Door Frame a good idea or not?

[Charlie Abel]

Hi, I'm getting going with my Pizza oven in Aberdeen, Scotland. I'm relying heavily on the information I get from the FB plans and this Forum. I'm living in a cold country in the Pizza oven wilderness and people here think I'm crazy. I managed to find a supplier for some of the stuff I need to build a good oven down south in England but some of the stuff they have given me isn't up to scratch. The staff are not much help. They don't know about ovens. just answering calls, not questions.

I'm building an oven slightly bigger than the 42 on the FB plan. They supplied me with a 4 inch flue pipe which I'm returning. I know from reading my FB Bible I need at least an 8 inch.

I ordered a special Pizza oven door from them that is cast iron and has glass and a thermometer in the glass. It comes in a Frame. MY FIRST QUESTION... The frame is going to create a lip at the entrance to the oven.
The frame opening is about 15 inches wide and 10 inches high. This is good for stopping heat escaping but will make it impossible to get inside the oven for cleaning well or reparing. The lip could be recessed on the inside but because of the door design it will mean a drop in floor level for the door on the outside.

Should I keep this door or live without one?

I'm not sure if I should return it with the flue or if the door is a big advantage that the small lip and entrance is worth living with...
I was about to cut all the floor base bricks to fit inside the oven chamber walls but then if I can't get into the oven to replace them it seems pointless.

Any advice would be most welcome.

[RandyJ]

I am sure that others will chime in here but I don't think there are any big advantages to the door like that , but possibly several disadvantages. You need to make sure that your door height is in the 63-65% of the dome height range. Also you want to be able to slid your tools in and not have a ridge on the floor. You will also want a wider door than 15 ". On a 42" oven most are in the 20-22" range. It would be very hard to manage things through that small of a opening. It is not that hard to build your self a door that will have much better heat retention abilities than what you have pictured. Also if it is hinged then you have so much less space in the vent.

Randy

[UtahBeehiver]

Randy is right on the door height to dome height ratio. With a 10" high door the oven will need to be a low dome type at 42" OD plus. Nothing wrong with that, it just can't be a full hemisphere shape. Sliding in tools, loaded pans, pizzas or breads will be a little more problematic but not impossible. You could, with some creative brick cutting set the bottom of the door almost flush with the lip, It is very rare that one needs to do repairs to the brick dome or floor if constructed and cured properly. It is a nice looking door, so the most important criteria will be dome ID to door height IE 16" dome height at .63% = 10" door height

[deejayoh]

A 15" door is barely wider than a standard 14" wood pizza peel. And you'd need a really wide vent arch to be able to open the door wide enough to even get all that width. Personally I think the width of the door makes it a non-starter. Why build a big oven if you can't get anything in and out of it?

[RandyJ]

A 15" door is barely wider than a standard 14" wood pizza peel. And you'd need a really wide vent arch to be able to open the door wide enough to even get all that width. Personally I think the width of the door makes it a non-starter. Why build a big oven if you can't get anything in and out of it?

That is what I was getting at. You could make it work but it will limit your useage.

Randy

[david s]

An additional problem is that because the steel is far more thermally conductive than the firebrick that surrounds it, the steel will expand more rapidly and cause cracking to the refractory. You can factor this in by leaving some space around it, but then the door frame won't be secured very well. You may find a solution to this, good luck.

[Charlie Abel]

Thanks folks. I'll return this door and build a bigger entrance. I'll make a door cover later. Brilliant advice. I'll keep you updated on the progress.....

[Charlie Abel]

Hi. I'm on a bit now and have come to a dilemma that I think I already know the answer to but would be interested to hear your opinions. I'm going to build a gazebo over my dome and so i will use a stainless insulated flue for the chimney which will go through the roof of the gazebo.
I am thinking to fit a damper to the flue but it's £135. I can only find one company here in the UK supplying a damper to a 8 inch flue. I did find a few others but they were in the ridiculous range of £400 for the damper.
Is it great to have a damper for more control of the oven?
My door jam is outside the flue entrance.

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