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Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

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  • #31
    Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

    I forgot to mention something about the first photo in my last post. If you look at the bottom two bricks on the right side of my entry arch you can see two chunks missing. This happened when I was trying to get my arch support out. I did what everybody suggested and had the support sitting on wood so that when I moved those pieces of wood I would hopefully have an easy time of getting the form out. But that WAS NOT the case. It was quite the struggle and I started to think that I might not get it out without destroying my entire arch. But thankfully it came out with only those two little chunks as a loss. I figure I can either leave it as is and let it add to the uniqueness of my oven. Or I can find some kind of brick or rock to put on the outside as a decorative layer to cover it completely. We will see what I decide.

    So I finished the oven enclosure and entry arch on 9/22/2014 (the day after my father-in-law passed away so I put my bereavement leave to good use) and on 10/2/2014 I decided to light my first fire. That was a pretty exciting moment. So here is the photo of that first fire. Part of that first firing was obviously to see how well the vent drew the smoke out. It is funny, John, that you said it should draw like a champ because thought it did fairly well I was kind of hoping it would do a little better. I don't have any dark smoke marks on the front of my oven but I can tell that there are marks there. Maybe nobody else will but to me it is visible. I think I read in a thread somewhere about how your vent with draw the smoke better as it gets taller. Am I correct on that or is that just wishful thinking on my part? I filmed a short video of how it draws and between the sound of the wind in the recording and how the smoke whips around in my vent I can tell that wind will definitely be an issue with vent draw. So I hope that adding some kind of flue vent to the top of my vent will add to the ability of my vent to draw the smoke out. Time will tell.

    The 2nd photo shows my first fire a little further along. It also shows how the smoke had marked the front arch a bit. It is definitely not like the back arch so that is good.

    Photos 3 and 4 just show how the smoke was escaping at the back of my entry arch. Photo 5 was how I handled this. I took high temp caulk and fire rope and filled it in. I haven't seen anything negative from it yet but again we will see how it does in the long run.
    Last edited by Pompeii Nate; 03-21-2015, 07:48 AM.
    http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/p...two-21068.html

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    • #32
      Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

      So let me just say that I did not do a good job of fire management that first night. One second I thought it was going to burn out and the next second I had flames lapping over the inner arch and out my vent. I think I got my oven well over 800 degrees F and I have paid for it in a few ways. But here are some pictures from that first firing. I was using hickory and oak that were scraps from a cabinet shop and they seemed to work great. I tried to get a shot of the moon through the smoke but it couldn't focus clearly. You can see how well my vent is drawing the smoke (just don't pay attention to the wet piece of wood I put in front of the front arch ).

      I did keep the fire going for the six hours which took me well into the night. It was 46F outside temperature when I took the readings in the pictures below. The first one was at the base of the oven and the second was near the top of my dome. Quite the difference. Obviously to get temps like that outside the oven with only 46F outside temp the oven was really hot. Oh well. The crack pics are coming.
      http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/p...two-21068.html

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      • #33
        Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

        Here are crack photos. Any thoughts on what I can do with them besides just leaving them? Any advice or thoughts are welcome!

        The last photo is the last picture I took of my oven in action before I wrapped it up for the winter. This is the picture I show to everyone who asks me how my project is going and they all seem to love it.

        We are actually going to try to have our first pizza party this Friday after uncovering the oven from its winter hibernation. I forgot to make the dough tonight I just realized so hopefully I can get it done tomorrow night in time to get a good result (not that I know what I am doing of course...any good recommendations for recipes involving overnight fermentation?). The only thing we have cooked in the oven so far are hot dogs and some of the best roasted marshmallows we have ever had. If nothing else, I have the most expensive marshmallow roaster in the world.

        So this catches me up with reporting my progress. I hope to add to the chimney vent with the bricks I have left, figure out my exterior finish then get it done so I can start cooking more. Of course, then I would need to dig the trench to my house so I can run power to my oven island and put in a fire pit. No big deal, right?!
        http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/p...two-21068.html

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        • #34
          Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

          Your cracks don't seem to be significant enough to cause any grief. I would be leaving them as they are as part of the character of the oven. You could rub a bit of mortar into them to disguise them if you want to hide them.
          Cheers ......... Steve

          Build Thread http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f3/n...erg-19151.html

          Build Pics http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1&l=1626b3f4f4

          Forno Food Pics https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=1d5ce2a275

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          • #35
            Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

            Thanks Steve! I was thinking about something like that as a possibility but I am more leaning towards your first idea of just leaving them alone. If they get worse I can always take a dremmel tool to them and try to refill them.
            Thanks again for the input.
            http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/p...two-21068.html

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            • #36
              Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

              I agree with Steve on your oven cracks (post #33)...consider them smile lines or wrinkles instead of cracks

              It looks like the second "wrinkle" is actually a fault in that brick's production...not a problem of your curing schedule. The other mortar/brick interface "smile line" is pretty normal for one of these ovens. Tough to eliminate/avoid 100% of the time when you have two different materials constantly expanding & contracting side by side. Again, don't think of these two minor blemishes as anything other than part of the character of your unique oven. Certainly not worth the effort to try and fix...as they could very possibly end up worse than when you started.

              In some of the older ovens in Europe, the bakers would use such minor "character lines" in the oven to estimate oven temps. As the crack(s) opened up slightly during firing, they noticed the consistency of the "pattern" as related to the heat loading of the oven and used these visual clues to gauge when the oven was ready for the actual bake.

              Relax & enjoy your upcoming pizza party!
              Mike Stansbury - The Traveling Loafer
              Roseburg, Oregon

              FB Forum: The Dragonfly Den build thread
              Available only if you're logged in = FB Photo Albums-Select media tab on profile
              Blog: http://thetravelingloafer.blogspot.com/

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              • #37
                Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

                Nate,

                Your flu will draw just fine when a chimney of some sort is installed. It can't really draw well until that happens. The heat rising inside a flu works just like a fluid siphon. Only, gravity is the force that makes a siphon work. Heated air is lighter than cold air and rises within it. Heated air within the confines of a chimney is the key to draw. Like the force that gravity and the length/size of the siphon hose is for siphoning gas from your car, so is the heighth/size of your chimney, for creating the vacuum needed for the draw effect.

                You have a very large reveal for your inner arch, as do I. You mentioned that you might intall a decorative face to your oven. If you make your face arch, smaller that your outside arch but, larger than your inner arch: That will also help with keeping the front of your finished oven clean. You will still be able to insert and remove your insulated door with no problems .

                And, don't sweat the cracks. There are only two types of WFOs. Those that have cracks and those that will have cracks .

                Have fun! with the oven.
                Joe Watson " A year from now, you will wish that you had started today" My Build Album / My Build

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                • #38
                  Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

                  Wow Nate, you got skills!

                  The cracks you have are more commom than not. I used to build ovens for people and would always let them know that there would be cracks on the outer arch that show up when the oven is fired to its Max and typically go away once the oven cools down.

                  That kind of heat has got to go somewhere.

                  Again, very nice job on the oven and the picture documentation.

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                  • #39
                    Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

                    Originally posted by Keith Oertli View Post
                    Wow Nate, you got skills!

                    The cracks you have are more commom than not. I used to build ovens for people and would always let them know that there would be cracks on the outer arch that show up when the oven is fired to its Max and typically go away once the oven cools down.

                    That kind of heat has got to go somewhere.

                    Again, very nice job on the oven and the picture documentation.
                    Cracks on the outer arch can be eliminated if you make sure the outer arch is disconnected from the inner parts of the oven by an expansion joint so that there is no pressure on the outer arch from expansion.This also reduces heat conducting to it, further reducing the temperature differential between the outer surface of the arch and it's inner surface, which also creates great stresses.
                    Kindled with zeal and fired with passion.

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                    • #40
                      Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

                      Hey guys

                      Thanks for all the feedback, input and kind words. All of it gives me something to think about.

                      And Gulf what you said about making the outer arch or face arch smaller was exactly what I was thinking about doing solely for the purpose of the smoke coming out the front. I couldn't remember where I saw it on here but thanks for reinforcing the idea for me.

                      I fired my oven up for the first time two nights ago but only took it up to the 650F range. I was planning on just getting a fire in in preparation for the pizza party the following night but we ended up having to change those plans due to a head cold/sinus infection. Maybe next week while the kids are on spring break. We will see.

                      Thanks again for all the support.
                      http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/p...two-21068.html

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                      • #41
                        Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

                        David S.

                        I know exactly what you mean about the expansion joint. This is exactly why I built my entry arch separate from the dome. I probably could have created more space between the two and stuffed it with firerope but too late now. So far I don't believe I have any cracks in the entry or outer arch but I will keep an eye out for them. Thanks for the feedback.
                        http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/p...two-21068.html

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                        • #42
                          Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

                          So here's a question. I have a bunch of chicken wire that I got from my in-laws that I was thinking about using over my insulating blanket layers. The only possible problem is the fact that it is a bit rusty all over. Will this matter? I am planning on covering it with about three inches of perlcrete so it won't be seen but will it matter to have rusty wire underneath the perlcrete or touching the blanket? It was free so I want to avoid spending more money if I can but if people don't think it is worth the possible risk of being a weak link in my build I might just throw it in the trash and get new lath or chicken wire. What do you guys think?
                          http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/p...two-21068.html

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                          • #43
                            Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

                            The two purposes of the chicken wire are to keep the insulating bat in place as it's being covered and to give the perlcrete some initial base of attachment while it's curing over the batting. Once you've got the wire covered with perlcrete and the perlcrete has set, the wire is irrelevant. Use the free, rusty chicken wire (wear gloves), and don't worry.
                            Mike Stansbury - The Traveling Loafer
                            Roseburg, Oregon

                            FB Forum: The Dragonfly Den build thread
                            Available only if you're logged in = FB Photo Albums-Select media tab on profile
                            Blog: http://thetravelingloafer.blogspot.com/

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                            • #44
                              Re: Pompeii Nate's 42" take two

                              Thanks Mike! I appreciate the input.
                              http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/p...two-21068.html

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                              • #45
                                Nate,

                                Again, great job on everything, especially your patience and perseverance. Congrats on a job well done. You did your homework and made a first-rate oven happen in the new house. You can certainly look forward to many enjoyable pizza sessions out under those wonderful skies you have there. And did I ever mention that man, you have a lot of grass?!!!

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