Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

I will try. I have probably 75 - 100 of those "potato chips" left. I will put on my mostly worn out diamond blade, and try to cultivate some. I only have 1 more course and a keystone to go. But then again, I will need more to do the chimney arch. Is regular Portland mortar without fireclay OK to use for that, or does it still get too hot? I'm guessing it is NOT OK to use regular mortar for that.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

G'day
You don't need the fireclay really you'll just find the mortar a bit stiffer and harder to work. That's all the fireclay does provide workability . A teaspoon of dishwashing liquid will help to make the mortar a bit more plastic.
Regards dave

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

Guys,

Haven't posted in a while. Here is my update with Pics to follow soon.

Dome has been completed and finished my 3rd curing fire. The temps don't seem that high yet. My IR thermometer was reading about 300 F at most during the firing and that was towards the top of the dome. Oven floor seemed to only get towards the 130 F - 150 F range depending on how close to the fire I was pointing the IR therm. at.

Couple of questions.

When firing the oven, do you close off the entrance with a door so that heat builds up? I have been doing this for the first few fires.

When I do this, the chamber fills with a lot of smoke which lets me see small voids where smoke seeps out. Is this normal, or did I just build my dome poorly? Should I worry about patching these spots up with homebrew mortar?

I have not covered the dome yet with insulation. Better to do that now?

[George_M]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

Pics from before of slab and block walls.

Hi,
Can you tell me please the size of your foundation?
Thanks

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

I decided to cover the dome with the blanket. I have 3" of insulation. I lit another fire last night and it seemed to hold temps well. Got it up to about 400 degrees. Soon I will be up to the temps I need to bake a pizza.

[Tonyp]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

Guys,


Couple of questions.

When firing the oven, do you close off the entrance with a door so that heat builds up? I have been doing this for the first few fires.

When I do this, the chamber fills with a lot of smoke which lets me see small voids where smoke seeps out. Is this normal, or did I just build my dome poorly? Should I worry about patching these spots up with homebrew mortar?

I have not covered the dome yet with insulation. Better to do that now?

I think closing the entrance will only suffocate the fire and cause the smoke build up. Although maybe that's been helpful to keep the fire controlled and not overly hot initially? If it were my oven I would fill any voids where smoke was escaping.


I am starting to cure my oven too. I am using lump charcoal for now with no door. I had the charcoal going for about 5 hours the other day with the oven bare. The outside got toasty but not unbearable to touch. I decided to put on one layer of ceramic blanket before going with wood, although I will probably do more charcoal first for a few more hours and then maybe start to toss in some small sticks for live fire. I think the key when curing is to build up the heat slowly once the moisture is gone from the brick so as to not shock the brick with a rip roaring blaze while it's still cold.

I just got an IR thermometer so next time I will know what temperatures everything is hitting.

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

Hi,
Can you tell me please the size of your foundation?
Thanks

7' x 6'
5" Deep

[George_M]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

Thank you!

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

I think closing the entrance will only suffocate the fire and cause the smoke build up. Although maybe that's been helpful to keep the fire controlled and not overly hot initially? If it were my oven I would fill any voids where smoke was escaping.


I am starting to cure my oven too. I am using lump charcoal for now with no door. I had the charcoal going for about 5 hours the other day with the oven bare. The outside got toasty but not unbearable to touch. I decided to put on one layer of ceramic blanket before going with wood, although I will probably do more charcoal first for a few more hours and then maybe start to toss in some small sticks for live fire. I think the key when curing is to build up the heat slowly once the moisture is gone from the brick so as to not shock the brick with a rip roaring blaze while it's still cold.

I just got an IR thermometer so next time I will know what temperatures everything is hitting.

Thanks Tony. Yeah I stopped using a door because I realized it was doing just that. There also seems to be a noticeable difference now that moisture is being drawn out. The oven is holding the heat nicely with the blanket. Seems like everything is going to plan.

When I first started these curing fires I was a little unimpressed, but now it is starting to work like I expect. Guess I was a little overly nervous for nothing.

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

I decided to remove the blankets because I noticed some moisture gathering underneath them. I will make a few more fires with the blankets off. What is a good way to know when most of the moisture had been drawn out?

[Tonyp]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

I was getting moisture in my one layer of ceramic blanket as well. I decided to just leave it as is and let the moisture evaporate from the blanket. I am not seeing nearly as much moisture escaping from the outside of the oven on the 3rd fire.

I just checked on the oven after firing it to 500-550 for about 4 hours. It's been sitting open while the coals burn down. Top of the dome inside is reading around 400. Outer brick surface under the blanket at the top is around 350. Outside of the one layer of blanket is 115. I just put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the blanket to see if any moisture collects.

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

I am getting readings somewhat different on the outside probably because I removed my blanket. Today I have been burning a fire for about 2hrs 30 minutes. The outside of my dome is about 170 F. The sides of the dome is at about 600F. Top of the dome about 750 F. The Floor is at about 550F but I had the logs sitting on that spot for the first 1.5 hours. I think this is my last curing fire.

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

Really dumb question:

Bought metal studs for the enclosure framing. Each stud has two "C" channel parts in each piece. What is the best way to separate them? There has to be an easy way which I am not seeing.

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

Really dumb question:

Bought metal studs for the enclosure framing. Each stud has two "C" channel parts in each piece. What is the best way to separate them? There has to be an easy way which I am not seeing.

Never mind. Figured out my problem.

[spiderrinaldi]

Re: Out of work Pizza Man's 42" Build in NJ

Made my first few pizzas tonight. We made 7 in total. Came out delicious. First couple took a little too long to cook because I put them on the cooler side of the oven. Then I moved the fire to the opposite side, cleaned the floor and made one where the fire was previously burning. That one burnt pretty quickly on the bottom. Now I know not to put it in the spot where the fire was without letting it cool down a bit. Next few I made came out just about perfect. So happy with the oven.

Next challenge: Thanksgiving Turkey