39" Stargate Pompeii

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

$17.70 Australian, delivered.

I guess that guy in Nottingham is pocketing the markup - or maybe he's a reincarnation of Robin Hood - robbing the naive to give to .. well himself. Anyway it's a lot less than I had prepared myself to pay for it so I'll not complain.

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

I've put a layer of ceramic blanket just one layer but doubled in many areas - after "papering" over the hairline cracks with some mortar mix. I guess they will just reappear under the insulation but I won't know and anyway they are very hairline and only in some of the mortar joints.
Next I will add a layer of vermicrete. Could someone recommend a best practise here. I'm thinking about 3" should be OK - but how to add it and how to maintain the shape?

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

Fired it every day for the last 8 days except Tuesday which was just too wet. The network of cracks has spread a bit - I had tracked them with a pencil. They are all what you would describe as hairline - slightly more noticeable as the oven heats. I don't think they are something to worry about. I increased the size of the fires each day but guesswork rather than accurate temperature measurement would describe the method. I found that measuring in the oven a bit hit or miss because of access during firing. I did mark a scale of increasing temperatures on the outside of the dome on Friday - the top of the dome reached about 90?C.
That was 122? C at the dome top day 7.

Even the hottest of the curing fires did not "clear" the dome. I did measure over 450?C inside but only a little "whitening" around the plug where the flames wre licking was visible.
Next I will put the ceramic blanket on and light a few more fires.

[banhxeo76]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

Copied in China...lol, that is soooo true!

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

A few more fires - not sure exactly what I am doing but trying to keep them reasonably small. I was congratulating myslf on no cracks until I inspected the dome a bit more carefully only to discover some hairline cracks some going around between courses at the upper level and then folling the mortar joints down like this one. So far no bricks cracked. I don't see how I could have seen these if I had wiated until the insulation etc was on. I don't see any point in doing anything about them or is there? I would think the dome will expand and now it has the flexibility to do it. Any thoughts?
Lit another fire today. No trouble lighting it anyway and most of the smoke is taking the nearest exit. The top couple of "chimney" bricks are just dry stacked till I decide what to do with it.
Oh yeah the IR thermometer was delivered today - from the UK ?27 inc. shipping. I love the absolutely generic nature of the item - no manufacturer just "Infrared Thermometer" and of course "Made in China - maybe that should be "Copied in China." So far I've pointed it at everything moving and still. The dome (top) was showing 53C an hour or so after the fire was finished.

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

Congratulation on the first fire! Pizza with Irish beer will happen very soon for you.

Thanks Tu - beer and pizza go together don't they:

I don't know who said this:

?Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.?

or this:

?Pizza is a lot like sex. When it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's still pretty good."
Aidan

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

No point in curing now if you can't keep it dry however

True Lee - I made a wooden frame from the old concrete forms and bits of pallet so the tarp will not touch the hot dome if I have to cover up suddenly. The last few days some really squally showers have come back mixed with sun so the weather has returned to its usual predictable Irish unpredictability. The tarp blew off last night - luckily I got it back before the dome got soaked - just me. I will cure it now - I would just like to see if and where cracks appear. Also the insulation and stucco ( if I do that) should cure itself naturally later during operation - shouldn't it?
I soaked my temporary door just to test that it still fits wet. I didn't leave a lot of room for expansion and I don't want to find it has busted my arch some day.

[Lburou]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

Funny I kind of like the smoky patterns in the oven amd vent. Right now inside the oven is black except for a ring about 4" high around the bottom of the wall.
Should I wait until it is insulated before curing or is it OK to go ahead at this point.

I did mine at your stage, but you can wait too....Whichever you prefer. No point in curing now if you can't keep it dry however

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

The oven will never be that clean again....Made me sad

Funny I kind of like the smoky patterns in the oven amd vent. Right now inside the oven is black except for a ring about 4" high around the bottom of the wall.
Should I wait until it is insulated before curing or is it OK to go ahead at this point.

[Lburou]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

Congratulations on your first fire!

The oven will never be that clean again....Made me sad.

[banhxeo76]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

Congratulation on the first fire! Pizza with Irish beer will happen very soon for you.

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

Hi kevin - I went ahead and ordered that one on the link above - without emmisivity adjustment.
Today was sunny but a biting cold breeze - I couldn't wait any longer and baptised it with fire from the Irish times and some old cornflake boxes - not the first contribution Kellogs has made to the oven (My arch brick template). I added a some twigs and it was lit for about 1/2 an hour totally. The top just felt warm to the touch. Thankfully the vent seems to be drawing well enough - just some billows out the front when it was particularly smoky - the inside is mostly black now.
I made a door yesterday from some of that oak flooring which I still have a load of. It will do for the moment. I was reading in some thread about some guy in Italy has been using the same olive wood door for years - he just soaks it in water.
I might pay a visit to Sweeney O Rourke during the week since I have no tools of any kind.

[kpms1st]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

hi Amac Sweeney orourke are to get in a temp gauge that sits on floor of oven and reads up to 1000 f for about 15€ but didn't have any in stoke when last in dub.Your vent looks much smoother than mine & I have some smoke at start of fire but once going its fine ,made up temp door to place at outside of arch with air vents in & this stops start up smoke coming out of front of oven what plans for cover design Kevin

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

It reads 100C when I point it at boiling water, and about 320C when I point it at my smoking hot pizza stone.

I found one very similar to that on Ebay - about €24. I'm not sure how critical the emissivity is - but the product is not adjustable (fixed at .95). I googled a table for common objects emissivity and this seems to be the nearest to firebrick on that table.
Brick, fireclay 0.75
If it makes little difference something like that would be fine.
(Water does happen to be .95 btw)

[Amac]

Re: 39" Stargate Pompeii

it seems to me that adding more firebricks above the current level would put more weight on the arch, with no real benefit. You don't need the heat retention up there. Could you cast a seat for a metal flue, or mortar in a clay flue, at the current level?

I agree with you Dennis but it is hurting my head trying to think of a way to transition my vent to any kind of flue without reducing the crossectional area in some way. I don't mind reducing the flue area higher up as I believe it would add velocity to the flue gases ( I'm basing that on a discussion I read somewhere on the forum bout flues and how they operate). I might be able to buy a clay flue but the dimensions would be hard to match. I could end up sawing and joining one similar to Apagio and some others.