Demensional question

[ndnman]

I have been looking for two weeks and have yet to stumble on a tread that answers my two most burning questions. One: is there a benefit to square vs. round design? IE, does one work better than the other?
Two: I am not really limited by size but have yet to see any ideal size that folks are going with. I'm thinking about 42" to 48" for cooking floor. Any insight would be appreciated. This is my new favorite site.

[david s]

Re: Demensional question

Most seem to agree that the hemisphere is the ideal form for an oven, both for combustion (remember the famous Chrysler hemi head) and for even radiation for cooking of the food. An oven with corners does not allow good circulation and will have cool spots, probably in the corners. My opinion on size is that smaller is better because you use far less fuel (less work) and use it more often, and it costs far less (less materials) but some others prefer monsters that take up half your backyard.

[Frances]

Re: Demensional question

And I think a middle sized one can give you the best of both worlds... My cooking floor is 1 m in diameter and (as Goldilocks would say) its just right.

Here's a thread you probably missed:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f2/w...s-round-2.html

[Jed]

Re: Demensional question

ndnman,

How are you going to use the oven?

The Pompeii design that is detailed in a freebee plan on this web site is the round foot print style, Italian in it's roots, and promoted as a pizza oven. This is the style I chose to build; a 36", it meets our needs well, and exceeds our expectations. We enjoy 'fire in the oven' cooking, bread, and long bake foods from our Pompeii.

Allen Scott spent a good part of his career promoting the rectangular foot print "bread oven". I don't have experience with this oven but have read many users who loved their ovens.

Either oven could be the 'best choice' for your situation based on how you plan to use the oven....

So, what do you plan to cook?

JED

[ndnman]

Re: Demensional question

My quest started with a just a pizza oven, but after reading of breads, chickens, roasts, cobblers.....I don't want to rule these out.

I have (or had) just about decided on a rectangle shaped footprint with an arched top. I like the looks and I can do it without cutting any bricks if I do it right, or at least very few. I'm thinking 40" wide and 50" deep or so.
My main goal it to do it one time, and do it right.

Thanks for the post