Bellows

[james]

I met with a Forno Bravo owner in Healdsburg the other day (getting my photo taken for a magazine article ) and they showed me their bellows. The dad, who is getting really good at using the oven for baking and grilling, along with their pizza, swears by it.

For example, he uses them when he wants to make the fire burn hotter just before pulling the coals forward for grilling. It also makes getting the fire going a little easier.

Does anybody else do this? I've never tried it, but I'm thinking about it.

James

[christo]

Bellows

My oven isn't built yet, but I see a great application for that old electric leaf blower collecting dust in my shed.........

Hmm, I've always wanted a forge.... Brick oven/forge....

[james]

Ah, your leaf blower reminds of me one more thing. You can also use the bellows to blow the last tiny bit of ash of the cooking floor -- after you brush and before the first pizza.

I'm not sure a leaf blower is delicate enough for that one.

James

[CanuckJim]

Ash Blowing

James,

I've read about a baker in CA somewhere who does not brush at all; he uses compressed air in the kind of "pig" two truck drivers have for flat tires. Never tried it, though I do have the equipment. Seems it would blow ash on everything, me included.

Jim

[Fio]

I don't use bellows, but I use a draft door.

Last weekend my brother visited and we made a draft door. It's amazing. When heating up the oven, it keeps all the heat in, but allows a turbocharged flow of air in to fuel the fire. It's great to use between pizzas or when you add another log to recharge the heat.

For me, it's going to be SOP from now on.

We named it the "Ball Peen Canard Restrictor Plate." Beer had NOTHING to do with the total nonsensicality of the name.

[CanuckJim]

Canard

Fio,

Very sensible name for the door, and I'm relieved that beer had NOTHING to do with it. Now, here's the puzzle: why should you cook a duck next time? Think Quebec.

Jim

[Fio]

Interesting quandry. . .

Why indeed would I cook a duck? Well, in the context of naming this piece of equipment, I believe it was not the French word for duck that came to mind, but rather the unorthodox backward-styled canard pusher plane. But how that in any way relates to a draft restrictor door on a pizza oven is God's own sweet mystery.

[david s]

Re: Bellows

Try using a hair dryer. Works a treat. My temp rocketed from 400C to 500C very quickly. 90 sec pizzas no worries. Burns away the coals too, leaving more room. I wonder if the Romans ever used forced air ?

[tommy5]

Re: Bellows

i just ordered a bellow, so ihave not used it, but this one looks good.
go to sportys.com then click on the tool shop catalog. item # 4111t

[fred42]

Re: Bellows

My brother in law has a few oxygen tanks that he uses for his cutting torches..
I think I have an idea!

[skemcis]

Re: Bellows

I picked up a used bathroom extractor fan at a garage sale a while ago. With the 6ft aluminum extension tube, it works great for getting reluctant (read damp) wood to get going well. With the door strategically placed, I can get a swirl of hot air moving around the dome, drying out the damp stuff in no time. Its only 7fm so not a blast furnace effect.

[Modthyrth]

Re: Bellows

I bought this little gadget on ebay for my husband for a father's day present:



I tried using it when I started up my fire to make pizza last Friday, and it worked brilliantly! Much better than I expected for a plastic $6 gadget.

[pizzamt]

Re: Bellows

I use the small plastic balloon inflator that came with a set of balloons for my grandchildren. it's easy to direct the air and help a starting fire, get a blaze going when it has died down, and get the last bit of ash off the front of the hearth. No big tanks, no compressors, not even a big bellows--but it works!

[fxpose]

Re: Bellows

I'll probably pick up a bellows once I get my oven completed. It also makes for a nice decorative prop to accessorize the oven.

George

[Mitchamus]

Re: Bellows

the best way to get the last bits off ash of the floor is to just bounce the peel up and down on the oven floor a few times

all the ash becomes airbourne and goes out the chimney...