28" homebrew cast oven in walled enclosure Belgium

[AJH]

I also wanted to get more insight in my fuel consumption, so I weighed all my firewood before and after use on 2 occasions: I use 10kg of oak for 12 pizzas, and 9kg for 10 pizzas.
This includes starting the fire and getting the oven up to temp obviously.

I can see myself doing this after I get my oven built =) At least enough to get a sense of how much wood it takes to heat up and keep making pizza's for a few hours...

[david s]

I have a couple of finger sized sticks preheating on either side of the entry so when thrown in behind the flame deflector they burst into flame almost immediately. This makes it easy to keep the fire going continuously.

[Kris S]

Dear David, i used the pictures of your heat deflector at the top of this page as inspiration to make mine.
The SS is at least 1mm thick.

[david s]

I also use one of these, it is particularly useful for small ovens and maximises oven floor space and reduces burning the pizza edge that’s too close to the fire. For years I used a prototype made from 0.5mm stainless, but it did warp badly from the heat, so I had a bunch laser cut using 0.9mm stainless with holes in the front face to allow some heat through.

[Kris S]

The heat deflector works like a charm no more fire rolling onto pizzas, and less quick burning of the crust as well !



I also wanted to get more insight in my fuel consumption, so I weighed all my firewood before and after use on 2 occasions: I use 10kg of oak for 12 pizzas, and 9kg for 10 pizzas.
This includes starting the fire and getting the oven up to temp obviously.

I have no idea if that's much or little. anyone else ever try to do this?

[Kris S]

It’s more a case of just wanting to try and see if it makes a big difference. I’m not having any draw issues either, (no smoke ever escapes through the oven mouth, except for 5 minutes when igniting the fire) but I think it may help prevent small logs rolling off the fire and into my pizza!

I might make a smaller version, as my internal diameter is only 28” – 70 cm.

Rebar should do, okay – Thanks!

[JRPizza]

It should hold up OK. I made a fireplace grate out of rebar that has survived several seasons. I was going to build a log holder like you are showing, but the Pompeii designed ovens draw so well (at least mine does) that I can't justify the space it would take up when I was not firing the oven.

[Kris S]

I also want to try my hand at making an andiron like this.

Can I Just bend a few pieces of rebar and weld them together? Would that hold up for a couple of years?

[david s]

Yep, that's the kind of design I have in mind.
Gonna take a bit of time to drill ~30 holes.

My first one had no holes as it was a prototype, but as I was getting them laser cut I decided to add the holes to allow some heat through and some air in. It’s the same principle as a kiln bag wall to protect wares from direct flame impingement.

[Kris S]

Yep, that's the kind of design I have in mind.
Gonna take a bit of time to drill ~30 holes.

[david s]

This is my solution. 95 x 95 x 295 x 0.90 mm

[Kris S]

Thanks Giovanni and David; stainless steel it will be then, I've got some lying around anyway!

[david s]

I’ve been using one for years. I first made one from 0.5mm stainless. It did warp badly from the heat, but still worked ok. I’ve now redesigned it in 0.9mm and with some holes through the vertical side to allow air and some heat to pass through, but it allows the cook to clear the floor right up against it which maximises floor area.

[Giovanni Rossi]

I am planning to use stainless steel. I believe it will hold up better. I would also have concerns about subjecting aluminum to the prolonged high temps as far as food safety. We used to cook stuff wrapped in Al foil in the campfire all the time. From my reading over the years it probably isn't the best idea. Maybe others here have a better grasp of the science and can recommend a certain type of Al if you want to go that way.

[Kris S]

Quick question: I want to make some sort of heat deflector to put next to the fire to keep the food facing the fire from burning.

Can I use aluminum for this? Can it withstand the temperatures next to a hot fire? Is it a sane choice food-safety wise?