Mobile Forno Finally started!!

[aferaci]

After exhaustive and extensive internet research, I've finally started on my mobile pizza oven. Today I started on the frame and got a good bit of it done. I also started quite a few small fires from the welding sparks!!! The trailer is an old boat trailer of mine that is a total of 14' long. Before anyone starts going crazy....Yes, I know that the axle and tires are not sufficient for the weight. I'm going to be buying a torsion axle but I haven't hunted one down yet. I want to get the frame up and the heart poured and then work on the axle stuff. I've just had the angle iron sitting in my yard for 2 months, I figured that I'd better get started. Let me know what you think!!!

Tony

[asudavew]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

Way cool!

Congrats.

Do me a favor...

Take lots of pics, because someday I am hoping to do the same thing.

I will follow your progress closely.

Have fun!

Dave

[aferaci]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

I plan on taking lots because there is little information out there. I've found several people who have done it on the web but most of them do not want to help in anyway as far as giving details about how they constructed their oven. I''ll keep everyone updated as I progress. My wife seems to think that the trailer will now sit in our yard that way for another 6 months, but I've already bought 2 bags of perlite so I'm ready to get going!!

[Ken524]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

For the hearth, is there some sort of light-weight concrete product out there? You definitely want to make this as light as possible. I wonder if we should brain-storm to think of a lighter-weight alternative to concrete for the hearth.

Also... just thinking out loud... Some sort of suspension or shocks on the trailer to keep bouncing on the road to a minimum?

This is going to be a really cool project!!

[aferaci]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

Well, I was thinking of using some sort of calsil type of board for the insulation hearth but it's just too expensive. If i used that board then I could just weld a steel plate to the base and put the board on top of that, doing away with the concrete hearth.

But I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and do the hearth with concrete. I'm planning on putting a 3500lb torsion axle which already absorb shock and road vibration much better than typical leaf springs.

I also plan on doing a house type of enclosure instead of a dome. I will loose fill the enclosure with the perlite and that way, if the dome suffers any type of crack and needs repair, I can remove the roof, vacuum out the perlite, and make the repair and then put it all back in.

[asudavew]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

For the hearth, is there some sort of light-weight concrete product out there? You definitely want to make this as light as possible. I wonder if we should brain-storm to think of a lighter-weight alternative to concrete for the hearth.

Also... just thinking out loud... Some sort of suspension or shocks on the trailer to keep bouncing on the road to a minimum?

This is going to be a really cool project!!

I think you can just use plate steel. Then insulating concrete on top of that...

[aferaci]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

That's what I've been thinking and wondering about. I guess it'd have to be something pretty thick though.....1/4" or more?

[Ken524]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

I really like the plate steel base (like a bed frame with slats) and Super Isol (CalSil) idea. I know the stuff sounds pricey, but I think you'll get a nice solid foundation with the board.

I'm concerned with the stability of Vermiculite concrete bouncing around. Dave, will that stuff hold up to the rigors of road travel?

[CanuckJim]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

It might be an idea to consider using Matrilite 18 instead of vermic/Portland for insulation. It's a castable refractory insulator, and the particle size is smaller, giving greater cohesion and more strength. Just a thought.

Jim

[Acoma]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

Jim, Matrilite 18, where do you get it? Kidding

[aferaci]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

What about putting some type of reinforcement in a perlite/portland slab. Like maybe wire mesh, rebar or even fibers like they put in concrete to make it stronger. Does anyone think this would work or be feasible. I really want to get rolling on this thing and the rigid insulating board is out of my price range right now.

[gjbingham]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

You can try to skimp, but if you're going to do it right, save your money up and buy the board. I doubt you can build a great oven that will last a long time without spending some real money.

[aferaci]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

So all of the other people on this forum who made their ovens with vermiculite or perlite slabs were skimping too? Thanks for answering my original question-you were so helpful

[Ken524]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

So all of the other people on this forum who made their ovens with vermiculite or perlite slabs were skimping too?

They weren't skimping. The vermiculite/cement base works very well. If you do a search for messages about vermiculite on the forums, you'll see that it's stable and can take the compression forces of an oven. But it is very susceptible to chipping and shear forces. That's why we are concerned about a mobile installation. We don't want the "shake, rattle and roll" of a trailer to damage your pride and joy.

CanuckJim suggested Matrilite 18, a castable product. That might be a good cost vs. stability compromise.

[aferaci]

Re: Mobile Forno Finally started!!

Well, this problem seemed to solve itself today. I was riding by a jobsite today and noticed that they had some left over AAC (autoclaved concrete or Aerocrete) concrete leftover. I talked to the jobsite super and after I told him what I needed it for he agreed to let me have as much as I needed for a case of Budweiser. This stuff is nice and thick and strong but it's so light. A 8"x8"x24" piece only weighed about 5 pounds. So I will go get this stuff tomorrow and post pictures of it.