Randy's dreams do come true oven build

[Gulf]

I haven't yet done this myself but, it is on the list of "I intend to's". Some time back, one of my searches for sourdough got side tracked to culturing yogurt. It seems that once you have your culture, a gallon of yogurt can be made for the price of a gallon of whole milk. The 120? to 110? range of a cooling oven is perfect for this. Four hours to overnight in this range is all the time that is needed. Just one more way to offset the price of the build, and add some more versatility to the oven .

[RandyJ]

That sounds like a interesting idea there gulf. I have heard that there is not much ash that sticks to the food doing it that way. I also know that my wife would not be impressed if I cooked something that way for her. But you are right it definitely expands the posability of what you can cook with the oven. I have only just begun to find what all I can do with mine.

As a side note when I opened the door last night it had been 10 days since the last fire and I made bread the day after and I for got to take a reading but I would place money on the oven being at least 90F. It has been at or below freezing the whole time. I had forgotten my cast iron skillet that I used to steam the oven in it and it was above skin temp still. Pretty crazy how long these things can hold heat.

Randy

[Gulf]

Grea!t post Randy,

I love the tuscan grill. It helps make these ovens much more versatile. When the wife ain't around, or at least ain't lookin', I go caveman, aka dirty steak .

The flash on the camera doesn't do the cook justice.

[RandyJ]

I finally got around to using my tuskin grill. I got a nice big pile of coles and put the grill down let it warm up for 10 min and then put the steak down. I did 1:30 min turn 90 degrees 1 min flip 1:30 min turn 90 degrees one min and pulled it to rest for 10 min. It was great. I maby would have gone 30 sec less to make it a little more rare, but it had a nice sear on it with great taste. Just a little kosher salt, pepper and granulated garlic. I also made baby red patatos with onion and garlic and butter. I will definitely do this again.

Randy

[RandyJ]

You guys were right about the heat loss slowing as I reached the same temp as out side. I for got to check last night, but night 6 was 190F dome and 165F floor. Night 7 was 150F dome and 125F floor and night 8 was 125F dome and 100 floor. So I am guessing that my heat break must be working. For anyone who is looking to build in the future. I highly recommend that you look at the changes that people have made to the plan. From there do what you can afford. Some of the small changes can make a huge difference in performance. Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way.

Randy

[JRPizza]

Heat loss isn't linear because the driver is the difference between the oven and ambient temperature. A hot oven loses heat relatively fast, then as the inside and outside temperatures become closer the rate of heat loss slows.

[SableSprings]

As David S noted above, the temperature graph/profile isn't linear for the process of WFO heating and cooling. My hearth is not insulated as well as I'd like it (it's only 3"- 4" of perlcrete), but the three day graph I did for one of my bakes (below) shows you what David means about the change in temp loss at the higher levels early in the process. If by "equilibrium temperature" you mean when your oven is at ambient (outdoor) temps then you'll always be "chasing the tail"...the oven will retain heat it's gained from the air/sun during the day and stay warm well into the night and vice-versa an oven that's gotten cold overnight takes a long time to warm up.

Your insulation and heat retention are terrific (much, much better than mine!) so I guess I'm curious what you're looking for here...I may not be understanding your purpose, so if all else fails do the IR readings over the week to see if what you might assume about the internal temps may or may not be the case...

As mentioned earlier, your oven is going to be fabulous for lots of varied baking after the pizza party...I'm jealous...although, I'd be 400 pounds after a year of pizza, bread, roasts, beans, pies, etc., etc. on a single firing...so maybe less insulation is kind of a diet option

[david s]

I also checked the temp last night on day 5. The dome Temps were about 250F and the floor was 225F. So I seem to be losing about 90F a day roughly. So I am interested to see when I reach equilibrium temperature. I would guess that to be about day 7

It doesn't really work like that. If you plot the time against temperature for cool down it's not a straight line graph. The higher the temperature the greater the heat loss.

[UtahBeehiver]

Very good heat retention, can dry out green wood on day 6.

[Gulf]

A 10 to 12 hour brisket would go well about now!

[RandyJ]

I also checked the temp last night on day 5. The dome Temps were about 250F and the floor was 225F. So I seem to be losing about 90F a day roughly. So I am interested to see when I reach equilibrium temperature. I would guess that to be about day 7

[RandyJ]

Ohhh that does sound like a good idea. I will have to try that sometime.

Randy

[JRPizza]

Wow, looks like you are in for some extended baking! Time to throw in some ribs

[RandyJ]

Just a short little up date. I checked the temp in my oven and on the 4th day I was still at 325F in the dome and 310F on the floor. The outside temps are a little warm by Minnesota standards bus 40F during the day and 30 at night. I don't know how this stacks up to others but it seams like it is pretty good.

Randy

[RandyJ]

Well I got a chance to try out my new insulating door. I am happy with the results. I cleared the dome and kept it going for a a few hours. Then put the door in and this morning the dome was 725F and the floor was 680 F. I cooled it down a little and then baked a dubble batch of cabitta. I am happy with how it turned out. I know there is room to improve but that is a good thing.

Randy