Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

[v12spirit]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

Some update..
Finished curing. Could eventually clear the dome and cook a 3 minute pizza due to lack of insulation at that stage, unfortunately consumed before I could even take a picture...
All out of main decoration leftovers, I managed to reinstall the tiles on the base. I added a shelf of basalt stone right under the mouth of the oven for holding gloves, barbecue sauce, a tea kettle, or a glass of cold drink. I found that shelf crucial for convenient oven use. In that shelf on the right side is the ash tube that I clad with woody-like tiles. This tube connects to the ash hole at the right side of the oven mouth and drains the ash down the slab to a metal bucket. I found it convenient for me in order not to use the shovel when cooking. I can shift the coals to the left by the metal peel, and clean the remaining ash with a brush (not the one in the photo for sure) away out right to the hole. I will be posting more photos but I'm having Internet problems recently.

[v12spirit]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

Here are some beauty shoots of my perfect dome . Just a couple of cracks that I was told to live with them..
Some awesome food was coming out while I was curing. Roast potato, tomato pies, and dates cookies.. Besides is my primitive version of Tuscan grill.
I will add the photos as soon as possible..

[cobblerdave]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

G'day V12
Congratulations on your first cooks!
As for the first pizza picture..... Well I'm under the impression that most of the pics we see are Not The First. But rather the others that come after. We always eat the evidence. And that's just the way it is....
As for the rest of the oven cooked "goodies" .....
Well done...!!!!!
Regards Dave

[Greenman]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

Looks good V12. It is a real pleasure to eat the food from the forno after all of the work that goes before that stage.

I really enjoyed the square pizza, the slightly charred bottoms and the first round one that was well cooked top and bottom. Learning to use the oven to best effect is the progression from the build.

It just gets better as it goes along. Enjoy. Your cooking looks good and the cookies look great.

[v12spirit]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

Thanks mates. Couldn't reach to this point without all of you following my build and advising me.
Dave, I wanted to try the Tuscan grill that you once suggested for cooking on coals. I was on a hurry and could't manage to find or fabricate one, so I made this to show my wife that the oven can be used as a grill. It is not neat but it worked! and the chicken was great that I again couldn't take a good picture before it was all gone to my family dishes.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

G'day V12
Yep that looks like a Tuscan grill to me. Not my idea I'll make it known, Forno bravo makes and sells them.
They do cook well, a lot like cooking on a weber BBQ with the lid down the heat gets reflected on the food. A lot of advantages over the closed BBQ as you can see what's going on and I recon the food tastes better over wood coals than charcoal.
Glad your enjoying your oven for what it is a wood fired oven and not just a pizza cooker
Regards dave

[Greenman]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

Whatever works is good. Looks different to what I call my Tuscan Grill but I am sure that works and the chicken looks good.

[v12spirit]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

Luckily I haven’t fixed the insulation in place yet (just in case). Today I realized something scary; some sidewall refractory blocks are a bit shaky! I think this should not happen as the blocks are constrained by the steel rim that holds the entire blocks all around the hearth. I’m afraid the shaky ones are having hidden cracks under the steel rim. One of them even cracked over the rim and is still in place thanks only to gravity.
Shall I leave everything as it is and hope for the expansion to maintain a sufficient contact between the steel and refractory, and for both contraction and gravity to bring everything back to place? Or should I do something like reinforcing the blocks by some means or something?
I drilled a 5 mm hole for a thermostat probe in one of the blocks. The refractory doesn’t feel to be that tough. The drill made the hole with almost no pressure applied. Is that normal?

[david s]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/43/b...tml#post172296

You were warned this was likely to happen. I think you will just have to live with it. The oven should still perform ok.

[v12spirit]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

Thanks david. Sorry I missed your post there. Now I feel less uncomfortable. But is it likely for the refractory to get tougher with more fires or is that its normal structure?

[david s]

Re: Brick oven reconstructed to a steel one

Fire bricks vary greatly in strength, some are extremely strong and dense, others extremely light and weak and plenty in between, but no refractory material is going to get stronger cycling through to the temperatures we use for ovens. Like I said, you'll just have to live with it. I'd be just insulating over it and forget it.

[wotavidone]

Hey V12
Are you still with us mate?
Regards,
Mick

[cobblerdave]

G'day Mick
Still read the forum, so I saw v12s "gear" avitar as a member signed in a few days ago. I thought he's still about..... that's great!
Regards dave

[wotavidone]

Good onya Dave.
Syria is in the news so much these days, and it's never good. Always wondering how he's going.
Regards Mick

[v12spirit]

Mick, Dave,


Hellow mates. Thank you for your care. I truly appreciate it. Have been off for a while making some adjustments to my oven regarding structural strength and smoke draw inhancement that I will hopefully post soon. But the painful thing that happened was that, for reasons completely unrelated to my build or any post on this thread or even any houshold matters, my wife and I were fool enough to get divorced.


I did love you x-wife. But 10+ times of bearing you making me angry for the Others doesn't mean I am a fan of those Others, it means I love you. Two times you let those others ruin our marriage then I fix it for you does't mean that I am pleased with that, it means I love you. Have been warning you so many times to put an end to all of that. Still, this is the third time you let them ruin our life. Shall I spend the rest of my life fixing your peoples spoils to our life? I am sad because my small heart that was let being damaged by those Others to your sake is now full of wonds and is no longer a safe place for you to stay in. It deserves being favored by you to Them after all its patience, doesn't it? Unfortunately it was not. I am now lonley, sad, and kinda uncomfortable being away from you, but I'm living peacefully away from those Others. I am fed up with the war running outdoors and never need a war Others run in my house. I just want peace. I eventually had to pay you as a price for peace, but you did pay me as a price for those Others. Unfair.


The big question is why? You were my woman of dreams and we loved each other. You were fantastic in so many ways. Why did you put that big price that I had to pay periodically for our marriage? Are those others more important than your home? They are not even as kind with you as you are with them. Who is worse than somebody spoiling the most holy relationship on earth; marriage? I can bear alot of hurts from you because I love you, but I cannot bear hurts from who is simply -not you. I did my best to make you live safely and comfortably, and our unfinished oven was just a part of that. Can't imagine the oven finished without you setting it off.


Thanks for every single thing you did for me not to mention your contributions to me on this forum including winning the contest last year, and I forgive you for every thing you did to me. Please forgive me for every thing hurt you that I do admit that I occasionally could't avoid. Wish you all the best, but it is now officially done and cannot be reversed.



Edit: Sorry mates for involving personal matters. But I have to tell that as my x-wife has been brought up many times on this thread for her patience that I still appreciate, and miss.