Propane Dome

[Nickp9000]

I have my hands in a 500 gallon propane tank. I am thinking I can turn it into an oven. I am thinking a firebrick base, the 37” dome oven. Once that is set I will put 4” of ceramic fire blanket, then chicken wire, and then finally cover it with a top coat of perlite.


thoughts? 4” gap will that be enough for the steel for expansion?

[UtahBeehiver]

We have seen a few ovens made with the domes made from steel but have not received a lot of feedback from those builders on how successful they were. Steel has a really high K value (transmission of heat) with low ability to store the heat so for extended cooking, ie multi-day, it will be an issue. With the 4" and ceramic blanket and pcrete, the insulation design is very good, just not heat storers. If you are just looking at cooking pizza for a party and calling it good, it may be okay. Sorry there is not a better answer, not many steel ovens on the blog.

[Nickp9000]

Thanks, I am looking to put this in a mobile truck. To me the only way to give it a shot is to just do it.

[Nickp9000]

Like you said Utah, not a lot of ovens like this on the forums

[david s]

PM Wiley, he’s the steel dome guru.

[Nickp9000]

Thanks David!

[BillB]

Hello. I built an oven out of an old propane tank about ten years ago. I actually built two ovens out of the same tank. The first build was an epic failure. The first attempt had concrete under the firebrick on the floor and nothing over the tank on top. I imagined it would get hot enough in there for the heat to deflect. It didn't. Heat went straight through the top and got sucked down into the concrete base from the firebrick.

On the second attempt and a lot more research, I made a very successful oven. I put 4 inches of refractory cement over the steel in a honeycomb kind of pattern, then I think 4inches of the ceramic insulating blanket and then stucco over the top. For the base on the concrete I used ceramic insulating board and then the firebrick. In the end it heated up very well and retained heat for 24hrs. I could do a pizza in about 90 seconds. Then I moved and left it.

I'm not so sure I would say using the propane tank helped out a lot. Gave it the structure but not much else.Hope that helps at least a little.

[UtahBeehiver]

Thanks for sharing. This is a lesson for any type of oven builders that the oven floors need to insulated from a concrete hearth (heat sink), that steel alone does not have good heat retention (hence the addition of 4" of refractory gave the oven thermal mass and storage) and dome insulation is key having a functional oven. The second oven is almost a cast oven with a sand mould except the mould is not removable.

[BillB]

Here is the only picture I could find of the oven.

[buckeyebreadman]

[buckeyebreadman]

My Propane Dome Oven. Wiley was indeed the inspiration, motivation and constant question answerer. Took 6 yrs. and 6K but it's my Baby!