Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

[sabre]

Hi all ,I have been thinking of building a stainless steel tunnel type oven for a while but after reading on here about the disadvantages compared to a dome I have decided to try and get enough info to build a geodesic pizza oven .I have more than enough 6mm 316 s/steel for the inside and outside of about a 40' oven not sure if it could be used on the floor .Any advice would be appreciated thanks SABRE

[MK1]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

Where is the heat retained?

[sabre]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

I was thinking of 75mm of basal dust and aluminium powder around the inner shell or castable then some type of blanket then the outer shell.

[sabre]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

I was thinking of 75mm of refractory cement covered with a blanket then the s/s outer shell

[lwood]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

Just because you have a bunch of stainless steel laying around doesn't mean it would be a good matl to use for an oven. Steel and cement are very dissimilar matls and would expand and contract at wildly different rates, and would lead to severe cracking. Thermal conductivity of stainless is got to be 10x that of cement so, there is no insulating capacity in SS. As a matter of fact, if used as an outer shell, it would pull heat out of the oven IMHO, I think stainless is a poor choice of materials for this application.

[Frances]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

You've seen this thread already, right?

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f43/...oven-3717.html

So it can be done, although it hasn't been tried on a geodesic oven (yet...). I'm guessing it'll be more difficult though, and I'd keep the steel on the inside (heat retaining) part of the oven.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

Actually, SS(316) and concrete are almost exactly the same as far as the coefficient of thermal expansion goes.

One of the great coincidences that make modern construction possible is the similarity of expansion and contraction of steel and concrete.

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

What interests (worries?) me, is not the thermal conductivity or coefficient of expansion of stainless sheet. It's the relatively little thermal mass compared with thousands of pounds of firebrick. I foresee a stainless oven being a very labile girl, difficult to maintain an even temperature therein, and needing constant fuel to maintain cooking temp. The insulation you describe sounds good, but with a thin sheet of stainless, you are essentially insulating the heated gas in your dome, and not the brick mass.

[sabre]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

I thought the refactory behind the stainless would act as the thermal mass ??

[Eric Pfeifer]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

I thought the refactory behind the stainless would act as the thermal mass ??

Sorry, I may have missed that. I was envisioning insulation directly on the SS sheet. With abundant refractory, this might be the first "crack-proof" oven.

[sabre]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

I think a geodesic polished up would look great but a tunnel type oven would be much easier less cutting and pressing .I intent to cook pizza and the odd roast.

[dmun]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

I was envisioning insulation directly on the SS sheet.

You have an insulated steel oven in your kitchen. Many of us have built brick ovens from being unhappy with the results of same.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

The problem with the kitchen oven is maximum temperature. If I could get my in house oven to 750 degrees, I would not have built a WFO.

[Les]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

If I could get my in house oven to 750 degrees, I would not have built a WFO.

You just need to switch to propane and increase the orifice size. Unless you are electric, then go to 480volt / 3 phase. The power in this video should get it up to temp with no problem.

480 volt 3-phase Arc Flash Demonstration



Les...

[Tscarborough]

Re: Build a geodesic oven out of stainless steel

The unspoken caveat was that I do not want to burn my house down or die from electrocution.