Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

[Mitchamus]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

great Job!

Which castable did you use?

cheers,
Mitch.

[heliman]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Fascinating project - well done!!

[mr g]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Hi Jason, I used a bead of silocone on either side of the forms to attach them to the mould. After a few ovens the silicone worked it's way loose. Instead of re-applying the silicone I just made sure to evenly apply the concrete on both sides of the mould so that there was equal concrete on both sides which helped to keep the forms in place. This worked pretty well too so either way should be ok for you.
Cheers
John.

[sonomacast]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Great oven MrG,how did you keep the separating forms in place when you concreted and vibrated the cast? Thank you

[mr g]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Hi David, a photo of the mould is included with the aluminium door. It's simply made from mdf.

Cheers
John.

[david s]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Mr. G.
That's fantastic. How did you go about making a mould for the cast?
Dave

"kindled with zeal and fired with passion"

[BackyardPermaculture]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Nice work on the aluminium door - looks good on the kitchen bench too

[mr g]

Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

We've finally done something about the oven door. It's made of cast aluminium (Aussie spelling) with a space for insulating material inside.
We will use a thin sheet of metal to cover the insulation and we'll use
two steel handles with wooden sleeves.

I've also attached a photo of the wooden pattern for the door.

[JoeyVelderrain]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Awesome!
great job Mr. G.
I miss the learning process, I wish I had an excuse to build another one, I would use your thread as a guide.

[david s]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Copper is an extremely good conductor so if you use it you can expect heat to be efficiently conducted from the inside of your oven to the outside. I used a 1/2' copper pipe for my sleeve, but wish I'd used stainless steel. Google metal conductivity and you'll see that stainless is a much better option.

[Johnny the oven man]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

You should be OK, but if you decide to go that way, give me a call
on 0451470371 John

[mr g]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

I'm posting some updated photos. I've since used the oven for pizzas, breads and roasts and I am extremely happy with the performance of the oven. At the moment I have placed the thermometer on the temporary door but I will eventually place it on the side of the oven. Does anybody know whether I should use a copper sleave that the thermeter should sit in?

Cheers
Mr G

[mr g]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Another couple of curing fires under my belt now. I used a gas ring as was suggested and I got the oven to approx. 200 Celcius. The insulation works like a charm from what I can tell because the outside was still cold to the touch. It will be intersting to see how it performs at high heat.
I've actually already put on two coats of finishing reder but my camera had flat batteries so only pics of the vermiculite for now. More photos to come soon.

Regards
Mr G.

[jbriggs]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Right on. We have the same thoughts regarding the shape. Mine is almost identical in size/shape (on paper that is.. ), simply because I wanted the best of both worlds, meaning the higher sides, and a lower arch. I plan to use the 12" floor tiles as well, but the only thing I cannot decide on is the opening/arch. Part of me wants to cast the dome and sides, but brick the entry and fule section. Or, cast the entry as well but add a brick vaneer for looks.

Also not sure about the flue. I want to go with the 8" round stainless but man is it expensive compare to the readily available terracotta flue. I think casting would be cool since you can really customize how you want the flue transition to work in regards to funneling the exhaust gas/smoke.

I too was planning on using a large burner to better regulate the heat for curing, until I reach the point that I need to hold it at operating temp for 6 hrs, then crank up a few "hell raising" fires.

Oh yeah, The castable I will use is Harbison-Walker KS-4V, or possible another of their products called Mizzou. They are both around 140lb/ft^3, 2600-3000 degree, which very closely matches the properties of a medium-duty fire brick. I wil insulate with a 2" cal-sil board under the hearth, and a 4" 8# wool blanket. I know 2" of blanket will do it but they had a deal on some left over 4" so what the heck!!!

[mr g]

Re: Mr Gs Aussie Castable oven.

Yep, I've got a gas burner. I'll try that method - sounds safer.
Should I see any steam or condensation on the outside of the dome?
Thanks.