I'm getting closer to my Dome!

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

Here is a chart of my oven dome temps over a couple of weeks. All I can say is my oven is not perfect (huge crack upon curing) but it cooks fantastically! Pizza's are Great and we have been doing many meals and bread and pies and OMG I have gained 10 pounds! I hope more people post receipes and pics in the other area's. I do not have a lot of culinary imagination, but my mind can be a xerox machine and copy anything.

[SCChris]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

From about 630 on down to 250 or so the heat loss looks pretty constant. Without more granularity it looks like you're loosing 400F in 3 days of cooking. About 5.5 degrees per hour.. Well done!

Chris

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

Merry christmas to all!

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

It has been awhile for construction photos and updates from me. I FULLY understand how a builders time gets consumed once the oven is usable. At the current rate, I'll be done with the oven right before 2020! I will have also gained 100 lbs. and consumed more pizza, bread, ribs and calzones than I have my 59 years prior to the oven! There is no building until the weather warms in the spring of 2012, but I will catch up with almost all of the construction until now. I will leave out one item that my wife gave me for Xmas of 2010 for the oven. ok now to find those other pics under the rubble of pizza stuff! lol

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

Now to catch up on the build that was interrupted by a dome cracking and pizza making! An update on the crack, it hasn't been an issue at all so far. The repair is holding up quite well and the insulation is doing its job. I do sleep better at night know I did not use any combustible materials on the build except for the fascia boards on the roof. All steel, cement board, brick, and mortar.... So even if the crack does "leak" nothing will burn.
Back to finishing the build-
With getting the crack I also got to think about supporting the vent and arches which have a considerable amount of weight on them with the chimney I built. So I used some unistrut and angle iron, combined with using foamglas for a thermal break this is what I came up with to buttress the vent/landing area...

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

I also used foamglas as a thermal break for the chimney block, there is good and bad to doing this... Good - Once oven is up to temp and coals are raked out for bread making, the thermal wicking effect of the chimney blocks is taken away.
Bad - while heating/burning wood fire to bring temps up, draft could suffer and there is also the possibility the foamglas could fail under the load of the chimney. I took that chance and so far it has been worth it! My heat loss has been minimized and the chimney drafts without a problem at all. In fact I have had many fires on all kinds of windy days, calm days and no soot on the front of the outer arch! Thanks to prior builds of Dino, Bandos, Pizza Bob and others that did a fantastic job on the venting area.
The one pic is my testing the compression load stregth of foamglas, I used brick paver stacked over six feet high and left them there for several weeks with levels on them and measuring the height gave me the confidence it will hold the chimney. Of course I could have just referred to the specs on the product, but I am a bit of a doubting Thomas myself. I Highly reccomend the funnel flue at the base with the wide opening, it has been fantastic!

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

From this point I stacked cement block around the flue and extended the flue another three sections total. I used 8" square flue which from some of the other threads about smoke swirling in a circle going up a flue a round flue may have been better. Although the square flue allowed me to make that funnel very nicely and I have absolutly no problems with drafts and soot coming out of the front of the oven. Here are a couple of pics of the cement block and the above roof flue. The remainder of the flue will be covered with brick. I am also working on the french arch above the wood storage area.

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

From this point I stacked cement block around the flue and extended the flue another three sections total. I used 8" square flue which from some of the other threads about smoke swirling in a circle going up a flue a round flue may have been better. Although the square flue allowed me to make that funnel very nicely and I have absolutly no problems with drafts and soot coming out of the front of the oven. Here are a couple of pics of the cement block and the above roof flue. The remainder of the flue will be covered with brick. I am also working on the french arch above the wood storage area.

[brickie in oz]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

Whats a French arch?

Is it all surly and arrogant?

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

Whats a French arch?

Is it all surly and arrogant?

Hi Al,
It is the straight arch across the top of the storage area under the hearth.
It is the charcoal pavers that form this shape \\\\\\\///////
It actually stands on it own but I used a lintel under it anyway. (don't trust my mortar skills or the arch)

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

We had another pause in construction, Crab filled stuffed mushrooms and Pizza! With food and recipes this good, I'll never get this completed!
And fresh Bread today to top it all off!
Thanks to all for the recipes and help with cooking/baking.
John

[brickie in oz]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

I love the third pic with that pile of glowing coals......

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

I love the third pic with that pile of glowing coals......

Thanks Al,
You are one of the reasons my finish is taking so long! Your food pics make me Sooooooooooooooooooo Hungry, My wife says I drool like our black lab!
John

[brickie in oz]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

Thanks Al,
You are one of the reasons my finish is taking so long! Your food pics make me Sooooooooooooooooooo Hungry, My wife says I drool like our black lab!
John

Just get on with it then...... and finish it off.

[Aegis]

Re: I'm getting closer to my Dome!

Just get on with it then...... and finish it off.

I am waiting for the weather to warm above freezing here to finish veneering the cement board! Thats my story and I'm sticking to it!