Newbie from oz

[Thepie]

Hi all looking into building a pizza oven,looking for advice on types,costs ,material etc .Want to incorporate it on to a stainless steel bench on casters so can be moved around , any one done this before? Any advice would be a great help cheers

[brickie in oz]

Re: Newbie from oz

Hi.
What sort of performance are you looking for, type of food cooked, heat retention, size of oven, budget, etc?

[Thepie]

Re: Newbie from oz

Thanks fo reply ,mainly for pizza,nothing to big,want to Incorperate it into a stainless steel kitchen that I already have ,was thinking something along the lines of Andiamo ,any more help or suggestions would be great
Cheers Dave

[deejayoh]

Re: Newbie from oz

Firebrick is very expensive in Australia.
Most people profess to be mystified why this is so.
However, I believe it is simply because we don't have the abundance of fireclay deposits that other continents have. Having said that many many very good ovens have been built in Oz with ordinary bricks.

Geeky aside here, but the costly ingredient in fireclay used for firebricks is Aluminum oxide (or alumina) which comes from bauxite - a natural resource that Australia is by far the worlds biggest producer. Once worked on a consulting study for an aluminum (or as you folks say "Al-you-min-ee-um" ) smelter and picked up a lot of what is normally useless info but is applicable here.

File:2005alumina.PNG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Must be some other reason for the price difference.

/geeky aside

[wotavidone]

Re: Newbie from oz

What, they actually put alumina in firebricks, not actual high aluminium clay? I thought they used the alumina in refractory cements and stuff, but the bricks were the real deal - fireclay.
If the bricks are made from alumina, not fire clay, then the swine are just plain ripping us off.

[wotavidone]

Re: Newbie from oz

Now I'm confused. I just wiki'd firebricks, and the wiki entry says they are made by firing fireclay. Same entry also says common red clay bricks are used in chimneys and wood fired ovens.
Fire brick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anyway, it still annoys me how much they cost in Oz.
But let me stop hijacking the thread - back to Thepie's questions:
Mate, if you must have a moveable oven, may I suggest spread the weight over lots of castors. One at each corner, four in total, isn't really enough.
Regards,
Mick

[brickie in oz]

Re: Newbie from oz

Pick a nice spot in the garden close to the kitchen and build a proper oven.

[Thepie]

Re: Newbie from oz

Would of loved to do that but got no where it would fit ,I'm a stainless steel fabricator so a frame would be easy for me, plus got a s/s kitchen I want it to match in with any advice welcome

[Bacterium]

Re: Newbie from oz

Dave,
Welcome
Not detracting from what has been said, there are a number of mobile ovens...... An old build that comes to mind was another Dave, user toyota08

For a rule of thumb on budget for build your own. If you took time and sourced 2nd hand stuff like fire bricks or decent solid reds you can get built for under $1000.
Something with a bit more insulation, New fire bricks etc. you are going to be more $2k or $3k+

I guess if you have an initial figure in mind it gives you something to work around......but if you have no idea how do you know what is a reasonable amount........chicken or egg hey

Sounds like you could cover off on the stainless flue

[cobblerdave]

Re: Newbie from oz

Gudday Dave
I hope by now you have a copy of the free plans? then you have the idea that the forno oven is a mass of brick ....firebrick if possible. Its insulated top and bottom to make it efficient. There are many other oven types out there from simple clay types all the way through but the main thing that I have learnt is that they all take the same amount of effort to build regardless of how cheap you build.
Any type you'll end up with a large mass of material....so you had better have a really flat area to move it around on cause once you get that mass moving you had better be able to stop it. I'm not saying it can't be done but the effort involved?
I have built a 42 in forno oven and stand...firebrick... and it came in about $1200. yes lots of secounds and freebies etc but it can be done for under the price of the cheapies from bunnings ( remember they don't include stands ) and you get a better oven by far.
Anyway....which ever way you build insulate well ... and there is never a lack of feedback on this forum


Regards Dave

[Thepie]

Re: Newbie from oz

Thanks for advice, where can a get the free plans from? Looked on forum but cant seem to find them . Priced some bricks up 1$ for reclaimed solid red brick & 2.50$ for a red clinker for the base only trouble is they aren't all flat so would make base a bit uneven , anyone used these before & would these be ok ? Can get hold of ceramic blanket of a mate so that's sorted ,does anyone know where best place to pick up rest of stuff in adelaide ? Cheers Dave

[brickie in oz]

Re: Newbie from oz

Priced some bricks up 1$ for reclaimed solid red brick & 2.50$ for a red clinker for the base

Too dear, try ebay.