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Well, I think that I have read almost every post about this topic on this site and I must say I am very impressed with all of your ideas and insight. I can only hope that mine comes out half as good as some of the pieces I have seen on this forum. I have purchased from Forno Bravo and I have benefited by their recipe section, most of all I have spent hours combing through posts in the past when I did my stationary oven in my yard. Just by taking ideas from all of you it was a great success, my family and I have enjoyed hundreds of pizza's for several years now and countless parties. Now I have that itch again this time to build something to take my show on the road if you will. The challenge is going to be much tougher this time and I really need anyone and everyone's idea's and thought's if you have time. I know this topic has been gone over tons of times I tried to read them all but just in case I missed something, I figure my own post gives somebody a chance to correct a problem I may have with what I am doing or maybe debate something.
I am going to begin with a 4x8 or 5x10 trailer with a 3500lb. single torsion axle. I would really like to use single axle due to budget concerns and I am leaning towards the 4x8 to try and keep things compact. I would love (in a perfect world) to keep the oven so I work off the rear of the trailer. However I know from my trade this would be very difficult to tow this way and to unhook the trailer and not have it wheelie. That is of course without adding weight to the front to balance the load. Therefore ruining my dream of keeping it a single axle trailer. If there are any ideas of how I can keep it to the rear I am open to suggestions but off the side is probably looking like my best option I think right?
Next, would be my stand and support for the hearth and oven to be built on it. my feeling is that 2 inch square tubing 1/4" wall should be plenty for the frame, I will make clips out of 2x2 angle to anchor to the trailer. I was thinking of making a big box out of it, then running pieces across the top 16 inches on center from one side to the other. I will put uprights in place to help support frame and gusset the rest as necessary for strength. One thing I can't make my mind up on is should I use a pan with holes in it for moisture on top of it to hold my insulating layer and hearth in place? Or should I just put rails on the side and us Ceramic FB then firebrick? Will the FB be strong enough to hold the oven and all up? should I put a piece of 3/16"plate on top of my frame first? Or do I put the pan with some drainage and pour and insulating layer then Ceramic FB? Will that be too heavy? There are so many good ideas posted already, I would just like to hear if one of you had a chance to do it different would you?
As far as my hearth goes, I used firebrick on my home oven and love it, I have read on here that some use soapstone or some pour in place. I have also read that the large slabs crack even if they are not going down the road. In my line of construction we put rebar in our pours to help with this, in this application I realize what a no no that is. Again I am looking to all of you for your knowledge and experience, I am leaning to staying with Firebrick.
I am going to form and pour my own dome using a form based on "Joey's" build using Empire Refractories KS-4plus. I have looked into other recommendations made and either the companies are no longer around or the shipping is more than the product. I intend to use Stainless needles in the mix to strengthen my pour. I was hoping to cast in an eyebolt or two to assist in lifting and setting the dome, what do you think? I would also love to cast something into the sides to help with mounting it somehow to the hearth, but I know that is a no no as well right? Although if I am anchoring from the dome to my firebrick does that really draw heat from the dome? What will I really be losing? Isn't strapping over it the same thing? I don't understand this at all and please help if you can.
After I can get through all of that, I will parge the outside, I was thinking of wrapping it in some ceramic fiber blanket also. Would you wrap it then parge over that? I have read my ratio for parge should be 5:1, is that just portland cement and vermiculite? When I did my home oven it all came in a kit, I did not make my own.
I then plan to frame the outside of the whole trailer and sheet metal the whole thing, around the oven i will build a little enclosure inside and put perilite, and or vermiculite loosely all around it for added insulation. I don't want the dome exposed just the opening and the flue pipe will show. I would also like to put a sleeve around the flue as well so in the future maybe air brush something on it. Any thoughts on that? My home oven has stone around it I slide a bigger clay flue over the top of the actual flue, which gave me about 2 inches all the way around the functional flue. This allowed me to stone the outside without the heat directly on the stone. Therefore I really can't tell how hot the flue actually would get, nor if that two inches will be far enough away for steel with paint on it?
Thank you all for reading my post and any and all of your help would be greatly appreciated! I will post pics as I go...
Thanks, Paul
I am going to begin with a 4x8 or 5x10 trailer with a 3500lb. single torsion axle. I would really like to use single axle due to budget concerns and I am leaning towards the 4x8 to try and keep things compact. I would love (in a perfect world) to keep the oven so I work off the rear of the trailer. However I know from my trade this would be very difficult to tow this way and to unhook the trailer and not have it wheelie. That is of course without adding weight to the front to balance the load. Therefore ruining my dream of keeping it a single axle trailer. If there are any ideas of how I can keep it to the rear I am open to suggestions but off the side is probably looking like my best option I think right?
Next, would be my stand and support for the hearth and oven to be built on it. my feeling is that 2 inch square tubing 1/4" wall should be plenty for the frame, I will make clips out of 2x2 angle to anchor to the trailer. I was thinking of making a big box out of it, then running pieces across the top 16 inches on center from one side to the other. I will put uprights in place to help support frame and gusset the rest as necessary for strength. One thing I can't make my mind up on is should I use a pan with holes in it for moisture on top of it to hold my insulating layer and hearth in place? Or should I just put rails on the side and us Ceramic FB then firebrick? Will the FB be strong enough to hold the oven and all up? should I put a piece of 3/16"plate on top of my frame first? Or do I put the pan with some drainage and pour and insulating layer then Ceramic FB? Will that be too heavy? There are so many good ideas posted already, I would just like to hear if one of you had a chance to do it different would you?
As far as my hearth goes, I used firebrick on my home oven and love it, I have read on here that some use soapstone or some pour in place. I have also read that the large slabs crack even if they are not going down the road. In my line of construction we put rebar in our pours to help with this, in this application I realize what a no no that is. Again I am looking to all of you for your knowledge and experience, I am leaning to staying with Firebrick.
I am going to form and pour my own dome using a form based on "Joey's" build using Empire Refractories KS-4plus. I have looked into other recommendations made and either the companies are no longer around or the shipping is more than the product. I intend to use Stainless needles in the mix to strengthen my pour. I was hoping to cast in an eyebolt or two to assist in lifting and setting the dome, what do you think? I would also love to cast something into the sides to help with mounting it somehow to the hearth, but I know that is a no no as well right? Although if I am anchoring from the dome to my firebrick does that really draw heat from the dome? What will I really be losing? Isn't strapping over it the same thing? I don't understand this at all and please help if you can.
After I can get through all of that, I will parge the outside, I was thinking of wrapping it in some ceramic fiber blanket also. Would you wrap it then parge over that? I have read my ratio for parge should be 5:1, is that just portland cement and vermiculite? When I did my home oven it all came in a kit, I did not make my own.
I then plan to frame the outside of the whole trailer and sheet metal the whole thing, around the oven i will build a little enclosure inside and put perilite, and or vermiculite loosely all around it for added insulation. I don't want the dome exposed just the opening and the flue pipe will show. I would also like to put a sleeve around the flue as well so in the future maybe air brush something on it. Any thoughts on that? My home oven has stone around it I slide a bigger clay flue over the top of the actual flue, which gave me about 2 inches all the way around the functional flue. This allowed me to stone the outside without the heat directly on the stone. Therefore I really can't tell how hot the flue actually would get, nor if that two inches will be far enough away for steel with paint on it?
Thank you all for reading my post and any and all of your help would be greatly appreciated! I will post pics as I go...
Thanks, Paul