any wood fired ovens in scotland

[scotland]

Iam just wondering if anyone has tried it and what problems they have come up against as it is pretty wet here.

[Archena]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

Hi!

Welcome aboard! I can't think of anyone from Scotland at the moment, but I do know we have several Europeans so surely somebody can help you out. What kind of oven did you have in mind?

[dmun]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

it is pretty wet here.

No oven works well when it's wet. Insulation is the key to the whole thing, and dampness defeats the point of the insulation.

In super wet environments (and we have some too, like Seattle) you probably want a vapor barrier like heavy plastic under your base so the damp doesn't creep up from the saturated ground. You may want to stay away from the igloo style finish, and choose some form of roofing that really repels water. Think what you'd do to keep your own living space dry, and treat your oven like that.

[AnnieMacD]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

I've just signed up - and saw the query on Scotland,. I'm in Applecross on the north-west coast and it's REALLY wet and windy up here much of the time. I have a Forno Bravo Casa 160 and fire it up 2 -3 times per week most weeks irrespective of the weather. However, I do have a super-duper roof over the whole thing. The gales sometimes cause prolems with excess smoke coming out the front of the oven and makes removing the embers a bit risky but other than that I have no problems. I make both bread and pizza.

I've attached a cpuple of pictures (not sure if I'm supposed to attach or Insert Image) so you can see the set-up. I'd be happy to answer any questions if I can. I know nothing about building - just baking and using the oven!

Annie

[AnnieMacD]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

Hi, I'm also from Scotland - Applecross on the north-west coast - and have a wood-fired oven. Plenty wind and rain up here and I generally fire up the oven two to three times per week. I do have a roof over the oven but still get quite a lot of smoke out the main arch if there is a lot of wind - this is usual! I'm a baker rather than a builder but will answer any questions you may have if I can.

I posted a reply earlier but it has not come up, so apologize if there is a delay and it comes up twice.

Annie

[Jed]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

Hi Annie,

Great to hear you use your oven so often! and under that roof, you certainly are not limited by the weather. You have a great looking set up...

Thanks for sending in the pictures.

JED

[scotland]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

Hi annie like yourself i put a roof over my oven, also i get a lot of wind therefore i put perspex roof on and closed in the sides and put a large sliding door on . I built my oven before i discovered this site and i have made a few errors in my construction, my biggest problem is that i tried to put three chimneys in to one big mistake . any way have you had any problems with dampness cause my oven developed a crack in it the last time i used it , I think it might have been caused by dampness, the other thing i would like to know is wot kind of wood do you burn.

[AnnieMacD]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

Hi Jed,

Thanks for the welcome. I've had my oven since July of last year and have pretty much learned everything by trial and error (lots of error!) so am so happy to have found this forum. I'll probably post loads of questions.

Scotland,

I don't think I have a problem with damp even though my oven is not totally enclosed. But I do light it often which I'm sure keeps it fairly dry. As for wood I prefer birch but have a more ready supply of beech. The beech I got wasn't fully seasoned, so I either dry in the cooling oven day after a bake or dry some wood at mouth of oven when the fire is burning and then throw the hot wood on. The birch I got was fully seasoned but was quite expenseive (?65 per ton delivered). It's fantastic but, as I bake for profit, it's just too expensive for the long term. I get the beech locally at ?25 per ton so am stocking it up for six months and hope it will have a similar calorific output. Soft woods such as pine just don't get the oven hot enough.

Hope this helps.
Annie

[scotland]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

Hi annie thanks for the quick reply , i will try out some different types wood at the weekend, as Iam going to try baking bread in the oven after seeing your lovely display, catch you later.

[AnnieMacD]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

Here's some bread I baked on Tuesday night - I'd already baked a bunch of baguettes. Is this the first time you've tried bread? I'd be happy to answer any questions (if I can) as I've probably made all the mistakes possible!!!

Annie

[berryst]

Re: any wood fired ovens in scotland

I live in Seattle...like dmon said we get rain. Beautiful rain. I myself am a rain connoisseur.
My oven works great. I use it about 2 time a month mostly for pizza but also chicken roasts, bread and more. I buried the whole works, insulated heavily, clad the works in galvanized coated sheet metal and roasty it works