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If the sites dmun don't fully answer your questions, Kiko Denzer has a great book that covers the construction, maintenenance and use of a cob oven. Amazon.com: KIKO DENZER: Books or Google Kiko Denzer and you should find out alot.
Mother Earth news has an article regading them as well.
I for many years have had a really good pizza stone in the oven running at 550 F. The trick is to give it plenty of time to heat up - at least an hour. After almost 18 years, my stone broke which got me going on my build. A good stone runs about 65 bucks and will buy you time so you can do the oven correctly.
Looking back, I should have just bought and stored the materials (except for portland) and build when I was ready. I am doing the oven on a real tight budget as da boss would rather me spend time doing other house chores.
You can get fire brick at Home Depot for around $1.15 ea, and rent a saw if need be to do all the cutting you need in 1 day as a real push!. Then start building piece by piece.
In AZ, it can be a real pain in the backside to get certain materials as we do not have too many fireplaces down in the southern desert. Up in the mountains of PA, you should be able to find the materials for a fireplace fairly easy. Heck, there are more AC service contractors in the smaller towns than there are fireplace supply places in all of the Phoenix Metro Area!!!
As of right now, I am at about 350 bucks. What blew me away was the cost of the vermiculite - I needed 4 bags to date (120 bucks).
Watch for a house getting demo'd and talk with the demo contractor to scavenge brick. It is really easy to knock the mortar off each of the bricks with a hammer and chisel!
What ever you do, do not build a metal tray on the ground. The dirt is a heat sink and will suck the energy out of the floor. If you put it in the air, you will be much better off as air is not a good conductor of heat! All in the thermodynamics!
Keep your chin up! I totally know how frustrating it can be.
I for many years have had a really good pizza stone in the oven running at 550 F. The trick is to give it plenty of time to heat up - at least an hour. After almost 18 years, my stone broke which got me going on my build. A good stone runs about 65 bucks and will buy you time so you can do the oven correctly.
Looking back, I should have just bought and stored the materials (except for portland) and build when I was ready. I am doing the oven on a real tight budget as da boss would rather me spend time doing other house chores.
You can get fire brick at Home Depot for around $1.15 ea, and rent a saw if need be to do all the cutting you need in 1 day as a real push!. Then start building piece by piece.
In AZ, it can be a real pain in the backside to get certain materials as we do not have too many fireplaces down in the southern desert. Up in the mountains of PA, you should be able to find the materials for a fireplace fairly easy. Heck, there are more AC service contractors in the smaller towns than there are fireplace supply places in all of the Phoenix Metro Area!!!
As of right now, I am at about 350 bucks. What blew me away was the cost of the vermiculite - I needed 4 bags to date (120 bucks). I recently got 300 bricks for free. I sourced a local perlite manufacturer on the way home from work. I will be talking with them to see if I can get a super sack for cheap for my insulation dome. Otherwise, I will try the vermiculite company again.
Watch for a house getting demo'd and talk with the demo contractor to scavenge brick. It is really easy to knock the mortar off each of the bricks with a hammer and chisel!
What ever you do, do not build a metal tray on the ground. The dirt is a heat sink and will suck the energy out of the floor. If you put it in the air, you will be much better off as air is not a good conductor of heat! All in the thermodynamics!
Keep your chin up! I totally know how frustrating it can be.
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