Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

[james]

Hey all,

I have been working on an updated version of the Pompeii Oven eBook. It includes new photos, updates on insulation, the Indispensable Tool and other various improvements.

It is ready to go, but I have a question. It is a 6.5MB zip compressed PDF file. Is that too big for typical email services? The current Pompeii eBook (v1.2) is 4.7MB.

Let me know what you think. If that size will go through, that would be good -- and I won't have to go back an further compress the photos and drawings. :-)

James

[Les]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

James - I just went to download it to see what my carrier supports and the file is 4.9M. Isn't that about the size of the old one?

Les...

[james]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

Hi Les,

I haven't posted the new one yet. It will be OK to download the larger file through the FB Store, but we also email the eBook quite a bit, and it would good for it to always go through.

James

[heliman]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

Anything under 10 Mb in size would be fine for downloading in today's "broadband" Internet environment as a rough guide (I am not aware of any official benchmarks on this)! As long as the file size is indicated alongside the download link, users can make a value judgement on whether or not they want to download it!!

The eBooks are a fantastic resource - please keep them coming James! Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Rossco

[RTflorida]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

About 10mb seems about right in the high speed world. My personal email is through Brighthouse and easily handles 10 mb (have not attempted more than about 12 mb).
My wife and I both have trouble with anything over 9.5 or 10 mb with our work email (routed through VPNs and Microsoft Exchange servers which are intentionally limited because of the number of users).
The dial up folks may have issues, not to mention waiting all day if it does make it through.

RT

[dbhansen]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

The size is probably fine, but are you sure you can't compress it? Some Adobe products let you set certain parameters when you create a PDF, like specifying a resolution ("print" vs "press", etc.).

[Roadkyng]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

You can also make the pdf file itself, smaller by making it backward compatible with older Adobe readers. From Acrobat go Document>Reduce File Size. Can sometimes condense a large pdf in half. Then do your zip compression.

I appreciate your site very much. I am on it daily as I do my build. I'll be ordering my pizza tools and ingrediants from you, hopefully real soon!

Take Care

Gavin

[sjmeff]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

I'm laughing at myself for being so excited about version 2.0 since my oven is pretty much done except for exterior finishing touches. I know I'll read this version from start to finish as soon as it's available. You have us all hooked, James. : )

[james]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

LOL. Very funny sjmeff.

I have posted V2.0 to the FB Store. Let me know what you think. The document has 150 photos, drawing and tables, and we compressed each one before building the document, then we compressed the PDF using Acrobat, and then we compressed it again with Zip. Cool.

Enjoy!
James

[james]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

Hey guys,

I just tested the system, and it's very quick. I received my download instructions by email almost immediately, and the file download was quick.

Let us know if you have any problems.
James

[cynon767]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

Do you want us to point out things like typos and editing mistakes?

for example:

"...which modern artisans do not yet fully understood," p.6, lower left

Also, in the brick primer appendix, you list prices of clay bricks at home depot as being about 25 cents. They're almost twice that these days. The price of firebricks is still pretty much the same, though.

I noticed the much expanded chimney section... I suppose the extensive instructions about internal installations was a necessary caveat?

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

Hi James,
Ordered mine,, email came instantly... downloaded in 32 secs...
Thanks nice job....

Mark

[james]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

Hi guys,

Yes, we are open to input. I am a world-class typo generator. We will release a cleaned up V2.1 as soon as I collect and fix all the mistakes.

The expanded chimney section was something we learned while we went through UL testing for our ovens. The UL folks demanded it, so it makes sense for the Pompeii Ovens as well.

Thanks for all the input.
James

[jmhepworth]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

James,

I downloaded it fine. Very fast. I didn't spend any time reading it yet, but I did notice the advice to put the studs on 16 inch centers when building a gabled house. That's what I did and then when I add the 3x5 hardibacker, the studs weren't in the right place. I had to add additional studs to make the seams of the hardibacker matched the studs. I should have thought about that while I was building the walls and made sure I put a stud where the seams would be.

I also noticed the advice on flue liner to use an 8 inch (inside measurement) for a 42 inch oven. I was only able to find 8 inch (which is 6 inch inside) and 13 inch (11 inside) clay flue liners. I concluded that the 13 inch would look rather silly, so I went with the 8 inch and the 5 foot chimney seems to draw fine on my 42 inch oven.

I'd like to express my appreciation for the ebook. I would not have been able to build an oven without it or the help from the forum. Although I didn't ask questions along the way (too much irrational concern about appearing foolish, I guess), I learned a lot from the questions others asked. Now that I'm far enough along to be assured that my oven actually works and isn't going to fall down, I plan to create a thread of my own and post pictures to contribute a tiny bit to the collective knowledge. Thanks again. This is an amazing resource.

Joe

[james]

Re: Pompeii Oven eBook V2.0

Hey Joe,

Your comment on the 16" centers for metal studs is well taken. I wrote that section based on my building experience with studs and plywood. Hardibacker comes in 3'x5' sheets, so that the metals studs should be set on 15" centers. Is that right?

Can any of our builders who have done a metal stud enclosure recently (and still remember the design) comment on how you did it?

I will also do more research into the different sizes for refractory flue liner and be more accurate with that. More to come there.

Thanks!
James