Should I be removing the bark from my oak?

[n8huntsman]

Im looking for ways of getting my oven up to temp faster and with less smoke. I read someone recommend ;removing the bark for less smoke. Once the fire is going and the smoke is gone, should I still refrain from putting bark in the fire for the duration of the burn? Anyone ever see worms in the wood when removing the bark? Nothing is gonna survive that heat but still gross when you think about it going in your oven!

[SableSprings]

I don't bother removing any bark (or moss...I'm in Oregon ) from my wood. Obviously if your wood isn't dry it will smoke more until the fire gets up to temp. The beauty of the dome design is that air is drawn in along the bottom, provides oxygen for the burn and then exhaust gases flow back over the flames to actually get a "second burn" before exiting out the top "half" of the opening into the chimney. When your fire gets going well you won't see much smoke make it out of the oven unless you throw a big, pretty wet log on...

You can reduce the initial smoke by using smaller pieces of split (dry) wood to get the fire going well before you put on the larger or damp pieces. Wood actually has to be brought up to temp before it will burn, so bigger pieces will smoke a bit before they burn. I'm not sure if it's possible to start any fire without initial smoke...reduce, yes - eliminate, no. In terms of getting your oven up to temp quicker...remember that well seasoned and split wood (3"-5" thick) is the best for a good hot fire. Also remember that you are having to heat a fairly large mass...the laws of thermodynamics are going to require a significant amount of time and fuel to do the job. (FYI: Bark does have a good BTU rating...so don't throw it away if you do have some big chunks.)

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to get your oven up to temp? Also, how often are you using it ... with all the recent California rain, is the oven covered or exposed to the elements? If your insulation has absorbed some water, it certainly can take a lot longer to clear the dome.

p.s. Bark beetles and wood borers (usually beetle larvae) are very common just under the bark and throughout the wood itself...especially if the tree was downed for a while before it was cut & split. I've even had some powder post beetles in my woodpile (they lay eggs on dry, seasoned wood and the larvae bore in as they grow). I suspect that for every firing of my oven I kill hundreds to thousands of critters...spiders, ants, mites, beetles (adults & larvae), centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, etc., etc. ...still it's not nearly as gross as thinking about how you got that piece of leather for your belt...

[david s]

If your wood is properly seasoned the bark should be falling off. Yes it does create more smoke and ash, so it's better to remove it. I place a couple of bits of wood in the entry to pre heat before placing them in the oven, then place another couple in the entry to replace those just thrown on the fire.
Regarding getting the oven up to temperature faster, it is far kinder and less damaging to the refractory to take the temperature up slowly. 300 C / hr is really way too fast.

[n8huntsman]

It takes about 3 hours to get up to a temp where I feel comfortable cooking large quantities of pizza. That's usually 800°F on the inside and 350 to 400°F on the cold side of the brick according to my thermocouples. Eventually they do equalize but I feel good starting to cook at that point. I think that is quite normal from what I've read. I really havent experimented with cooking small quantities but I want to start doing so but the 3 hour heat up makes it difficult. I wanted to see if I could get the dome and floor hot enough to make a couple pizzas without waiting for the entire mass to equalize. Maybe an hour to an hour and a half would be more reasonable. Also, cooking more frequently means possibly irritating the neighbors so Im trying to be conscientious of that before it's a problem.
I havent used it since the rain. The arch is covered by the roof of my bar but the dome is not. And I havent stucco'd the outside yet I have had a tarp over it though and Im pretty sure its kept the water out except for what may be in the air, humidity, etc.

[SableSprings]

Have you thought about starting a fire in the oven the night before...kind of a pre-heat. When I am prepping for a bread bake, I put in a stack of wood and light it off about 10 pm. After it's going reasonably well, I damper it down to a consistent burn (not roaring and not smokey!) with my fire door and in the morning the dome's usually cleared. As David mentioned above, it seems a little easier on the oven to fire up with a slower, longer burn. I add a little more wood to the coals in the morning if I need to bring the oven up to my target afternoon bread baking temps but often times that isn't needed. Would doing something like this routine to pre-heat the oven work better with your schedule (and the neighbors)? I suspect it would not take you three hours to achieve pizza temps after you've "taken the chill off" the evening before

I also notice that when I come back from a long trip during our rainy Oregon winter, it takes more wood to clear the dome. My oven is completely under a roof but I'm pretty sure the masonry has absorbed significant moisture from the air. Consequent firings seem to bring the oven up to temp faster...I do wonder if you are getting some water condensing under the tarp or coming in at the seam line between the dome and the concrete slab. That ceramic board and batting soaks water up pretty quickly and you'd notice a longer time to heat up the oven if any of your insulation just gets damp...just a thought.

[dakzaag]

With regards to bark, a well seasoned piece of wood will shed it's bark easily. This is a good indication that you can use to help determine how dry a particular piece of wood or pile of wood is. It certainly is not a problem to burn, but the bark will cause a lot of excess smoke, so it makes sense to be conscious of when and how you burn it. If smoke is a problem or potential problem, then using the bark as a mulch or compost or simply discarding it in the garden is preferable to creating a big scene with excess smoke.
Faster heat up is really determined by the design of the oven provided you are making a proper fire initially. If your oven has a lot of mass, it is going to take a lot of heat to get up to temp. Insulation really only affects the retention of heat, so even a non insulated oven will cook pizza as long as you have a roaring fire, but once the fire dies down, without insulation, the mass begins to cool quickly. Insulation will help prevent heat from being siphoned away from the surface so as the fire dies down, but perhaps you are still cooking pizza, the masonry remains hot enough to finish the night instead of cooling down about as fast as it heated up.
It sounds to me that you still have moisture in the dome, and the sooner you finish the stucco coat and water proofing, the sooner you can burn off the moisture permanently.