ability to cook
well, and cause damage, including cracking.
After you have installed your oven, there is still a great
deal of moisture in the mortars, hearth concrete,
vermiculite, and the oven chamber and vent. Each of
these oven components was recently produced using
an air-drying, water-based process. Simply letting the
oven stand for a week does not “cure” the moisture
out of them oven.
Before you start the curing process, let the complete
oven sit for one week. Then, start a series of low and
growing fires, using the analog temperature gauge
provided in the oven door/frame. The temperature
gauge reads the oven’s air temperature. For a more
accurate temperature reading of the oven refractory
surfaces, which can be use for many types of
cooking, you can use the optional Digital Infrared
Thermometer, which can be purchased in the Forno
Bravo Store.
Day 1. Maintain a fire temperature of 300ºF throughout
the day and as long as possible into the evening.
Day 2. Repeat at 350ºF.
Important Note. While it is difficult to maintain
consistent, low temperature fires, it is critical
for proper curing that you do not go above these
temperatures during the first two days.
Day 3. Repeat at 400ºF.
Day 4. Repeat at 450ºF.
Day 5. Repeat at 500ºF.
Close the oven door every evening to preserve
dryness and heat.
For additional information on curing visit
fornobravo.com/pompeii-oven/curing/
Important Notes
Use solid wood fuels only.
DO NOT use charcoal,
pressure treated lumber, chipped wood products,
sappy wood such as pine, laminated wood or any
material other than dry medium or hard firewood.
Do not use products not specified for use with this
oven.
DO NOT USE liquid fuel (firelighter fluid, gasoline,
lantern oil, kerosene or similar liquids) to start or
maintain a fire.
Never use water to lower temperature inside the
oven, or to extinguish the fire.
There must be a period of time between completing
the masonry work and beginning the actual firing
cure. Longer is better than shorter, particularly for the
actual dome cement. The cement and mortar must
cure first and this process is actually improved by
keeping the cement moist and not letting it dry out.
Also, using a space heater can help, but only so far. It
is not an alternative to fire curing. We tested a space
heater in an assembled Forno Bravo precast oven for
two days, then quickly heated the oven up, (don’t do
this at home -- it was an experiment to see what would
happen to an oven that we have here) and we found
