Hi all from Aussie

[Gulf]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

ok....so my oven is a pompeii style oven, except the door is outside the flue.

Why not plan on two doors, one that is traditional and one that can be set outside of the flue. It will give you a little more versatility.

[david s]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

If you haven't already, I think you should download the free Pompeii plans from this site.

[Aussie Pete]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

ok....so my oven is a pompeii style oven, except the door is outside the flue.

i just need some baffle pics & ideas, will look at yours david
thanks.

[david s]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

In short a hemisphere with the flue at the front and the door between the oven and the flue entry.

[Aussie Pete]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

before i go into it...define "pompeii style" exactly?...

[david s]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

thanks guys, much appreciated.
the reason i am not doing a pompeii style is because i was given the refractory mortar & blanket,

how does this govern the choice of design?????

[david s]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

Because of the nature of perlite and vermiculite they suck water into their tiny pores,mbut if you mix it correctly there will not be much excess. Therefore there is little moisture absorbed by the blanket. If you put plastic between the dome and the vermicrete layer it will melt and burn creating very toxic fumes that are bad for the atmosphere. Some people (me included) have tried using al foil as a moisture barrier, either beneath or over the vermiculite layer, both as a reflective layer to retain more heat and as a slip layer. It does not melt and degrade but does a very good job of trapping moisture from escaping. Better to vermicrete straight onto the blanket IMO.

[Aussie Pete]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

Yeah, bollocks....
The blanket will absorb the water which will then be driven off as you cure the oven leaving it as dry or prolly drier that before you put it in.

Yeh,i know, thats what i thought, but just thought i would run it past you all.
I suppose its inevitable the blanket may obsorb some water from the verm/perl mix.....but the question does seem creditable, 'should or could the blanket be covered to protect any moisture getting to it.
I hate to admit it....but it kinda make sense....what would the pro's & cons of covering the blanket with plastic before the insulating mix be?
it would allow the blanket to be kept as dry as possible....that has to be a good thing...."yes"???

[brickie in oz]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

and will affect the blankets performance.....any advice on this?

Yeah, bollocks....
The blanket will absorb the water which will then be driven off as you cure the oven leaving it as dry or prolly drier that before you put it in.

[Aussie Pete]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

thanks guys, much appreciated.
the reason i am not doing a pompeii style is because i was given the refractory mortar & blanket, i bought the floor bricks and will be getting the verm/perl mix to put on top of blanket.
I would like to build a full brick one day, but at the moment i'm not experienced enough to attempt it, this way just seems easier.
so 18" dome it is..
i think my next big task it to try and form my flue entry. Should i just make the flue entry a little bit bigger than the flue size, then pack it with some high temp tape or padding?...not sure on this one.
I was told by a manufacturer of high temp blanket, that i should place plastic wrap of some sort over the blanket before i lay my verm/perl mix down....is this true?. they said the blanket will obsorb the moisture from the mix and will affect the blankets performance.....any advice on this?

[Johnny the oven man]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

Door height is 63% of internal dome height.
The high dome will take more wood to heat up the oven, and use more wood. The higher domes are better for baking, the low domes better for pizzas.
18" sounds reasonable for a 1100mm diam. oven

[brickie in oz]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

I built my dome to suit the door height I wanted so I can get larger things in the oven.

[david s]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

Check my pics in "other oven types ". Pizza oven becomes a kiln. I've used a piece of kiln shelf wrapped in a couple of layers of thick plastic and formed over it with castable refractory. No doubt there are many other solutions. I still think you'd be better off with a Pompeii style design, it is better and you don't need the damper, unless you have other reasons for not doing it that way.

[Aussie Pete]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

ok....phewww, i thought that might have been a stupid question, It looks like my design & plans will be for the door on the outside of the flue entry, (never thought much about that idea), i'll just have to make a damper in my flue somehow.
any plans or pics of dampers that others have made?
thanks for your help David.
I strive for knowledge.....its just something i dont have at the moment.

[david s]

Re: Hi all from Aussie

It depends on the design you want. The Pompeii design isolates the flue from the oven and therefore retains heat better. If the door is on the outside of the flue it does give you extra oven space, but you then need a flue damper or cap to prevent heat loss through the flue otherwise when you open the oven door you lose lots of heat straight up the flue. I've built a couple of ovens with the door on the outside and have found as many others have, that it is not as good as the door on the inside.