36" x 18" High. Pompeii with centered chimney. Will this work?

[MeBeMarc3]

I attached a drawing because its difficult to explain. Will this work? Sorry about the writing. I should have made it easier to read.

[Gulf]

I've see it done out of masonry on this site before. But, I believe that the dome was covered with a layer of vermicrete. And, then the weight of the flu was laid back over that to the middle. I can't find the build at the moment. It is a little more difficult to search this site nowadays. Maybe someone else will remember the build. If I am not mistaken the oven was finished to look like a Mayan ruin. It was a very impressive build.

[david s]

It's called a squirrel tail, you could try doing a search on the forum. If you build it as per your drawing there will be a fair amount of heat loss from the dome to the flue because it's not insulated there. Probably better to insulate over the dome and build the flue over that.

[deejayoh]

It's called a squirrel tail, you could try doing a search on the forum. If you build it as per your drawing there will be a fair amount of heat loss from the dome to the flue because it's not insulated there. Probably better to insulate over the dome and build the flue over that.

I thought I recalled something about one of the arguments for this oven design being that the exhaust gases heat the back of the brick. I don't remember where I saw it, but kudos to you for pulling the name of the design off the hard drive. I was thinking beaver tail. I remember there is a video or site somewhere where a bunch of enthusiasts built one of these in two days.

[david s]

I thought I recalled something about one of the arguments for this oven design being that the exhaust gases heat the back of the brick. I don't remember where I saw it, but kudos to you for pulling the name of the design off the hard drive. I was thinking beaver tail. I remember there is a video or site somewhere where a bunch of enthusiasts built one of these in two days.

It would take around an hour for heat to travel from one side of the brick to the other, by which time the hot flue gasses will have warmed the flue anyway, so it would be of little use in making the flue draw better at start up. Heat loss once the fire is out and the oven closed would be more of my concern.
Maybe it was beaver, that just brings a different mental picture to me, I prefer squirrel.

I seem to have lost the search button now I've changed to vB5.

[Gulf]

David,
I have the search button on my screen. But, it isn't worth much. Even before the change, I liked using google to search the site. It works a lot better. I just type in the key words of the search and Forno Bravo. IE: Beaver tail Forno Bravo. In Google, the first hit will usually have several selections from the FB forum and the last will be More selections from wwwfornobravo.com. That narrows things down to just the FB forum.

Going through some of the old posts, I find that both terms have been used to describe that type of flu design. But, "beaver tail" has been used mostly for an elongated type dome. It has also been used to describe the shape that the dome takes when the inner arch is set too far forward.

DeeJay,
I remember seeing that video, not too long ago. I can't find it but, I think that this page has some stills from that build. The build had both a "beaver tail" shaped dome and a "squirrel tail" flu.

EDIT: The search forum tab shows up my home computer. It shows up on my iPhone only as magnifying glass

[deejayoh]

Yup, that was the one.

I did see this site which echos my comment about the supposed heating properties of this design. Whether it works that way or not is I guess a matter for debate.
http://www.squirreltailoven.org/research.html Historic Facts

Before 1750, ovens were usually built into the back of big cooking fireplaces. The "squirrel tail" refers to the passageway over the top of the oven and it is used for venting into the fireplace just above the oven entrance to get the oven to heat evenly and draw better. This style was commonly found in Colonial America times.

[MeBeMarc3]

I've see it done out of masonry on this site before. But, I believe that the dome was covered with a layer of vermicrete. And, then the weight of the flu was laid back over that to the middle. I can't find the build at the moment. It is a little more difficult to search this site nowadays. Maybe someone else will remember the build. If I am not mistaken the oven was finished to look like a Mayan ruin. It was a very impressive build.

Thank you for stopping by to help! I'll try to find more info. I'm new so I don't notice the differences in the forum setup. It does seem a bit difficult to search for content though.

[MeBeMarc3]

It's called a squirrel tail, you could try doing a search on the forum. If you build it as per your drawing there will be a fair amount of heat loss from the dome to the flue because it's not insulated there. Probably better to insulate over the dome and build the flue over that.

I do plan on insulating between the oven and the flue. I'm hoping to get one inch of insulation in that is rated for 900-1000 degrees celsius. I have a friend that works for a company that sells the stuff and I think I have a decent plan. Thanks for the input! I really appreciate the help!

[MeBeMarc3]

[MeBeMarc3]

[MeBeMarc3]

[MeBeMarc3]

I thought I recalled something about one of the arguments for this oven design being that the exhaust gases heat the back of the brick. I don't remember where I saw it, but kudos to you for pulling the name of the design off the hard drive. I was thinking beaver tail. I remember there is a video or site somewhere where a bunch of enthusiasts built one of these in two days.

Thank you for stopping in. I have been reluctant to move forward with my flue/chimney because I'm scared to mess things up. I think I'm going to make a move next week. Thanks again.

[MeBeMarc3]

This is the oven that I'm trying to replicate as close as possible.

[Novaslo]

One challenge with doing it that way is that you want to create a nice cavity for the smoke to go into as it goes up the flu. If you don't do it large enough, you will have black soot all over your masterpiece at the opening. If you can design it in a way that you have a nice opening and travel space for the smoke it will stay clean on the front side and draw nicely. Try not to simply expect that all smoke will go into a small flu area because it likely won't.