Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

[david s]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

Stan,
I think you are correct, the door is the weak link. But if the oven meets your needs, so what. Also the smaller the oven, the larger the door opening, relative to the the ovens size, which exacerbates the heat loss through the door. A small oven will have a fairly wide door while a huge oven door looks more square.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

The idea of an expanded metal door with exposed hi-temp insulation is kinda scary, yes?

[mrgweeto]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

I just built a door out of aluminum. The company infront of out building was replacing their sign with a larger one. It was heavy gauge aluminum so I stripped the paint off traced the pattern of the opening on it and cut 2 pieces from it. I then sandwiched 1/2" Durock inbetween the 2 pieces. I sprayed Black high heat engine paint only on the outside and attached 2 wood handles made from leftover railing material I had saved. Alle this was attached with stainless screws nuts and bolts. I then had some copper automotive paint that I brushed on the front to give it an antiqued look. Tried it lastnight after the oven cooked up about 16 large pies. At the point in time I put the door on the temp was approx 450 degs and I had no problem touching the front of the door metal surface with my hand and certainly the wooden handles were just fine. I will post some pictures later today or tomorrow under finished ovens in the photo section.
Guy

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

"The next morning, probably 13 hours later, I was at 250 with the door on."

Mine doesn't usually drop to 250 for 2+ days after a full regimen of pizza and bread using an AAC or perlcrete door (both of which have failed). I cast a new one from fibered insulating refractory repair mortar Saturday. It is heavy, but it is also insulating and strong.

I certainly think that having no door or an uninsulated door will lose a lot of heat. If you are not using the post-pizza heat for other things, I guess it doesn't matter though.

[david s]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

Most of the time after cooking we are so full that we lack the enthusiasm to cook something else. However, it always seems like a waste to let that heat out so we're tempted to put the door on even though the oven is empty. We usually try to cook a loaf of bread, but have to wait for ages for the temp to drop to bread baking temp.

[kebwi]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

Mine doesn't usually drop to 250 for 2+ days after a full regimen of pizza and bread using an AAC or perlcrete door (both of which have failed).

Are you referring to a scenario in which you intentionally let the oven cool down after pizza to bread temperatures, cooked bread, then doored it up for two days...such that the tempt did not fall below 250 for 48 hours?

...or are you dooring it up at pizza temps immediately...which would clearly hold heat longer than the bread scenario?

In short, I'm not sure I like my door thermometer very much. It always ready surprisingly low. I bought a standing 600F thermometer that I'm going to put inside the oven next time, just to see how it compares to the door thermometer.

Sigh.

[mrgweeto]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

I personally wait till the temp gets down to about 450 or so and there are virtually no flames to put the door in place. This past Sunday I did that after making 16 large pies. At 9pm we put the door in place and 5pm the next day we measured the temp with a laser therm. and it was 360degs in the top of the dome and 306degs on the floor. I am just a little skeptical about putting the door in place when the oven is extremely hot besides, you remove all the wood and embers when you are going to be making bread anyways and the temp would be lower. Just my way of thinking.
G

[kebwi]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

I agree. The purpose of my question was merely to gauge Tscarborough's description so I would better understand the circumstances under which he observed 250F 48 hours after using the oven.

[mrgweeto]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

I understand. Will be intersting to find out. After 48hrs our oven is about 120 degrees at best.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

If there is no food or fire in the oven the door is on.

A typical firing schedule for me is:

Friday night, burn a low fire for an hour to soak it, then another 1 hour or 2 to get it up to 1000 on the roof and 7-800 on the walls. Cook 4 to 8 pizzas and door it up, coals in place.

Saturday afternoon, open it up, clean out the ashes and let it get around 450. Cook 2-4 loaves of bread, and door it up.

Sunday, cook either a chunk of meat or some beans with the oven at 300 or less for 3 or 5 hours, then door it up.

I check it every day when I get home, and it usually doesn't hit ambient for 4 or 5 days.

[mrgweeto]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

After you have made your initial pizzas what do you figure the temp inside is before you put the door on for the night.
Come Sunday do you use a cast iron Dutch Oven for your roasts?

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

It is still above 650 and with a couple gallons of embers.


I have CI pots, but I haven't been using them. I use my Magnalite or crockery. I think the CI is too heavy for me to use in there.

[mrgweeto]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

I notice you have a vaulted oven. What is the pipe in the top of the picture. Also is the Magnalite durable? The CI is awfully heavy in deed. I don't have a CI Dutch Oven because you'd need an engine lift just to get it in and out.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

The Magnalite pots are made to be used in the oven and my set is over 20 years old and used daily, so I guess they are pretty durable.

The pipe is an LED Maglite (flashlight) that sticks to a magnet embedded in the top of the arch. It is my lighting solution.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Oven Door? Insulated or not. Pros & Cons

This weekend, I cooked on Sunday night, after a quick 2 hour fire, and doored it at 7:00PM at around 600 (keeping in mind that the door is in 8 pieces). I took the door bits off yesterday around 6:00PM (at 250+ degrees) and placed my new door in the middle of the entry to cure. I just checked it and it is 132 degrees after being somewhat open for 24 hours.

This tells me 2 things:

1. It is important to heat soak the oven if you want to use it for 2 or 3 days.
2. The door makes a big difference.