Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

[thamnophis]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

Are your oven dome and walls all firebrick?

Mine are. Just the thought of breaking my 5x4 ft oven apart to "fix" it makes me break into a cold sweat :-)

I also wonder if laying the floor bricks on their side is as smart as laying 2 layers flat. Flat presents fewer seems for heat to escape if the 2 layers are offset...

[dmun]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

I also wonder if laying the floor bricks on their side is as smart as laying 2 layers flat. Flat presents fewer seems for heat to escape if the 2 layers are offset...

I wouldn't worry about this, floor voids fill with woodash, and also, heat rises. Do whichever appeals to you, but my two cents is that herringbone bricks on edge are a really cool look.

[Rolaed]

First Firing

Hi everyone:

Got my first big fire going today. I still do not have insulation on the outside of the dome. It was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside. First thing I noticed was a little smoke seeping through the seams of the dome firebrick. Is that a big deal? Should I seal them?

Also, after about a 2 hour fire, the max temperature I got was 300 degF deep inside the oven. The dome was very hot but the hearth firebrick at the entrance was warm to cool. What am I doing wrong? How does the oven floor got hot? Heat reflecting from the dome? How long does it take to get hot?

Help please.

[Rolaed]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

I followed the rules. Oven door height is 1 inches and dome height is 16.5 inches. Oven depth is 42". Chimeny height should be at least the depth of the oven. How do we measure chimeny height? From the floor of the oven?

[Rolaed]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?



Pic of my oven

[Neil2]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

"Oven door height is 1 inches "

I guess you will not be putting a lot of topping on your pizzas.

[dmun]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

Help please.

Your oven is still wet. Keep firing, it will get better and better.

That "smoke" coming out of your dome may very well be steam.

[Rolaed]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

"Oven door height is 1 inches "

I guess you will not be putting a lot of topping on your pizzas.

I meant 11 inches

[Rolaed]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

Your oven is still wet. Keep firing, it will get better and better.

That "smoke" coming out of your dome may very well be steam.

It was definitely smoke coming from the seams as I saw tiny cracks.

Forgive my ignorance, but the firebrick needs a burn in time? The more you fire the brick the more it retains the heat?

[dmun]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

the firebrick needs a burn in time? The more you fire the brick the more it retains the heat?

Yep. The drier it is the better it works. There's a lot of residual moisture in a new oven and it's insulation, and ovens work better in the hot dry summer than in the cold damp winter around here.

[Polo]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

It was definitely smoke coming from the seams as I saw tiny cracks.

Forgive my ignorance, but the firebrick needs a burn in time? The more you fire the brick the more it retains the heat?

Rolaed,
Do you intend to add cladding to the outside of the oven arch or will you leave it as is?

Polo

[Rolaed]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

Rolaed,
Do you intend to add cladding to the outside of the oven arch or will you leave it as is?

Polo

I plan to add vermiculite/portland cement mixute of 12:1 on top of the firebrick dome and then clad the enitre top. I am firing the oven now to get rid of moisture. I will send another picture when all done. Go Bucks(Even though I live in MI, I like OSU as I went to college in Ohio)

[Rolaed]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

Yep. The drier it is the better it works. There's a lot of residual moisture in a new oven and it's insulation, and ovens work better in the hot dry summer than in the cold damp winter around here.

Do you use your oven in the winters? Is the cold weather too much for the fires to overcome?

[Les]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

Do you use your oven in the winters? Is the cold weather too much for the fires to overcome?

Absolutely not. There are posts (pictures) here with fire in the belly and snow on the roof. Personally, I'm kind of a fair weather guy. I have had snow falling on the pies before I slid them in, wasn't fun. There is no reason you can't use your oven when the dogs are clawing to get inside.

Les...

[Polo]

Re: Medium vs Fine grade Vermiculite?

I plan to add vermiculite/portland cement mixute of 12:1 on top of the firebrick dome and then clad the enitre top. I am firing the oven now to get rid of moisture. I will send another picture when all done. Go Bucks(Even though I live in MI, I like OSU as I went to college in Ohio)

I am currently curing my oven as well. I went the more traditional "Alan Scott" route and cladded mine with 3+" of concrete for mass. After curing I will add insulation and enclose it. I built it mainly for bread.

I had to look at your location twice. I Live very near Canton too, but the one in Ohio. Go Bucks!, but you might want to keep that quiet as close as you are to Ann Arbor

Polo