36" in Seattle

[papavino]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Half a day to go to PFI? It usually takes us 20 to 25 minutes to drive there, 15 to 30 minutes in store (depending on how much we buy and browse) and a comparable amount of time to come back. And we sometimes combine that with a trip to Uwajimaya. It's really not that inconvenient.

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Oh, I hadn't looked into it in too much detail. I don't head down toward the West Seattle Bridge too often.

How long will Caputo 00 flour last in a cool basement (not a freezer)?

Are your cornicones puffing up properly? Mine didn't on my first pizzas this weekend, but I don't think I was cooking at full temperature. Does the cornicone not puff up if the temp isn't high enough?

[papavino]

Re: 36" in Seattle

I'd say that your floor should have been much hotter than what you were operating at. We usually have near 500 to 650 degree temps on the floor before we start cooking pizzas. It's a pretty simple premise to test. It may also have to do with your proofing of the dough.

And PFI isn't quite near the West Seattle Bridge. Just take the Dearborn St. exit near the stadiums. It's not as if Seattle is that big. That spits you out right by PFI.

*Edit:
I checked the map and it's 8.7 miles from my house to PFI with an estimated time of 13 minutes in free traffic or 25 with heavy traffic.

[tfasz]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Nice to see the curing fires going well.

I'm a big PFI fan too - we usually hit some combination of PFI, Uwajimaya, Pho Cyclo (for lunch), and/or Costco every weekend. I've had a big bag of Caputo in the basement since November and it seems to be holding up. I actually like regular King Arthur flour better for cooking in our kitchen oven but hope to start using the Caputo once I get the oven built (by July maybe?).

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Behold, the mighty door of ridiculousness. I'll be happy if it lasts at least as long as it took to build.

• 22-gauge weldable (aka rustable) steel
• 1" (aka 3/4") red oak (I hate that nothing is the described size)
• 2x1" InsBlock 19
• heavy duty aluminum foil
• stainless steel screws, aluminum rivets
• 3/4" copper pipe
• ordinary tie plates and brass braces
• 1000F thermometer

Brother, I have no idea if it's going to last, what with the rust-susceptible metal and burn-susceptible wood. We'll see how it goes. If it disintegrates, I suspect v2.0 will be despairingly simple by comparison.

Cheers!

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Hey Keb,
I think that looks like the door to fort knox... Pretty solid, dont see any reason why it would burn up....

Cheers
Mark

[Tscarborough]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Steam-punk oven door. Sweeet!

[eprante]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Keith,
That door looks like it should work very well. I don't think it will burn up( at least not right away). Nice job.
Eric

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Thanks. I desperately want to fill the third vermiperlcrete terrace, which would fully enclose the InsWool. Problem is, I've only truly fired the oven up full blast once (only one cooking session so far) and it steamed a ton. What I want to do is push all the steam out the exposed InsWool before enclosing it in vermicrete (much less SBC). So far, I have only seen steam come out the InsWool at the top, not through the vermicrete that has partially covered the lower terraces. That makes me nervous about finishing the vermicrete before working out all the water.

Does that seem like a sensible concern and plan...or should I just go ahead and fill in the vermicrete for the last terrace, thus fully burying the InsWool? (I won't be stuccoing it with SBC for quite a while, so I'm not talking about that, just the vermicrete). Will the moisture underneath be trapped forever if I do that?

[eprante]

Re: 36" in Seattle

It is unlikely that you will seal the oven completely enough to trap the moisture in forever( though you seem to be pretty thorough, you might), but it is still a good plan to get the oven thoroughly dried out before sealing it up. I would heat the oven several times until the dome goes white before sealing it.
Eric

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

I agree on the difficulty of sealing the dome. One of my more serious long-term concerns is that there is virtually nothing stopping water from seeping in the bottom of the oven along the hearth. Once it's there, it will render the InsBlock boards under the floor wet forvever, which I am fairly concerned about. I know InsBlock is sturdy against water, but I don't know how long it will last if is it is simply permanently wet. I'm worried it will slowly soften and sink.

Second, once water seeps under the oven, heat will generally drive it upwards through the InsWool and vermicrete, until it eventually reaches the inner face of the extremely water resistant SBC stucco render...at which point it will be trapped forever...so it seems to me like my design is guaranteed to trap water inside the shell for almost permanent time periods. I'm unsure of the implications.

[david s]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Just keep firing and you will dry it out. you will find that the ovens performance will improve more and more as this water is expelled. Too much heat applied too soon will crack the outer shell. You worry too much,just keep cooking and apply your waterproofing when you can tell it's dry.

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Uh oh, now we're getting serious.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: 36" in Seattle

Wow, I see "1924" written under "Napoli". Is that huge bag 1,924 pounds or kilos?
You're going to luv that stuff Keith. Between your oven really drying out and using the Caputo flour designed for 8-900 degree pizza dough, you'll be in wfo heaven. How exciting!!

[kebwi]

Re: 36" in Seattle

I assume it's the same stuff I bought in a 2.2 lb bag last weekend. It's 55lbs, $38.50. I hope it doesn't go bad before I use it. I told the guy it would be living in a cool basement and he said I had at least a year, which seems pretty feasible to me.

Even though this thing is up and cooking now, there is a lot of work left. Remaining steps in approximate order are:

1. Parge the sides of the hearth
2. Fire the oven several times until it stops producing steam out the exposed InsWool
3. Fill the third vermicrete terrace
4. Cut and place 4" high brick walls around all three terraces to form planter beds
5. Stucco (SBC) the enclosure and impress talavera tiles into the stucco.
6. Build a small wall (either 6" or 4" blocks, not 8") on the north side to support an extended countertop for a staging area (see my avatar for an indication, although it's behind the person)
7. Pour a concrete filler around the front counter area and extending over the north edge into the extended hearth area, at least deep enough to contain the InsBlock (3") and partially enclose the brick floor (2.5")
8. Place a countertop surface (granite slab, granite tile, slate tile, undecided)
9. Ledgestone the block walls under the hearth
10. Install doors on both entrances to the storage area to keep wind-blown rain from soaking the wood, sigh.
11. Flagstone the foundation.

Boy oh boy, lots left to do.