Cold Weather

[toriverdi]

I've been contemplating building one of these outside for years. Finally getting to decision point. How do these hold up with extreme cold? We are in the Midwest and our winters are hard an cold. Ceramic pots can crack.

Anything special we need to do or worry about?

[tonybaker]

Re: Cold Weather

mine is perlite brick with sand cement rendering and at first I was concerned about the weather. But it seems to be quite waterproof and shows no signs of cracking. We get frosts here but probably not as bad as your place. I guess you will build a cover over it anyway?

[toriverdi]

Re: Cold Weather

Thanks Tony.

Yes, if you are in the UK, it won't be much of a comparison. You get cold, but not that cold.

[jeeppiper]

Re: Cold Weather

Cold in itself is not the villain...trapped moisture is the bad guy. If you have moisture in the concrete, when it freezes, it expands. Properly dried and cured concrete should have no problem in the cold. It is for this reason I chose to go with a gabled-roof style oven rather than the stucco-dome. The shingled roof ensures that the dome stays dry. The stucco shell needs to be water proofed to keep water from permeating into the concrete.

[toriverdi]

Re: Cold Weather

Jeepiper, could you send a pic?

[NCMan]

Re: Cold Weather

I've been contemplating building one of these outside for years. Finally getting to decision point. How do these hold up with extreme cold? We are in the Midwest and our winters are hard an cold. Ceramic pots can crack.

Anything special we need to do or worry about?

There are plenty of builds on here from Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc. So, done correctly, you should be fine. One thing to do some research on that is very important is your frost line. Maybe one of those builders from the Great White North will comment.

[jeeppiper]

Re: Cold Weather

Toriverdi: attached is a pic of my oven roof. There are hundreds of ovens in the photo section of the FB website that have the roof style. I am guessing about 30-40% of the ovens have a roof, the other are the dome-style. I chose this style because I did not want to have to worry about rain water seeping into the insulation. I am 99% confident that my insulation is perfectly dry.

[toriverdi]

Re: Cold Weather

Awesome Jeeppiper. That's quite the effort. Own design? Are there plans available?

[jeeppiper]

Re: Cold Weather

I kind of designed it as I went along. I have the whole thing in "solidworks" (3D CAD). If you are really interested, I could put together some drawings. Let me know.

[toriverdi]

Re: Cold Weather

You sound like me. I design have my projects whilst shopping for materials. Not the most efficient, but it works for me.

Yes, I would be interested if you don't mind and have the time. I would use it for thought generation.