Igloo style dome insulation

[asudavew]

Re: Igloo style dome insulation

My understanding (limited of course) is that you might want more insulation at the apex of the dome... Most heat loss will occur there, so you might want more at the peak!

It's not so important what it looks like, hang on to the heat at any cost!


Dave

[Throw Deep]

Re: Igloo style dome insulation

Sounds like I'll just have to "free hand" the shape of the igloo...wish me luck.

Also, I'll see what a few more red oak logs on the fire do for the temperature.

Thanks.

[james]

Re: Igloo style dome insulation

Bob, it sounds to me as though you haven't had the holy %^@&$%^# fire yet. You should be able to easily hit the 800?F mark -- which will get you that 90 second - two minute pizza. Keep upping the size of your fires, and you'll get there.

You can "build" an Igloo enclosure if you want. You can use pencil rebar and lathe, and bend/shape it all until you get the shape you want. Then you do the scratch coat and finish coat against that structure. Or, you can build up from the dome and insulation to get the Igloo shape. They both work.

I'm always pleased when I hear about families doing their oven project together. What a great way to spend time together. We can all look forward to you all cooking pizzas again.

James

[dmun]

Re: Igloo style dome insulation

I didn't build a igloo enclosure - and I think most people who do did it freehand. You could cut a plywood jig with the correct radius, but I think you are going to find that just getting the perlcrete up onto the dome is going to be an effort in itsself. You can even out any dimples in the dome when you get to the stucco layer, that stuff is sticky and you have more control over it.

And my thoughts go out to your son in Bagdad. Yikes. Sounds bad over there this week.

[Throw Deep]

Thanks for all of you who helped me get my dome up, cured and ready for my son who was home from the war on his 3 week R&R. We had a grand time with him...made pizza twice without the benefit of a chimney (read much smoke in face). Now he's back in Bagdad and I'm back to finishing at a more leisurely pace...learning along the way that I can make the oven hot but I?m a novice at actually making pizza. The learning curve on sour dough starter is steeper than building a dome out of brick...that's for certain!

Speaking of thanking heaven, I know there was divine involvement in my dome since there are no cracks (except a few little hairline ones in the concrete skim coat). I saw a little steam in the 4th or 5th cure when my fire got away from me and consumed my wood on one side that was supposed to be drying out for a subsequest cure. But there was no repeat of smoke or steam on any of the following fires...so I think I'm out of the woods (fingers crossed).

My handy dandy temperature gauge says that I'm getting brick surface temps over 1,000 degrees F at the top of the dome and on the floor in front of the coals. My thermocouples are saying my bricks are getting above 600 degrees in the dome and 500+ in the floor. Should those temps come on up toward the 1,000 degree mark also before I start cooking? I have not gotten there yet. My sourdough pizzas are cooking in about 4-5 minutes rather than the 2 minute pizza I'm shooting for. Perhaps it takes a little time for every little bit of moisture to cure out and that's keeping the bricks from absorbing more heat?

The chimney is up and I am ready to turn my attention to applying the vermiculite/portland insulating cement to the blankets on the dome.

If the weather holds, on Saturday I?ll put on the last insulating blanket and apply the insulating concrete to plaster the blankets into place and create rigidity for the insulation. I?ll put water proof stucco over the insulating concrete to finish it when it is dry enough?

But here's my real question for the day...how to keep the dome shape symmetrical?i.e. how to keep the depth even all around as I apply the 3? of insulating concrete on top of 3? of blankets? My eye is not that good! Got any ideas on how to reference my depth as I go?

Also, if you have any experience with the insulating concrete being used on the dome?how long should I let the insulating concrete dry before I put the stucco finish on? While it should not get particularly hot due to the blankets being between it and the thermal mass of the dome, it will be wet initially and I don?t like the idea of trapping all of that water under the stucco.

Thanks.

Bob