San Clemente, CA Build

[modified9v]

I like the idea of the wood door too! My grand parents in Sicily used wood doors and like David said they would soak them in water and seal with dough. Old school and messy I’m sure.

[david s]

I like the look of a wood door so have persisted with one for my ovens. If you don’t have an insulation panel facing the fire you will get charting on the wood. If left in place for too long it will burn. I find, even with an insulation panel the door can’t be used for long over 300C which is higher than you want for baking and roasting anyhow. Italians used to soak their doors in water to reduce the charring problem. This also introduces some steam into the oven, good for bread baking. They also used some excess bread dough around the door to get a really good door seal. Simple, effective and easy to remove.

[Mongo]

Wanted to start doing some baking during my curing fires. I don't weld so threw this make shift door together for about $140 and a few hours work. Red oak.

[Mongo]

Re-posting a few photos since the great WFO Forum attack.

These are my 7th and 10th curing/break in fires. At some point I started moving the fires around in the oven.
If there are any cracks and I'm sure there are, I can't seem em.

[modified9v]

Nice job Mongo... Looks great.

[UtahBeehiver]

You are doing it right by a slow go. Tortoise wins the race during the curing cycle. I have seen too many builders rush this phase of the build and end up damaging their ovens. It also takes a while to learn the nuances of your oven. Pretty soon you will be able to use some of your farms olives on a pizza. Great job.

[Mongo]

Done with my blanket. Had more than I needed so I pulled apart the 1 inch blanket into 1/2 inch pieces and added a fourth layer. So I have 3 1/2 inches over the upper 80% of the dome. Didn't want to add a full 1 inch layer as it would deform the shape more than I would have wanted.

Still curing. Having fun each night building, tending my fire and staring at it. Adult beverages included.

Last night was my 4th fire and it was in the mid 200's. I'm fascinated by the pattern of the deposits on the dome. Will go into the 300's tonight.
I'm starting my fires with a small chimney of briquettes and adding small sticks of oak. Good temperature control.

Can't imagine there's a downside to too long of a cure.

The pizza is a bechamel sausage jalepeno. Came out of my converted Webber Kettle. Can't wait to turn that thing back into a grill. Still it's been good to me.

[Mongo]

With the increased size of the dome from the insulation and the eventual stucco, I'm much happier with the proportions.

[Mongo]

First fire last night. Worked my way up to this 'blaze'.
The flames are from a tiny stick of oak on a small bed of briquettes.
Got the ceiling up to 120F and was really just trying to get a bead on the size of fire and its effect on the dome. Will go a bit bigger today.

We were making (and eating) pizza in the modified webber while watching and tending this first fire. Pretty cool.
One thing I'm very happy with is even with this small fire I only got a few puffs of smoke out of the front and the majority went up the flue. That's promising.

[jcapra]

Nice job your going to have a very good oven you'll be proud of!

[Mongo]

This oven was supposed to be a simple igloo, with stucco extending over a simple flu and flu gallery but has morphed into this massive pile of bricks and a plan to eventually build a roof over it.
The chimney is as tall as it is to accommodate some artwork I have planned.
For the base plate I did a 'through bolt', thanks JRPizza , countersunk underneath, thanks Yokosuka dweller .
Laying the bricks in position is a bit tricky but not too difficult.
Going to wait for joints to cure for a few days before I mount the plate and check out how vertical my stove pipe is.

Two courses in the chimney interlock it front to back. Crazy variety of brick sizes as I was working from my scraps at this point.
Top course made from splits cut from my last two whole bricks.

Lots of weight on top of the arch. We'll see how that works out over time I suppose.

[UtahBeehiver]

No dome is waterproof, if the ceramic blanket gets wet and then the water converts to steam during a firing, the volume of water increases by something like 1600 fold. The dome could build up enough pressure to crack the outer shell. The vent is called a breather vent, can be bought at any auto supply store for less than $10. Has a 1/2" mpt the screws into a 1/2" pvc bushing. Gulf reinforced his with a small square of wire mesh embedded in the stucco.

[Mongo]

Congrats, you deserve the cocktail. Just remember to be really patient with the cure. I keep hounding members to take it slow on the cure...

What! But I have a party planned for this weekend!

But seriously. This will be the longest cure ever. I'm in no hurry. I 'through bolted' the top course of the chimney and will even let that course cure until the dome is insulated before I mount the base plate.
I've also seen your advice on insulation before curing in other threads. Makes sense. Thanks.

Speaking of sealing the dome. If I have no v nor p-crete at all would you still recommend installing a vent? If so, what is that threaded vent cap thing I've seen recommended for venting. I think it's an automotive part but don't know what to look for because I don't know what it's called.

[Mongo]

Looks great! Did you use std 2.5 x 4.5 x 9” bricks for the front and back of the chimney?

Thanks. They were at one time full sized bricks. Some time ago I was running out of bricks and starting hitting my scrap pile.
The top course of the chimney and the curved base that mates to the arch represent the last five whole bricks I had, The top course are splits.
The rest of the visible chimney are scraps. Should be OK structurally. We'll see. I like the mosaic look.

[UtahBeehiver]

Congrats, you deserve the cocktail. Just remember to be really patient with the cure. I keep hounding members to take it slow on the cure so not to damage all their hard work. Starting out with a couple charcoal briquette fires is a great way to start which hover around 250 F and you can cook some dutch oven stuff while you are at it. Do insulate but not install final outer hard coat before curing.