Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

[Modthyrth]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Amazing pizza oven. I have a question. What is the insulation board under the the oven made of. I haven't seen that discussed here before. Also once the enclosure is made, how hot does the outside of the enclosure get to the touch? Thanks and thanks for all the great photo's along the way.

Thanks! I love my oven.

I haven't a clue what the insulating board is made of it, now that you ask. I suspect something akin to a fiberglass based on how it felt and the necessary precautions for cutting. I'll bet if you called Forno Bravo they could give you more detailed information.

The enclosure doesn't get hot at all. The bricks at the mouth do get hot, but those have direct exposure to the fire. But the cement board walls, the roof, those stay at ambient temperature. That insulating blanket really works!

Dmun described the method I use for inserting images into my posts. I put pictures on our family website on smugmug anyway, so it's easier just to embed the pictures that are already hosted there. Besides, I like the look of embedded pictures.

[dmun]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Oh...and how did you insert the pictures in your posts. I'm usually pretty savvy about that sort of thing....but not on FornoBravo.

Those pictures are hosted externally, but it doesn't really matter where the pictures are, as long as you can view them on the internet. You can use FB's own photoplog, or photobucket, or your own server. What you need is the URL, or the address starting "http://"and ending with ".jpg". With this copied, you hit the postcard icon above every text box on the forum, and this brings up a pop-up window where you paste the picture's URL.

If you don't want to mess with external hosting, which ads a step to the process, you can attach your images as Tscarborough explains above, and they show up in thumbnails below your image once you post the reply. Now if you want the full size image in your post, you can open the thumbnail, copy the URL, and edit your image, using the postcard icon as explained above. This puts the image in two sizes in your post, but it's a bit easier than going to another window to post your images.

One final thing about photobucket. They don't host forever. You need to sign in to their site from time to time, or they will take your photos offline. They will still be there, but your links won't work.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Scroll down further when replying and click on "manage attachments".

[WoodchuckDad]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Oh...and how did you insert the pictures in your posts. I'm usually pretty savvy about that sort of thing....but not on FornoBravo.

[WoodchuckDad]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Amazing pizza oven. I have a question. What is the insulation board under the the oven made of. I haven't seen that discussed here before. Also once the enclosure is made, how hot does the outside of the enclosure get to the touch? Thanks and thanks for all the great photo's along the way.

[aceves]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Nikki,

Love the pic of the lights in the tree, the candles and the fire in the oven! Your WFO build and set up look great! Keep up the good work!

aceves

[RTflorida]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Nikki,
You mentioned citrus....that would explain your intense fire. I have burned about a cord in my oven in the past couple of years. Nothing burns hotter or more intense. I had the same flamethrowing experience the first couple of times, REALLY scared the crap out of me the first time, thought for sure something would crack, melt, or the nearby trees would catch on fire.
I have gone back to oak and hickory.....easier to control the fire intensity and temp.

RT

[christo]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Hi Nikki!

Wonderful space! I just bought a bunch of white LED strings on after Christmas sale to wrap around some of our trees!! Love the look.

My oven has been acting strangly lately, too - I've never had an issue with uneven cooking of pies, but the last 2 pizza bakes resulted in fully cooked bottoms and underdone tops.

I have changed wood type - maybe that's it?

Happy New Year!

Christo

[mfiore]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Looks very charming, Nikki. Happy New year to you.

I cracked a flu tile with a raging fire as well. Frustrating, but it looks like it should be fairly straight forward to replace, as your flu is exposed. I doubt there is a crack big enough to lose heat. From my (limited) experience, the heat soak into the brick seems to be more a factor of how long the fire is burning rather than it's peak temp.

Good luck!

[schallert]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

breathtaking! Nice space.

[Modthyrth]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

We've been using mostly mesquite for the past few months, but I wasn't sure if we had quite enough for the fire last night, so I sent Drew out to pick up a load of new wood yesterday. The new stuff was smaller (more appropriate) diameter than the dregs of the mesquite we'd been using, and it was a different mix of hardwoods, including a lot of citrus. Drew built a fire like he normally would...and we ended up with a three foot flamethrower out of the top of the chimney. I wish I'd taken a picture, but I was much more excited about getting the fire calmed down at the time.

We heard a tremendous popping sound, and after the fire was calmer, noticed that the flue had cracked. I'm going to have to do some repair work. I wish I hadn't given away the two extra flue sections now, but I have to say I've been happy to have the garage space and have them go to a good home.

The oven is only 375 this morning. It's usually about 525. I don't know if that's a feature of the super hot, fast fire not soaking as much heat into the bricks, or if there's a serious crack and heat leak. Man, I hope not the latter.

[Frances]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

Hey Nikki, good to hear from you! Happy New Year!

...don't worry, the oven will still be there to finish once Niamh is a bit bigger, and in the meantime you can still use it. A lot of build threads seem to have a pause once the oven is functional, so you're in good company.

[Les]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

It has been a while. Hope all is well with the child. I do agree about living in Phoenix this time of year. I have very fond memories of doing my homework by the pool in March, when all my friends were freezing their butts off back home. The pic looks perfect. Happy New Year!!

Les...

[Modthyrth]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

I haven't been around for a while, mostly because I haven't worked on my oven since Niamh was born! I really need to get around to finishing the stonework. We had (are having--guitar hero festivities are ongoing) a fun pizza new year's eve party tonight. This time of year it's good to live in Phoenix!

[Modthyrth]

Re: Nikki's 42" in Phoenix, where it's hot as a...

We had pizzas last night, and I remembered to put the door on for the first time. This morning I had temperatures around 575 and made some bagels for breakfast (took the temp down to about 475 with some mangled steam creation). I just checked again at 8pm and still had 400 degrees. It works!

Well, I guess I should say it kind of works. The back half of the door (the second layer of concrete board) fell off after I made the steam and opened the door to put the bagels in. I don't know if the thinset didn't like the moisture, or if it was never strong enough to keep that heavy material bonded when it gets moved so often. It still seems to be working well with the single layer, however, so I'm still happy for now.