HI From Melbourne, Australia

[nu_brew]

HI All

I'm in melbourne. I like to make stuff especially beer. Keen on a WFO as next project would be for baking bread and pizzas.

Just hanging about at the moment reading old post and deciding on design, mostly want to do it for low $$$.

Any way.... HI!

Josh

[david s]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Hi Nubrew,
Welcome to the forum. You will find a ton of info here. If you like brewing try Oztops. There is no fermenter or bottle washing. I've been brewing it for years, typically I brew 3 litres of cider per week. My other hobby is home chemistry, turning alcohol into urine.

[oasiscdm]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Hi NuBrew

Welcome to WFO heaven!!! Everything you need to know is all in one place with regards to building WFO.

Follow the link that Doug has pointed out, it is a one stop shop [almost]

I am also in Melbourne out west.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Hey NuBrew,

Welcome to the WFO gang. I have seen build cost ranging from a few hundred $ to mega bucks. But with patience and diligent searching for recycled or used materials I can be done less expensively. Seems like you folks have to pay enormous premium for fire brick. I have seem some great cast ovens on this forum lately. Maybe something to consider.

[nu_brew]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Thanks for the welcome...

Colin: I am in Melb's West too.

Russell: thanks I am definitely in the few hundred or less category here, I am a keen recycler and have some ideas on saving money here and there especially on the stand/base. The cost of fire bricks is an issue, but we'll see what I come up with after some more reading.

David: Thanks Oztops is an interesting idea, I might check it out...

Doug: thanks there is definitely a wealth of information here - my partner asks "what are you doing" me:"researching pizza ovens", lady: "great another obsession" :-)

Josh

[nu_brew]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Oh also this oven will be semi-permanent/portable as we are renting, we have sweet landlords and plan on being here a few years yet but eventually the oven will need to be able to be moved!? ....

[cobblerdave]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Gudday
Portability will require you to a) build it somewhere the fork lift can get in to move it for you and b) build the stand from something like tube steel or BIG timber.

I was taking about this the other day with someone just bouncing ideas around. Why not use a hardwood brickpallet say with a sheet of 12mm compressed comcrete sheet to give a flat area to work on.
The pallet is definitly built to hold more bricks than is in an oven, its definitly built to be picked up by a forklift and its cheap and widely avaliable.

Regards Dave

[nu_brew]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Hi Dave, Wotividone

I was thinking a pallet or even a stack of hardwood pallets maybe with some reinforcing on the outside that can be removed so the stack could be pulled back apart latter.

I also like the idea of using house bricks, might be able to source these for free also free pallets...

thanks for the ideas/advice

steel is probably out I've never welded in my life and it's not particularly cheap.

[cobblerdave]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Gudday
Yes stacked brick pallets could work, there usually hardwood and treated.
I would however have them on a solid base and a waterproof layer underneath.
House bricks are no good they are extruded and have a number of holes in them .they are basically for brick veneer houses. Brick commons are what you would be after but they ate basically uncommon these days. Better than house bricks is pavers , they are extruded and solid . There a lot of them in used in oven builds in SA in fact mike's oven is of pavers.

Regards dave

[nu_brew]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Pavers ok cool. I don't really know what you mean by commons is that just solid bricks. I have a concrete bbq area to put the oven on, it is basically an extension of the driveway so access to move the oven later shouldn't be a problem.

I was thinking a stack of pallets with a smallish oven on it and a second stack of pallets with a work area on top.

I will check out some of the paver builds and also get a few pallets to experiment with lay out.

Also do people use granite for oven floors at all, I hve these bits of stone (I think granite?) could I use them in the oven somehow or better on the outside for workbenches any opinions welcome...

[nu_brew]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

also is there a way to search the forums... i can't find it



Edit: Scratch that found it!

[cobblerdave]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Gudday
Don't know if the stone suitable for hearth. But it's great surface for dough prep you can't get better!

Regards dave

[mikku]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Greetings NuBrew!
Don't know where my post went--another poof!

I am a recent castable newbie!

Cannot think of a cheaper way to build! "SAND CASTING"
Most difficult is to find something rigid enough to contain your perlite/hearth insulation base. If you can locate something the rest is all down hill.

-cast a pericrete insulative base
-use recycled firebrick to make the hearth
-pile up wet sand to form the inside shape of your dome
-cover it with wet newspaper
-buy 1 maybe 2 bags of castable refractory
-mix and hand pack the material over the sand dome
-next day, mix up 10:1 pericrete to insulate the dome
-forget a chimney
-cover the insulated dome with a plaster render coat
-fire it up and enjoy pizza's and whatever you like!

-when you find a permanent home, take the time to build the real thing from brick or "castable???" --- but the above oven "is the real thing" but "OVEN LITE"
cannot be anything cheaper or quicker--most expensive is castable refractory mix.. And you do not have to learn how to mix it except the proper amount of water only--sand form can come out next day!

Don't need special tools!
Oh, I missed a lot of drying steps but if you start, I will or someone else will remind you of proper procedure!

"Oray-shiranzo"

[limpopomark]

Re: HI From Melbourne, Australia

Hi Josh

We've just completed a build for a budget of AUD2.73 plus a bag of cement; you can build a wood-fired oven for almost nothing if you look around for materials - we used clay, sand and elephant poo as that's what we have a lot of, and spent less than AUD3 on some bricks for the hearth. I am not writing this to be a smart arse, I just want to encourage you to do it! I've never laid a brick in my life so it was a little daunting but with the likes of this forum, you'll have answers to any questions straight away. Good luck mate, welcome to the forum, and I look forward to seeing the results!

mark