Experimental homebrew cast - thin walls and "zero-depth" flue gallery

[wolfmoonex]

Hey Ronstarch, I love this whole thing from start to finish, I am also experimenting with some free/cheap materials and have a similar end goal in mind !

I could add some little wind guards on the sides maybe, made of castable or cut firebrick.

You may not need to, I am really interested to see what you can get away with on this baby,. nuke a pie in there and let us know.

Have you also figured measuring heat retention in this? Would love to know how long this holds heat, if you make an insulated door, my prediction is 8 hours after your Neapolitan bake is over

I had read (on the FB website) that this center-vent design could be even MORE efficient than a standard chimney at the front.

Dunno about that, after reading many newer forum discussions I am of the impression this may only apply to a much bigger thicker professional oven in Naples, since that is what the 3rd generation oven builders insist on. BUT, many of the veteran builder here say this design for a smaller oven really just lets more heat out of the oven quick rather than retain it. Your experiment proves this as well. I like this design more for cosmetic/compactness reasons as I am a big fan of a zero/shallow gallery


Here is something I was thinking.

It maybe too late now, but are you up for this experiment?

Insert a rigidized piece of ceramic blanket in this hollow and set the firebrick on top?
Would love to see if it is worth it to see that the firebrick retains more heat that way or if the weight of the bricks would squash the rigidized blanket. Are you using sodium silicate to rigidize or is it a commercial product with silica fume?

[Ronstarch]

Hey all, it’s been fun reading some of the recent cast builds on the forum. Here’s a report on this oven after a season of use.

The oven works quite well. Have not had any issues with the lack of flue gallery. Heat up time is 1 hr. I’ve made up to 16 pizzas in one night with only having to shift the coals once, so I’m getting decent heat retention in the floor and the dome. It’s very easy to maneuver pizzas in the oven with no flue gallery. I enjoy the compact size, I was actually able to move the entire oven to a different part of the yard with the help of one friend.

For the next build, I think I’ll add about 3-4” of flue gallery for improved heat retention and wind resistance. I will keep the center vent as I like the shape and the compactness. I’ll try to make the lines more precise, as this one was very much an experiment. I was not focused on looks.

I have not fully finished the outside of the oven, but I did put a layer of stucco on the outside just to enclose the fiber blanket. Couple of photos attached.

Next build coming soon!