daves build

[crwdtb]

Re: daves build

got another course done!
Also removed the forms for ther arch so I can squeeze into dome for some cleaning!

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: daves build

Hi Dave,
Your oven brick work looks really good. Your dimensions and proportions look good too. I like the tapered vent bricks. You'll find it goes a long way helping your oven draw smoke well. You've got it right on the vent height, 3-4 times the opening height is what seems to be common. Anyone who does shorter ends up trying to add some height to it so it sucks air/smoke better.
Your almost to the curing fire stage, looking good,
-dino

[crwdtb]

Re: daves build

thanks Dino nice to get a bit of positive feedback! I have never done anything like this before so I am floundering a little, but hopefully it will all work out. I am just waiting for the whole thing to fall in! I will be seeking some help on the curing phase in the near future.
Thanks heaps for your comments.
Cheers
Dave

[aussiepizzaman]

Re: daves build

hi dave ,thanks for the offer of help and will certainly follow up when i start to build my oven.
just finished reading your thread and from where I am looking its going well,dont worry about how it looks as they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
where abouts in aussie are you ? I am in Stanhope in Victoria
regards Gary

[crwdtb]

Re: daves build

G'day
Gary I'm in hawthorn Melbourne cbd.

[crwdtb]

Re: daves build

Ok guys bit of a setback when I found the last bag of mortar was a different type which had a lot more grit or agregate to it! was thinking of not using it but in the end I thought I would, although it didnt give as good a finish as the other refractory mortar it seemed to be stronger and I was only going to use it on the top few rows which wont be seen anyway. Needless to say the dome is finished and I am glad, getting tired of cutting bricks! Still got all my fingers which I am forever thankful!
Here comes curing!

[Raffy]

Re: daves build

Congrats on finishing the dome! You'll be cooking in no time. As you are building the chimney, you can start curing/drying the dome by placing halogen lights inside. The most difficult part for me was waiting for the oven to cure properly before starting those bigger fires. It's a necessary "evil" (I hate waiting) but patience is a virtue when it comes to brick ovens. Keep up the good work!

Raffy

[crwdtb]

Re: daves build

thanks Raff,
must admit I am glad to be moving on to a knew part of the project!

[Les]

Re: daves build

Thats a great pic at the end - getting these things closed in is like having a child, looks like a proud father. Great job!

Les...

[crwdtb]

Re: daves build

Thats so funny Les , but oooh so true!
Its a fair bit of work to this stage I must admit, and I have managed it in about 5 weeks which is well ahead of what I had planned. Still a fair bit to go but I feel like I am on the home stretch. any info on curing that you might have would be well appreciated.
Cheers
proud father Dave

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: daves build

Congratulations on closing the dome, Dave!

Time to start drying it out and planning the vent pipe. Are you going to use a clay pipe or steel pipe? If you go with clay and buy a rectangular pipe, you can cut it the long way on the diagonal, flip 1 half around and mortar it together so you have a tapering pipe which works great. I went with an 8" double-walled steel vent.

For curing: Raffy's suggestion of a brick halogen work light will warm it up good to dry it out before the fires. I think a couple of days for half the day works. Others have also put a small electric heater in there blowing hot air. After a couple days of that, you can start with fires.

Say what diameter is your oven floor? Looks great, good job. Cheers, Dino

[crwdtb]

Re: daves build

Thanks Dino,
its 36 inches , I was going to go bigger but im happy with the size I went with , it will be more than sufficient for our needs.
I am going with a 6 inch stainless steel flue , 900 mm high which I am told is enough for a 36 inch oven. I was planning on leaving oven for a week or so then starting the curing fires? most of it has already been sitting there for a couple of weeks its only the top 3 rows or so.Will that be sufficient do you think or should I invest in a heater?
Cheers
Dave

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: daves build

Waiting a week is the best thing. If you can wait a little longer that's even better. I only asked about your oven size because I think the larger ovens tend to be more problematic in the early curing stages but if you follow the FB plans of 100 deg per day, (in a week or so) it'll be fine.

Your 6" vent is fine but if can add some sort of length ( another inch or 2 of brick) in your transition to the 6" vent, you create a bigger flu box or vent-void to pull the smoke up before it's constricted to the 6" pipe and the whole thing sucks smoke much better.

If I did all over again, I would get a heater. My mistake happened on the 3rd day (300 deg fire) but I misunderstood the guide lines and in a 42" oven, if you only build 1-2 smaller 100-200 deg fires, much of the dome stays cold soooo, when I hit it with 300 deg on day 3, it got a decent crack. But, even that turned out to be no big deal. You've got a smaller oven so when you do your early fires, keep those low temps for a few hours to make sure the entire oven sees those daily temps and you'll be fine. Your almost done! this is exciting. Cheers, Dino

[Raffy]

Re: daves build

Dino has good advice on the chimney/vent. I made sure mine had an adequate void for the air/smoke to be collected then sucked out. Usually when you start fires air flow is not consistent because the air is not hot enough. When the air in the oven and chimney void do get hot enough you will get a consistent draw up the chimney. I occasionally get smoke out the opening during start up so my only regrets are a bigger vent opening and void.

About the drying the dome, I was also thinking you could get those portable butane burning stoves for camping. It costs only 15 USD at ace hardware over here. It could be a good alternative for drying your dome. That way you can control the intensity of the heat.

[crwdtb]

Re: daves build

thanks guys for your advice, yes I am going to build another couple of bricks higher into the transition to flue. I am a bit confused regarding these fires? Do I build a paper fire and then let it go out or do I keep adding paper for a few hours? Hey dino with that crack you are talking about , can you do anything about the cracks when they appear ?ie like re mortaring? Or do they just open and close as the oven does its thing?
cheers
dave