Steel Dome Oven On A Trailer

[Grimaldi]

Re: Steel Dome Oven On A Trailer

http://www.davespizzaovens.com.auWiley,
I would agree with your assessment. I had thought that was the problem also. Too late now but it's better to do the curing fires before the stucco layer.Have a look at my website to see how I've designed a seal around the flue that allows the oven to breathe.
If you just keep firing the oven it will eventually dry out and then you can deal with the cracks in the outer shell.
Good luck,
Dave

Dave, the seal you designed around the chimney appears to be a vented clay piece? I can see how your seal would allow moisture to escape and also keep the rain out.

I think I could cut the masonry down a slight bit around my chimney ring - I have metal lath wrapped around the chimney ring to hold the plaster - by cutting the plaster down, there will be a small airspace where the metal lath is exposed...then maybe I could build a little metal hood around the ring above the cut to keep the rain out and still allow an escape route for trapped moisture. I'll have to mull this over.

Thanks a lot for your input.

G

[Wiley]

Re: Steel Dome Oven On A Trailer

Grimaldi, I addressed the issue of venting by means of a short stainless steel tube. This tube is welded to the birdcage and part of the structural support of the outer shell. There is a small gap perhaps 3/4" between that tube and the chimney. The stucco comes almost up to the stainless tube but I left a gap (plastered against a thin maybe 1/4 inch thick piece of closed cell foam, which after the stucco cured I removed). This gap I later filled with high temp silicone rubber. If you want to see the ring there is a picture on post 66 of the Steel Dome Oven thread.

The chimney is supported by the steel dome (actually the entrance tunnel). One might think of it as the outer shell is like an overcoat but one a bit loose at the collar. It is thru this 3/4 inch gap between chimney and S.S. tube that the pressures and moisture between the outside world and the interstitial space between the outside of the steel dome and the inside of the stucco shell. Before I had my pavilion my chimney was rain proofed by means of a standard drip collar, When I put the WFO away for a long time the chimney came off and I covered the hole with a stainless steel mixing bowl which fit nicely. I could then drap the entire WFO with a blue tarp to protect against snowfall and storms. Somewhere I have a photo of my oven covered with a blue tarp and the tarp covered in a fair amount of snow and skis stuck into the drift against the WFO.

IMHO bonding to the perlcrete is going to be problematic in several ways. The stuff is great for insulation but it has little shear or tear strength, the ability to have something stick to it and not be easily removed. The join will always be the place where stresses are relieved. I used vermicrete in my WFO and I started out with a square of the stuff surrounded by a structural layer/ring of concrete. I ended up hand digging out the vermicrete in the corners of that square so that it was: 1) not a potential place where water could infiltrate the insulation under the WFO; and 2) so that my outer shell could bond to concrete. The original plans call for a full sized block of vermicrete/perlcrete upon which the brick WFOs were to be built. That makes a layer where water can easily wick and the stuff is like a great sponge. Unless one builds a house over the whole it is very hard to keep water out of the WFO's insulation. IMHO the base insulation regardless of type of WFO should only extend to the outer perimeter of the exterior insulation of the dome.

I would suggest digging the stuff out where it is beyond the outer edge of your dome insulation and filling that space with a layer of concrete (a mix which rich in cement so it has strength inspite of being thin). Then making your fillet/radius so the stucco of the dome covering bonds to the concrete. That should minimise cracking at that location.

Hope this helps,
Wiley

[david s]

Re: Steel Dome Oven On A Trailer

Grimaldi,
When I built my mobile oven I was worried about a tall flue wobbling about in transit and disturbing the join int o the oven, so I made a sleeve so that the flue is removable. I am glad IP designed it with this feature it has proved vey successful and not too hard to do.
Dave

[Grimaldi]

Re: Steel Dome Oven On A Trailer

I had the oven weighed today...3000 pounds! Things sure do add up, in my head I was thinking around 2000 max. My 3000# single axle trailer will not cut it, 3720#'s total and the trailer itself weighs 700.

Now to find a dual axle trailer.....glad I made the oven able to be picked up by a forklift.

[prtexx]

Re: Steel Dome Oven On A Trailer

Hello everyone I just joined this forum since I have been checking out info on steel domed ovens. A friend and I decided to build an oven but keep it on the cheap. I located a guy that sold me the ends of a propane tank, it measures 40" and I retrimmed it. I built the oven last week it took me 3 days and we used it sat. the bottom is lined up with 1.5" thick fire brick I left the dome uncovered. The temps in the oven reached 1100 degrees. We cooked pizza, pretzels bread and some other stuff. I added a rotiserie and we raosted 4 small chickens. It worked great. I am building a second oven to mount on a trailer. We understand that it will not hold the temps overnight but I don't need it to saty hot that long. It still needs to be painted but we wanted to try it out in case any changes were needed. The flue has a damper so it can be closed to keep the temps up.
Feel free to comment. I need to figure out how to attache the pictures.
Thanks