How cheaply can an oven be built?

[cobblerdave]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Dear Rob
sorry to hear about your hand hope things turn out
Re gas bottles...like you say the BBQ is more likely to cause the ignition of the bottles than the WFO. The WFO oven is insulated so there is hardly any radiant heat except at the entrance.... cuddle the side of my oven in winter and all you'll get is colder. With gas bottles there designed if heated not to explode but vent the expanding gas through the top. Of course it could catch fire but the venting gas would just burn off. The firyies would just play a hose on a burning bottle to cool it till the gas run out.


Regards Dave

[robertjusher]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Thanks Dave
The hand will come good, appointment to see doc this week and opp a few weeks later.
Just going to slow me down some,,,,

The gas cylinder concern was made by a well meaning friend who pointed out the gas bottle and location for the wfo. The bbq's we all have been using for decades have the cylinder very close to the flame so I am thinking 10m of open space is nothing to worry about.
The odd check on the cylinders for leaks and I will sleep well at night.
Still got to get the final oven design sorted and get the muddy hole looking like a slab

Rob

[cobblerdave]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Rob
I have a friend's bro who has cast on oven over a sand form with ciment fondue crusher dust and fireclay. I have only third hand info and a coupla photos sent to me MMS. Basically from what I understand he has a vermicule/cement hearth insulation,firebrick hearth and the ovens to have 2 in ceramic blanket insulation over the dome and vermicule/cement over that.
I hope to see the oven one day as its in brisbane


Perhaps someone has a comment on this?

Regards Dave

[robertjusher]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Hey thanks for the pics Dave, that's what I am learning towards. Not sure weather to go down the home brew mix (will be cheaper) or just use bags of castable that I have been quoted $30 a pop for.
I like the idea of just building a mould of sand on my fire brick base and going from there. I need to looking into homebrew hi-temp some more.
I know I can get fireclay locally so it's going to be easy enough to do....
Be great to find out how the oven above is going and if it's cracked, got and SS needles etc in it???
Thanks for the help
Rob

[cobblerdave]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Dear Rob
Check out a thread Called "brickless dome on a shoestring oven" in the "other oven types" section of the forum. you might find it interesting.
Regards Dave

[Lake lover]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

What Clay sand ratio did you do ?

How thick did you make the cob dome ?

I am building my mold today and ran out of good sand.

[cobblerdave]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Dear lakelover
Sorry hav'ny had experience with clay domes but of course I researched a bit.
Clay sand ratio...sorry dont know but check out the other ovens section in the forum you going to need hay or chopped up natural fiber rope in the mix.
Run out of sand...start the sand mound with an upturned foam box and include bottles around this to takes up space and make it easy when you remove the sand mould. dome thickness is 3 to 4 in thick I believe.
You going to have to do more research ...I seem to remember that with clay domes the sand is removed straight away and very small drying fires are started to prevent the dome cracking as it drys.

Hope this helps
RegardsDave

[robertjusher]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Well 2 years of reading and dreaming, and 4 months after I broke ground things are happening !
I had a hand/ wrist opperation back in November and that slowed me down a lot. I got the footing dug and boxed up, then the Ganglion in my wrist decided to give me hell. So op and lots of rain and the boxing fell apart. A month a go boxing redone and slab poured !
A week ago block work dry stacked and on Sunday the blockwork filled. Things are finally going some where.
I have a little over 2 weeks before hand op number 2 !!!
That will stop me again......

I am looking at getting the top poured this weekend and then on to the oven build !!!!

Still undecided, full fire brick build up or sand mould cast in place refractory ????
I went to price fire brick, refractory cement etc and asked about SS needles and got a blank look. Are they required in a cast in place oven?
I have been looking a precast dome kits and there is no info if they are used or not. I am also trying to find sound info on the best ways to cast, all in one piece, dome and entry / flue area seperate etc????
Are any of the affordable precast kits anygood. I am thinking that way again as hand op number 2 is a little more invasive and more time off the tools then last time...
Has anyone build from any of the kits available here in OZ?

I will post pics soon
Rob

[robertjusher]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Drystacked ready to be final checked and reho-ed and filled.
I did not know untill after buying new and old blocks that they are not all quite the same size, oh well render will cover all sins as will the tile/pavers on the floor !

[cobblerdave]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

Gudday
Things are looking good your making progress. Sorry to hear about the hand....I'd offer to give a hand but I'm down to one usefull one at the moment as I damaged the left before Xmas. Yep your in the right city we have the top hand surgeons in Aust.
The offers there though the hands coming good and I'm coping ...so when your healed and ready drop me a private message if you like

Regards Dave

[robertjusher]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

HI and thanks for the offer Dave.
I'll see how I am going.
Still undercided on the oven type. I have made the base big enough to allow me to build 1m ish ID and that will allow me room to put hot trays etc on the side.
I am trying to get the base ready before the hand op on the 10 Feb.
After that the boss at home will ground me from doing any pizza oven work, and I might not feel to keen for a while I guess.


Did you ever find out any more on the cast in place oven you said you know of in Bris?
I am still leaning towards going that way. just not getting much help from the people who sell the materials. Seems all they know is foundry work and not ovens.


All my spare time is going to be devoted to this....
need good pizza
ROb

[pyg]

Re: How cheaply can an oven be built?

I working on a rather tiny 450^2" hearth stove for $100 materials plus donated labor. It will be a clay/sand barrel vault 18" wide (Experimental is my first name). Materials that cost money include sack mix, perlite, portland, and firebricks. Everything else is scrounged, including a pinkboard thermal break. Why isn't this common as it's good to at least 150F and can easily withstand the psi? I've only measured <100F on the top of a perlite/clay dome w/36" hearth I built earlier. Cheap insulation and some sort of economical hearth is the key to building a low cost WFO. This obviously doesn't include all the incidental costs like a place to form dough, keep the buffaloes out of your mozzarella, etc.

This is a great thread as I think good food should associate with good people and not just "rich" people.