Texman Build

[texman]

Re: Texman Build

thanks Lee
Glad to hear from you, been a while. The cracks are part of the process, only way to look at it. It seems to draw well, i didnt notice any smoke out front. I am getting close to wrapping this up feels like and then more tasks appear and more things seem to pull me away from finishing. going to work on enclosure i (we) have decided. Steel and concrete board and stucco, i think.
Tracy

[Lburou]

Re: Texman Build

If you have an oven....You will have cracks. Sorry to see those cracks appear on your oven, but you have the right philosophy about it. It is going to work just fine. Congratulations on that giant step....Now, you can cover all that precise work so noone can see it

[texman]

Re: Texman Build

1st curing fire and 1st cracks. But it is still standing got the oven up to around 200 deg i guess. i dont have the infrared tool. i got the chimney installed, all 9 ' and cap. the triple wall was barely warm to touch. i triple layered the rope around heat break and then used kaowool to cover the rope on inside and out. i used the stainless rod on the floor break on top of rope. it wasnt even warm on first fire. the cracks are from about 1 oclock on the inner arch going up and at the opposite in back. i have read enough threads to expect it but still hoped it wouldnt have any. oh well, it didnt crumble. i built a metal stud chase around the chimney for support and appearance. i will finish that with concrete board and siding to match the other chimney.
tracy

[texman]

Re: Texman Build

Very nice work Russell and thanks for sharing that. I am out of firebrick, but i have 3.5 of the 12 x 12 floor tiles that i can use. I have to REMEMBER to drill holes before i put the final brick on for the chimney because of my very limited clearance to the ceiling!

Did you use expanding anchors like these? Mechanical | Anchoring Solutions | ITW Red Head I am afraid to use these on my tiles because the tile are higher duty brick and would tend to be more brittle. Probably use screws and a little refrac mortar in the holes since the mortar gets stronger with heat. I have the kaowool to use as a sealing gasket also. These screws are really just holding the plate i think, shouldn't really be any other stress that i can see for mine. Hope to be burning by saturday! Been reading the curing threads to get acquainted with that. I set my last brick 45 days ago on the oven. It is so dry here that i cant imagine moisture is left, but will follow the regiment anyway.

DVM
Thanks for the input. I like that approach that you did and glad to hear the screws worked. Need to cut a few bricks if i remember how.
Tracy

[Tscarborough]

Re: Texman Build

Excellent! By doing it in that way, you have pretty much zero pull out forces, all stress is shear which is not an issue no matter how you build the rest of the stack. Very nice.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Texman Build

Tracy,

Here's my chimney cap. Just finished the cutting tonight. Drilled in Red Heads, slow and easy, no issues.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Texman Build

Tapcon=good, expanding bolt=bad, usually.

You could use an expanding type bolt if you have enough material around it. If you use them in a low-pullout application (Tex's), hand tight plus 1/4 turn is good enough. If you use them in an application where there will be more than nominal pullout stress, then you need to make sure you have correctly sized the bolt, drilled the hole to proper depth, and exceed minimum embedment distances to edges (Hard to do for this type application).

[dvm]

Re: Texman Build

My 2 cents. I put down a tube of Kaowool and then placed a 1/4 inch by 2 1/2 inch stainless tapcon in each corner. Drilled the holes with a Bosch hammer drill and got VERY strong bites from screws. the It has been up there there for two weeks and brought to full temp three times, No cracks, no smoke and no wiggling .... so far.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Texman Build

Mine is not a neat as Tu, I just cut enought to clear the bolt head and plate and not nearly as straight since it will not be seen and filled with mortar. At least mine will be. My bricks are 3" thick and foot print is larger so I wanted as much left on as possible for the the anchor support.

[texman]

Re: Texman Build

So you cut the bricks to set on top of the flange of the metal chimney base? How do you cut the inside corners ?
Tracy
well, i see it now after looking at the picture again. That seem like a lot of work. The pic is from Tu (i think) Did you do yours like the pic?
Dont the redheads expand when tightened? I am afraid that would just crack the brick.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Texman Build

Hey Tracy,

I am doing the same as you, getting ready to mount my anchor plate to my brick chimney. Started to hammer drill the holes for Tapcons but my brick is too hard for my home hammer drill so borrowing the Bosch from work for more horsepower. But now leaning towards, Redhead concrete anchors, probaby 1/4" dia x 2". Since my brick was so hard did not have confidence Tapcons will bite into brick. My stack in only 30" above brick and I did like Tu and cut out the circle cuts that go over the concrete bolts. Been halogen light curing this week will be moving to charcoal soon. Good luck too.

[texman]

Re: Texman Build

aNeed advice on a few areas that i hope to tackle this weekend:
1. What is the best method to mount the metal chimney base to the brick? I have a 7" triple wall flu that has holes at each corner. I saw Tu did some really custom brick cuts to mount on top and secure the base. If i do a layer of brick, it has to be flush with the course below since i already have the old steam engine stack for my chimney. DJ did mortar i think. I remember mention of using screws that just popped out from heat and/or brick crumbled. I will have a TALL flue around 9' (if i use all the pipe) so i will need to secure the pipe well because of lots of West Texas Wind. Probably will have to build a chase around the pipe for appearance and stability. I finally have all my chimney parts (3 x 3' stainless triple wall, spark arrestor, roof flashing, storm collar, and base.) Hope to burn something this weekend.
2. If i do get to burn something, i think i will use the "heat beads" (is that just plain ole charcoal?) to start curing. I have my 3" of blanket as well and trying to decide the age old cure with or without insulation.
3. Gonna seal that concrete bar as well. That should be easy, i think.
I think i can see the light.

[texman]

Re: Texman Build

Thanks for the great conversation. I see what you mean about the stainless and mortar would be better. I saw so many of the stainless heat breaks on the floor that I think i just took that and ran all the way around the arch with it.
I have the right stuff, 3/8" square rope Ceramic Fiber Rope, Twisted, Round and Squre Braid and the Kaowool. The floor break is easy with rope and mortar and a nice touch of ash. The arch is the challenge to me. Would you leave the rope exposed or the Kaowool? Or encase the rope on both sides with KAwool. ( i bought two tubes and have 20' of rope) I think i can cram the rope up in the break and it wouldn't be seen. Neither of the two products are food safe, but wont contact the food anyway.

Anybody need 6' of 3/8" stainless? and some a ceiling support for a 7" chimney?
I got some 3/8" rebar and 8 bags of 5000 psi concrete too. Maybe i should build another oven?

Tracy

[flyfisherx]

Re: Texman Build

3) But I think the purpose of the heat break is really to maximize heat retention in the dome on day 2 or 3. Theory is that after firing, the flue vent is an open, uninsulated structure that when attached to your oven, is basically a giant heat sink pulling heat out of the dome. So the idea is that if you can reduce this heat transfer, the oven will not cool as quickly and you'll have higher cooking temperatures on day two or three. Makes sense to me. Insulation is about heat retention too - not firing temps. So why put on 3 or 4 inches of expensive insulation and leave the front of the oven to leach heat? And since Tracy already has a break, makes sense to me to maximize the benefit.

Makes perfect sense. This is one of these Doaaaah moments! It has nothing to do with an active fire but retaining heat once the door is in place.

Gotcha! Good luck with a solution Tracy. Nice Idea

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Texman Build

Well said, Dennis. I would like to add that with or without a heat break, I believe there is a benefit to adding an outer door to an oven with the idea of keeping the entryway as insulated as possible and away from heat-robbing wind. This would work even better if the flue is enclosed and insulated.