Hi from Guernsey

[fox]

A complex mould is not worth the effort IMHO,",

]

Aww you want to spoil my fun

Thanks for all the replies, I am on the case and reading reading reading.... I will be back.....

[david s]

Living on an island you may have difficulty sourcing some materials or transport costs making them prohibitive. You could consider making a cob (clay) oven from clay you can dig yourself for free. Also you may have access to pumice from your beaches, it makes a good insulation material, again free. There is probably more on cob ovens in the U.K. Forum visit here
http://ukwoodfiredovenforum.proboards.com/
if you build a strong masonary stand and base then build a cob oven on it, for minimal cost. You will learn lots about fire and cooking using a WFO. Then when the time comes to build an improved version you'll be far better informed and know what you want.

[AndrewT]

Here is an interesting thread:

https://community.fornobravo.com/for...hoestring-oven

I have yet to find a source of refractory concrete near me in New Zealand so might be going down this path for my next oven (my current one is a bit small).

Re. your comment above, "No point in building one if they don't work or fail soon after completion, in the same vain there is no point in spending a lot of unnecessary money on overbuilding something that wont get a huge amount of use."

- careful, you might get addicted to using your WFO just like me. Haven't used mine today yet but I'm itching to. Wife wants to make some hot cross buns. Wood is free for me. But I would like a proven technology that I could use every single day for eternity if I wanted to. Couldn't stand the thought of finding some concrete dust in my pizza and then worrying about every consecutive one after that.

[fox]

Thanks for that link David, Andrew, I have only last week come back from 10 weeks in NZ. I can see why you don't have to pay for wood!
I can now see that there is no 'need' for a multi part mould but it does seem that building four separate components to assemble the dome might be of benefit?

[fox]

So I have dug out a footing for a concrete base & formed a shuttering to obtain 8' circle x 6" deep, I have done this as a positive & confirming start but, I still haven't made a design choice for the oven.
I seem to be swayed towards a four part cast dome glued together with some form of expansion joint. However, I am still revising...

What do you guys think about firing the oven to temperature via an external rocket stove, would the chimney exhaust be to hot & crack the dome? would there be any benefit by placing a metal (replaceable) plate where the rocket flame strikes the dome?

[Origen]

Would a rocket stove provide enough BTU's to heat an oven dome? I think you need the fire in the box to heat the oven in a reasonably quick fashion. I've been thinking about building a rocket heater (outdoor) and I have done quite a bit of research. I am no expert by a longshot, but I think it would take a long time to heat a dome with secondary or residual heat. I don't know for sure, but if you do it, I would love to know how it works!
,
I was also thinking: if you cast a dome from cob, perl/vermicrete, or even castable refractory, and you build a doghouse enclosure, wouldn't some of the concerns surrounding integrity/exposure be moot? When I started contemplating a build, I started out thinking I would do cob. While researching cob, I ended up on this forum (thank God). While I ended up building full masonry, I'm still attracted to the notion of cob or castable--I think both would work. Many people with cob ovens have great success. One thing for sure: you will absolutely love your oven and how it cooks! The food is pure magic!

[fox]

I think the rocket fire can help light the main fire & maintain the heat once the oven reaches temperature, I like the idea of feeding the fire externally but honestly I have no idea how much use such an addition would make?
Anyway I have now received two prices for the main bulk of materials.
200 fire bricks delivered to my house approx. $750... 7 x 25kg of refractory dense castasble with SS pins approx. $500 delivered to my house.
Still planning, revising and thinking....... .

[PBF]

Hi there Fox! My name is Pete and I *also* live on a small island close to France called Guernsey, and I am ALSO interested in putting a pizza oven together! Think we could help each other out?