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  • Cast Oven

    I've been reading posts and looking at pictures on this site for some time to get ideas. Recently finished my oven and its working great.

    I made the oven in my shop using a Wesco Texcast HS Castable Refractory formed over a 75cm stability ball. Weight of the dome is around 320lbs. I shaped some wood to use as a form for a smoke collection chamber. I cast a DuraVent appliance adapter into the refractory material above the smoke chamber. An 18 inch long dual wall pipe extends from the adapter up thru the roof to a cap.

    So far I have no visible cracks. The dome air dried in the shop for several months while I worked on other projects. It took 4 of us to move the dome to its permanent spot on the patio. I used 2 inches of Thermo-12 Gold calcium silicate underneath the cast floor and a couple layers of 8 lb. ceramic fiber blanket over the dome.

    I fabricated my door from two 1/4" steel plates separated by a 1/2' air gap. The door handle was made from an old welding hammer that I wasn't using anymore.

    The roof is supported by steel studs. I didn't like the flimsiness of the studs, so I nested two studs together to form a rectangular box. In addition to being more sturdy, nesting two studs together gave me 2 layers of metal for the screws used to secure the red metal panels. I must have used several hundred rivets putting the studs together.

    The roof is attached to the concrete block with hurricane straps. I used cement board on top of the studs and then metal roof panels. The area under the roof is vented. I made my own sofit vents under the eave and put in a ridge vent. I'm hoping that takes care of any moisture issues.

    I cut the metal roof panels to fit the chimney as close as possible then used a silicone automotive gasket caulk to seal the gap. I think it was rated for 700 degrees. So far it seems to be working well. I don't think the outer wall of the chimney will get too hot. I bought a Master Flash silicone boot made for weatherproofing pipe but don't care for the look of it so I'll only install it if there is a problem.

    The base is made from concrete block covered with an Eldorado Stone veneer.

    I salvaged the wheels from an old lawn mower and used them on a fabricated metal cart made to fit in the wood storage area. It helps keep the wood off the floor and makes it easy to clean out with my blower when doing yard work. I like having a door on the wood storage to keep the wood dry.

  • #2
    Your oven looks AWESOME!! I am hoping to complete mine soon. Questions about your stone veneer-- Did you stick that directly to the cinderblock using nothing but plain TYPE S Mortar?

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    • #3
      That's some really nice work. One comment on the door - that one will keep the weather out of your oven, but if you want to retain heat you need a door that fits in between your dome and the vent. If you left a reveal there in your casting, you want to fit the door against that. Otherwise, all of the heat will be lost through the flue.
      My build progress
      My WFO Journal on Facebook
      My dome spreadsheet calculator

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      • #4
        Veneer is stuck to cement blocks with just mortar. I did slightly wet the cement blocks first to keep them from drawing moisture out of the mortar too quickly. When applying the veneer to cement board, I partially sunk some screws in the joints before filling with mortar. I think the screws help anchor the mortar. We've been having a few earthquakes lately in Oklahoma and so far nothing has come loose.

        The door in the picture is mainly to keep out the weather (and my cat). I do have a piece of the calcium silicate cut to fit the arched opening if I want to retain more heat inside. I haven't tried using it yet. There is no reveal between the dome and the vent.

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