So, I'd like to start a small catering company in my local area, and I'd like for the centerpiece of that business to be a wood-fired brick pizza oven, which I plan on building myself.
And, I must really say... It's daunting, trying to learn all the possible variables which are relevant, and make the best oven I can make with my budget... (Which is shoestring, btw)
I've decided that a round oven will be best in terms of efficiency and cost, since it provides the most surface area and heat reflectivity for my needs, as well as being the most economical in terms of materials... But, I don't know how the best way to construct this shape would be.
I should also note, btw, that I'd really, REALLY like to buy just fireclay, instead of bricks, since it seems to be much cheaper... Unless I'm wrong? How many pounds of fireclay goes into a brick? And how many bricks should I need? (Design specs farther down)
Now, I know I could just cast the whole thing as a single solid piece, but I've heard that that runs the risk of fractures from the constant firing-cooling periods the oven will inevitably endure. Plus, since the oven will be mobile, and I plan on taking it on the road often, won't all that jostling around also cause, or at least exacerbate those fractures?
Besides single-piece molding, I can also see the possibility of using nearly any other number of pieces as well, and don't have much knowledge regarding which would be best to use... Bricks, if I do make them myself, would have to have molds built for them, which would add to the cost. Casting larger pieces would still provide the pre-made fracture points which are the primary benefit of bricks, and they could probably be large enough to not require any more molding then the single-piece. Or, are these benefits irrelevant?
Which then brings me to what I should actually use in the oven walls...
To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of a purist, and, from what I've reasoned, using nothing but fireclay with a bit of lime for the hearth itself sounds like not only a good economic route, but also provide the greatest heat retention. Unless I'm mistaken?
And for insulation, the concrete-vermiculite which is so prevalent seems to be a good economic choice. Are there any other low-cost insulation ideas you guys could pass by me? And what would be the best way to apply this layer? Could I really dilute the stuff, and have something like 9:1 concrete:vermiculite for more efficient insulation? Or even just no concrete, or just concrete on top?
As for my actual plans, with dimensions and such, I was planning on building a wheeled frame of steel with the oven on top of it. Then, having the hollow interior of the oven be 2 feet in diameter, with 6 inches of fireclay, then 3 inches of insulation then a layer of decoration/water-proofing. (So I'll be able to store it outside, if needs be.)
The slab on the bottom would follow the same plan, with maybe a little more insulation, and something else I thought of...
What if, instead of just making it a cylinder, what if I sloped the sides inward, like an up-side down trapezoid? But as a cylinder.
It would probably help if I drew up a plan, but I figured just describing it should be enough.
Any comments or questions, or really just any relevant info would be nice.
And, I must really say... It's daunting, trying to learn all the possible variables which are relevant, and make the best oven I can make with my budget... (Which is shoestring, btw)
I've decided that a round oven will be best in terms of efficiency and cost, since it provides the most surface area and heat reflectivity for my needs, as well as being the most economical in terms of materials... But, I don't know how the best way to construct this shape would be.
I should also note, btw, that I'd really, REALLY like to buy just fireclay, instead of bricks, since it seems to be much cheaper... Unless I'm wrong? How many pounds of fireclay goes into a brick? And how many bricks should I need? (Design specs farther down)
Now, I know I could just cast the whole thing as a single solid piece, but I've heard that that runs the risk of fractures from the constant firing-cooling periods the oven will inevitably endure. Plus, since the oven will be mobile, and I plan on taking it on the road often, won't all that jostling around also cause, or at least exacerbate those fractures?
Besides single-piece molding, I can also see the possibility of using nearly any other number of pieces as well, and don't have much knowledge regarding which would be best to use... Bricks, if I do make them myself, would have to have molds built for them, which would add to the cost. Casting larger pieces would still provide the pre-made fracture points which are the primary benefit of bricks, and they could probably be large enough to not require any more molding then the single-piece. Or, are these benefits irrelevant?
Which then brings me to what I should actually use in the oven walls...
To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of a purist, and, from what I've reasoned, using nothing but fireclay with a bit of lime for the hearth itself sounds like not only a good economic route, but also provide the greatest heat retention. Unless I'm mistaken?
And for insulation, the concrete-vermiculite which is so prevalent seems to be a good economic choice. Are there any other low-cost insulation ideas you guys could pass by me? And what would be the best way to apply this layer? Could I really dilute the stuff, and have something like 9:1 concrete:vermiculite for more efficient insulation? Or even just no concrete, or just concrete on top?
As for my actual plans, with dimensions and such, I was planning on building a wheeled frame of steel with the oven on top of it. Then, having the hollow interior of the oven be 2 feet in diameter, with 6 inches of fireclay, then 3 inches of insulation then a layer of decoration/water-proofing. (So I'll be able to store it outside, if needs be.)
The slab on the bottom would follow the same plan, with maybe a little more insulation, and something else I thought of...
What if, instead of just making it a cylinder, what if I sloped the sides inward, like an up-side down trapezoid? But as a cylinder.
It would probably help if I drew up a plan, but I figured just describing it should be enough.
Any comments or questions, or really just any relevant info would be nice.
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