Convert brick smoker into a pizza oven?

[Ginaw]

Hi. I bought a little place in Florida and it came with this brick grill and smoker. I would love to convert the smoker into a wood fired pizza oven! Possible? Ideas? INSTRUCTIONS:-)??? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[azatty]

Re: Convert brick smoker into a pizza oven?

Having built both a brick smoker and a WFO, I'd say not without extensive modification. Smokers are not built to generate or retain high temperatures so the bricks are usually cinder block/CMU or common clay bricks. Maybe firebrick in the firebox, but that's about it. They also work off indirect heat rather than fire-in-the-oven heat, so that's another consideration.

[Ginaw]

Re: Convert brick smoker into a pizza oven?

Thank you for your response. I thought I might be able to inlay the fire brick inside the smoker. As I'm learning more, this seems to be a job for a professional. Gina

[azatty]

Re: Convert brick smoker into a pizza oven?

Perhaps I made incorrect assumptions about what you want. If you simply want the smoker to double as a place where you can light a fire on a hearth and cook something, you can certainly insulate the smoke chamber and lay firebrick on top of the insulation. The opening to the firebox will be big enough to allow sufficient airflow to feed the cook fire. It won't be a traditional WFO, but it will work.

I insulated my brick smoker with leftover ceramic fiber board from the WFO, and lined the inside with firebrick splits specifically because I wanted it to retain heat and reduce fuel requirements. Not particularly difficult, and I'm by no means a mason.

[texman]

Re: Convert brick smoker into a pizza oven?

Many folks have built their own WFO that did not have clue, me being one. You can do it if you want. The base looks sound to me, but i don't think you would be happy with a conversion of the smoker to WFO.

I would either knock that smoker off and start back with a WFO by adding depth to the existing area where the smoker is or keep the island and incorporate it into a larger outdoor kitchen and add a traditional WFO freestanding next to that area joined by counter tops and base storage. You will need around 60" minimum for a decent sized oven. You can do it if you want. You could also get a prebuilt oven from FB and have a decent setup. FWIW

Texman