Well here goes nothing

[Bubb]

Re: Well here goes nothing

Hubert thanks for those ratios. Did you use a shovel full per part or did that make
To much to use before it got hard? Since I'm no mason I ll be slow laying things up.
So I plan on small batches to keep it fresh. Would be nice to hear from anybody who used
More sand?? See if it made a difference for them? Got a lead on the ins block 19 will be enough to do my 42" and another 36" so will be for sale at cost! Just gotta get the blanket insulation. Might check ebay out. Thought I saw some on there cheap!

[hubert_s]

Re: Well here goes nothing

I used fireclay and sand mixed 1:1 to level the insulation board because my slab was less than perfect.

For building the dome, I used a mix of 3:1:1:1 sand/fireclay/lime/portland mixed with water. This is commonly called home brew mortar. From what I read recently, some people use a higher percentage of sand in the mix. I don't know much about mortar, maybe the experts can chime in.

I bought one bag of fireclay for my 36" oven and I have slightly less than half left over after completing the dome.

[Bubb]

Re: Well here goes nothing

Okay seems there are diffrent things
With the same name on the market. Fire
Clay?? Is what I need the 50 lbs bag of
Fire clay you mix with portlland cement..? I'm reading
On here you guys are talking about fire clay you
Just mix with fine sand and water to make
A paste. This is all that is used for laying FB
And laying up the dome? Does someone have
A picture of a bag of this stuff??

[hubert_s]

Re: Well here goes nothing

Insblock 19 is very easy to cut. I used a jig saw, but I am sure you could easily cut it by hand. Wear a mask and protect your skin, even if it is hot.

I have not fired my oven yet, so I cannot tell you how the stuff performs. I decided to use it based on a lot of posts here where people seemed to be happy with it.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Well here goes nothing

If you compare the specs Insoblok is actually better in two ways, thermal conductivity and compressive strength. But I will let you do the comparisons. You need to have the dome walls and the floor sitting on your insulation for complete isolation from your concrete hearth otherwise it is just a heat sink for your oven.

[Bubb]

Re: Well here goes nothing

Score ANH has the INS Block 19 and it's half
The price of FB? I'm guessing it will have the heat
Value in need? Is it hard to cut? I plan on laying
Up the dome on the out side? So this and Fire brick
Are inside dome. Wait will having the dome sitting
On the concrete counter or shelf cause heat lose?

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Well here goes nothing

ANH carries Insblok 19 and have dist. centers in Pittsburgh and eastern PA. I used Thermo Gold 12 from EJ Bartells but they do not have any offices in the eastern US.

[Bubb]

Re: Well here goes nothing

I'm in trouble? I've called everybody in the
Book, no FB anywhere?? I can get brick, fire
Clay but no FB??? Any help for York Co. Pa?

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Well here goes nothing

Unless the FB is really out of wack, a lot of times it does not require leveling. But if it does, a mix of 50/50 fire clay and sand will do, if you use a wet mix you need to coat the FB board with something to keep the board from immediately sucking all the water out. You can also use the mix dry, use a 1/4" notched trowel to put mixture (wet or dry) down on concrete.

[Bubb]

Re: Well here goes nothing

You guys are awesome! I would of never
Attempted this oven without this forum.
Soon as I get FB and bricks I'll get that info
Posted. Thanks again.

[hodgey1]

Re: Well here goes nothing

Okay game on! Gotta read up on making fire clay to lay the FB, and floor bricks. Dome layout and for some reason I can't open that dome calculator on my iPad! Need to figure out dementions of cuts for corses of bricks

I would try opening dome calculator on a "PC" and not the iPad. The pads are good for alot of things but working with documents and spreadsheets is not one of them.

[hubert_s]

Re: Well here goes nothing

Looks good! If you cannot get the calculator to work, post or pm me the dimensions of your bricks, oven diameter and height of IT above floor and I'll generate a PDF that you can view on your iPad.

[Bubb]

Re: Well here goes nothing


Okay game on! Gotta read up on making fire clay to lay the FB, and floor bricks. Dome layout and for some reason I can't open that dome calculator on my iPad! Need to figure out dementions of cuts for corses of bricks

[Bubb]

Re: Well here goes nothing



I think I'm ready to pour the top! Gotta pull
Off for a couple days. Hoping to get poured on
Monday. That will be last post in this section. I'll
Move over to Starting Dome.

[Bubb]

Re: Well here goes nothing

Should I lay up a middle pier? 1760 lbs top
Plus the dome weight and heat??? I can't imagine
3 1/2" being enough to hold all that?
I also need some ideas on what brands types
Tile saws you use? Seems a FB would be a lot
To cut on a tile saw? Anybody using harbor freight?
Hate to drop a load on a saw for just the dome?