Raffy's WFO Build

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Very nice Raffy.

The oven has come up fantastic as did your first meal in it!! congratulations

How did the oven go with retaining heat?

Thanks, John! I am amazed with the heat retention of the oven. I'm thinking once all the moisture has been "burned" out completely, it would perform more efficiently than it already is which makes me quite pleased with my first oven project.

That ceramic blanket is amazing stuff. I only have around an average 2-3 inches of blanket around the dome so I imagine a thicker insulation would help the oven retain heat even more.

Hope your build is going well.

Raffy

[Tscarborough]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

You are a brave man to jump in like that meal! Looks delicious.

I need to try some meat. The main thing I cook that takes hours in the oven is brisket, so that will probably be next. Normally, I marinate, stuff, grill for 30-40 minutes, then coat with BBQ sauce, wrap in tinfoil, and slow cook in the oven for 4 or 5 hours.

Going by how my oven cools, I need to cook pizza on Sat. night, bread Sunday afternoon, and brisket on Monday. I need to grill it, coat it, and wrap it Sunday, then put it in the oven when I leave for work at 6:00AM Monday. 8 or 9 hours later when I get home, it should be well and truly done.

You have inspired me.

[aussiepizzaman]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hi raffy.
congradulations on your first meal,i bet there is no better feeling of satisfaction knowing how much work goes into building something that works.
I have started to build my stand and will have to post some pictures soon.

regards Gary.

[John K]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Very nice Raffy.

The oven has come up fantastic as did your first meal in it!! congratulations

How did the oven go with retaining heat?

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hey Raffy,
Congrats on your first dinner,, The food looks great...

I had to keep the fire going for 2 hours to get the dome to whiten and reach the right temp. I guess there was still a lot of moisture that's why it took a while. The heat lasted until dinner and all I had to do was chuck in couple of pieces of wood to get it going again.

I'm sure after a month or two you will be surprised how much better your oven will perform, Less heat up time and it will retain the heat longer as well,, You did a great job,,,
Congrats Again
Mark

[lwood]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Looks great Raf....

[eprante]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Congratulations,
Your first WFO meal and it was Easter dinner. Everything looks delicious.
Eric

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Happy Easter everyone! I just did my BIG FIRE this Easter Sunday (started fire around 7 am) and the oven performed spectacularly. I had to keep the fire going for 2 hours to get the dome to whiten and reach the right temp. I guess there was still a lot of moisture that's why it took a while. The heat lasted until dinner and all I had to do was chuck in couple of pieces of wood to get it going again.

I cooked dinner consisting of beer chicken and roasted pork with roasted cauliflower and broccoli with a side of roasted "baby" potatoes. To end it all, a slice of banana bread baked in the oven. It was fantastic to say the least. I'm so satisfied with the oven's performance. It cooked everything in no time at all.

I wish I had pictures of the food while I was cooking but all I have is a camera phone with no flash. The lighting conditions were too low even with the fire inside. I could only take pics after it was plated already. The food looked awesome while it was cooking.

Happy Easter again to everyone and to my sis, A, Happy Brithday again! hehehehe. This dinner is dedicated to you!

[lwood]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Actually, the unexpanded perlite is doing better than expected. Sounds like yours is expanded perlite. The unexpanded looks just like gray sand.

Those dark spots have to be water coming out of the dome. Especially if it happened during the firing. I am on my 14th firing and I think it is finally dry

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Something interesting happened today. As I fired up the oven for the 500 F curing fire, there were portions on the dome that became "discolored" or had a darker shade of gray. I'm suspecting steam because they are hotter in those areas. I was worried that there may be holes in the dome but there are none that I can see, plus, there couldn't be any holes because we laid the mortar pretty thick and made sure every nook and cranny was filled. Your thoughts?

In addition, the brick on the chimney and other parts of the facade are whitening. Could this be the lime permeating the brick? Is there a way to restore the look of the brick to it's terracotta color?

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hey John,

I used perlite for the hearth and for the dome as well. I also have 2" of insulation blanket for the dome. It's insulating very well and I'm very pleased. I read your thread about oven temp and I'm curious about your unexpanded perlite. Is it powder form? Mine are the size of small coffee beans. My supplier had both types of perlite. If you need ceramic blankets I have a good supplier maybe I can have them forwarded to Camsur if you need some more insulation.

[lwood]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

The Holy Week celebration is in full swing here in CamSur. The roads are impossible, but we are staying close to home in the mountains. But everyone is coming up to the Malabsay Falls Nat'l park to excursion, so lots of excursionistas.

What did you end up using on the final outside layer? Did you find any perlite?

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hi Dino,

The chimney is drawing the smoke superbly. No smoke coming out of the front of the oven. It goes directly to the chimney. I'm looking to add 6-8 feet of chimney provided I can I find material that is lightweight, stiff and durable. I can't do that right now cause everyone is on holiday being Holy Week (Lenten Season). Got anything planned for Easter Sunday?

Regards,
Raffy

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

I like your 1st pic of the fire Raffy: I can see the big wide flu opening. How is the small smokey fire drawing? Can you see smoke going up? Once you get a bigger fire, you may see the need for a taller vent pipe. What height are looking to add (if any)?
Very pretty arches,
-Dino

[lwood]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Wow Raffy, looks great. Like the reveal.