Insulation necessary around top of the oven?

[david s]

If you have space issues then build a small oven. Not only will it cost you less,easier and faster to build, but it will use way less fuel, so you'll use it more frequently.
i cooked and prepped 60 two min pizzas on my own to feed eighty people in my 540 mm diam (21") mobile oven two weeks ago. It's footprint is 910x910 mm.

[JRPizza]

Jezza, I cured my oven without any insulation, and really had trouble getting the dome hot enough. The outside of the bricks got up over 200F, and I was unable to get the inside hot enough to burn off the soot, which is the usual starting point when firing the oven for baking. As soon as I insulated I was able to achieve baking temps. Like Mike says above, you might want to start with how big your outside could be and see what that leaves you for a dome inside diameter.

[SableSprings]

Welcome Jezzaa! As Joe (Gulf) noted, the insulation and enclosure (to keep the rain off) are pretty important. I did a similar thing as Joe (to achieve the brick look I wanted) but applied splits over my insulation instead of first doing the stucco. I also built a dome but preferred the look of a vault oven, so my brick facade allowed me to change the visual effect of the build. I don't know what size oven you are thinking about for your space, but a really useful oven doesn't have to be very big. David S, in Australia is able to do a lot of fabulous food in an oven that's 23"-24" in diameter (if memory serves me correctly ). So consider a smaller oven...not one without insulation and/or a water "resistant" enclosure.

Looking forward to hearing about your WFO quest.

[Gulf]

Jezzaa,

Welcome to the forum. Imo, insulation is necessary over the dome for the oven to perform properly. A water shedding render of some kind is also. Depending on what you intend to cook, you may be able to get by with a minimum of insulation. I also wanted "the look" of a brick dome. Applying brick spilts over the stucco is how I achieved that look.

[jezzaa]

Hi,
I'm a newbie and have just started my research on building an oven so here goes with my first stupid question
If I build a dome oven out of firebricks is it completely necessary to have insulation around the dome? I ask because we are quite space-constrained - and the insulation adds width, and both of us prefer the look of the brick dome without the render covering it.
Thanks!