Pompeii oven kit question

[david17]

I was looking at the Pompeii 110 oven kit on the web site and I have a question. The cost of the kit seems to be more than the sum of the parts.

The kit costs $1,2000.00 and this is how I break down the parts.

1) Three pieces of FB at $70.00 is $210.00
2) Three FB blankets at $75.00 each is $225.00
3) Four bags of mortar at $50.00 each is $200.00 (It's really a little over three bags, but they could give you four bags to make the 165 pounds).
4) 200 fire bricks at $1.40 is $280.00 (I can't get the 12 by 12, so I added a bunch more of the smaller bricks).

All this adds up to $915.00.

The cost of the kit is $1200.00.

I only ask because the people at Forno Bravo seem to be great people. They give away the plans for free (at least $100.00 elsewhere). The cost for blanket and FB are either competitive or better than anywhere else, they support the cost of running this web site and when you call them, it is not possible for them to any friendlier of helpful. They are awesome and I am going to purchase everything that I need from them because they are competitive and I believe in them.

The only thing that I can think of is their firebricks are of a better quality and therefore more expensive and that you are paying for the convenience of a kit.

Any input would be appreciated; especially from anyone who has purchased the kit.

I just laid my hearth (OMG, 25 bags of concrete, into the truck, out of the truck, to the staging area, into the mixer and then across the patio and into the frame). All the while, my helper is yelling that I have to move faster because the mix is starting to firm up in the frame.

Altogether, this has been one of the most fun projects that I have ever done, and I am looking forward to starting the dome this weekend. THANK YOU everyone for contributing to this forum and giving me so many experts to draw from. I may make some of the mistakes that you did, but no one can tell me that I was not warned?.

[eprante]

Re: Pompeii oven kit question

Dave,
The cost of the Kit is more than the sum of the parts. The convenience of having everything delivered on a pallet to your house may or may not be worth the $300.00. I chose to source the parts that I could find locally and purchased the insulating blanket and thermometer from FB. Using the home brew mortar is a big savings and there doesn't seem to be a downside. Some people seem to obsess over changing the ratios, but it seems that the standard formula works well, and there are a lot of ovens made with the homebrew mortar. You can make all the mortar you need for less than the price of one bag of refractory mortar no matter where you buy it. Most people use more than 200 fire bricks, so you will be buying more of those most likely.

the FB ceramic blanket rocks, 3 layers and my dome is never more than 10 degrees above ambient temp, even when its over 1000 degrees F at the top of the dome.
Good luck and enjoy the process,

Eric

[dmun]

Re: Pompeii oven kit question

I can't get the 12 by 12, so I added a bunch more of the smaller bricks

This may be the variable. Refractory tiles are an expensive option, compared to mass market fire bricks.

[rlodad]

Re: Pompeii oven kit question

Clearly for me, living in south Florida, the kit was not an option. The shipping was twice the price of the kit. If I were closer though, it DEFINITELY would have been worth it. The Firebrick tiles are a nice addition, and I can't find them anywhere else. The time cost in going back and forth to the different companies for materials EASILY made up the difference. I have a relatively high hourly fee, but if I were say, an hourly worker at minimum wage, the time cost still would have probably made the difference. I bitch about it all thorough my build:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/4...oca-16053.html

Getting all the materials at once, without shopping more than one time? Priceless.

[james]

Re: Pompeii oven kit question

Hi guys,

Dmun called it. The floor tiles are 18x18 and they are much more expensive than standard firebricks. In fact, they are even more expensive (by the sq. ft.) than 12x12 floor tiles.

In general, we would recommend that someone who is committed to building a Pompeii oven do a lot of shopping. You can buy the complete kit from us, you can buy just some pieces of it from us, or you can buy all of it locally. In fact, there have been a number of ovens built using a lot of recycled content -- and there was even one guy who documented how he scrounged everything for his oven. He had a lot of fun (and time to put into it).

For FB, the Pompeii oven kits are a way of making shopping more convenient for some builders, but as you could guess, our primary business is selling our own oven and fireplace kits.

I hope everyone is enjoying summer cooking!

James