Joint finish ?

[jim81147]

Re: Joint finish ?

My plans are for mostly bread baking at this point with the occasional pizza or general cooking . I dont see myself using this oven every day , probably more like once every 7-10 days during summer months with a bit more frequency in the winter months . I have more time in the winter so thats when i would use it more . I see from looking at some of the build threads here that cladding ( thermal mass ) does not seem to be standard , or even important ( other than the mass of the bricks themselves ) but my brain just does not seem to understand this concept I guess .

[mrchipster]

Re: Joint finish ?

David is correct , the extra thermal mass is what I am calling cladding . My 2 resources are this forum and "the bread builders" book

To quote others on this forum "Alan Scott is a great baker but not a great Oven Builder"

What do you plan to use the oven for? Bread, Pizza, All around cooking? And how often do you intend to fire it? Daily for mass production? or home use.

The reason I ask these questions is, Thermal mass = more wood and time to get it hot.

The oven will stay hot for long periods of time with lots of mass and lots of insulation but if you are not a production baker. 20 - 40 loaves of bread a day it is overkill. If you have lots of mass and little of no insulation under and over the oven I hope you own your own forest.

You would be much better off using more insulation and forget the 4 extra inches of mass. And ditch the foil it is a really bad idea.

If you primarily bake bread you may want to stand your bricks on their side to get a 4+ inch thick floor to match the thickness of the dome. but that is the only thermal mass I would add.

My Two cents.

Chip

[jim81147]

Re: Joint finish ?

David is correct , the extra thermal mass is what I am calling cladding . My 2 resources are this forum and "the bread builders" book

[david s]

Re: Joint finish ?

I'm pretty sure Jim means "cladding" as the extra thermal mass layer added over the top of the bricks before insulating. I also think the foil idea is bad, having learnt from the experience of trying it myself. It acts as a layer to trap moisture inside the oven and could have damaging consequences if that water suddenly turns to steam.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Joint finish ?

Your design may be sub standard compared to the way things are standard practice now.

I completely agree, do some more research on this forum before you commit to a build that may end up second rate.

See my barrel build for some ideas.

[mrchipster]

Re: Joint finish ?

Al , my terminology may be wrong , thats the beauty of being a noob . What I am talking about is the concrete and wire mesh that is put on , on top of the foil thats on top of the outside of the brick oven .

I am also unclear, what book or reference are you using for your design? Do you have a drawing you could share? Few, if any of us use foil on top of the brick, directly on the brick is normaly insulation of some type. And a waterproof layer, stucco or house after that.

Your design may be sub standard compared to the way things are standard practice now.

Chip

[jim81147]

Re: Joint finish ?

Al , my terminology may be wrong , thats the beauty of being a noob . What I am talking about is the concrete and wire mesh that is put on , on top of the foil thats on top of the outside of the brick oven .

[brickie in oz]

Re: Joint finish ?

Im still lost as to your term "cladding", to me it is a covering outside of the insulation in which the oven lives.

[jim81147]

Re: Joint finish ?

Al , my plan was to use regular concrete .

David and Chip , my plan now was to have 4 inches of cladding and 7 inches of loose perlite held between the cavity the outside wall and the cladding made . I am pouring the hearth tomorrow out of perlcrete . It is formed up at 5 1/2 inches thick .

[mrchipster]

Re: Joint finish ?

4" extra thermal mass is a lot. It will take many hours for the heat to soak right through to that thickness. You would probably be better to halve the cladding thickness and increase the insulation.

I agree with David, in Minnesota it gets even colder, and I spent more on insulation and it is no problem keeping my. Oven warm for days after one pizza evening, and bringing it from 400F on day 3 to 800 or more for another pizza night takes less than 30 minutes.

I cooked all last winter and plan the same this winter.

Chip

[david s]

Re: Joint finish ?

4" extra thermal mass is a lot. It will take many hours for the heat to soak right through to that thickness. You would probably be better to halve the cladding thickness and increase the insulation.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Joint finish ?

4" of what sort of cladding?

Have you a rough sketch of what you are aiming at?

[jim81147]

Re: Joint finish ?

Al , I am planning on a 4 inch cladding . My thinking might be all wrong here , but living where the avg. temp is 40 degrees or below for 5 months out of the year , I am thinking that the mass will be to my benefit . Thoughts?

[brickie in oz]

Re: Joint finish ?

Another Vaulter.....
Have you worked out how are you going to over come the side loads on the oven walls yet?

[jim81147]

Re: Joint finish ?

I am building a barrel vault oven and want to lay the base bricks horizontally for 3 courses before starting the arch. I think I will put a small mortar joint on this "wall" just to hold them in position for the arch. Does that sound like a reasonable method?