New UK Oven

[PeterW]

Re: New UK Oven

SWMBO...?

She Who Must Be Obeyed.....!!

The lintel is a piece of oak railway sleeper that was left over from the garden design. They are 9" x 5", and green oak, so I doubt its going anywhere !!

I've got a real wood fire thing anyway, so lighting mine for the first time was fab !!! I love the smell of woodsmoke, and there is something about sitting and watching flames for hours !

The fire seems to burn better at the back or sides, and less towards the front. I think this is due to the airflow and that a fire at the front cannot curl the heat up and over the dome. In the dark, you can see the levels forming in the smoke, which appears to hit a 'ceiling' as it burns.

More tonight...!!

Cheers

Peter

[gjbingham]

Re: New UK Oven

Nice guesses Francie! You crack me up, over and over again!

[PeterW]

Re: New UK Oven

Looks like we're done...!! #

Had a cracking weekend, got the chimney sorted, and finished the outer dome. The insulation is 4" rockwool secured by a 1/2" mesh, followed by at least 2-3" of perlcrete. All topped off with between 4" and 7" of brick.

The chimney itself is 31" tall, and stands on the 2 arches. As it stands further back over the dome, it makes a natural throat, and I've smoothed the lip over inside with a fire clay, chamotte and cement mix. It came from a local reclaim yard, and the guy recons its over 100 years old ! Its hand thrown terracotta, and really looks the place !

Had a good burn on Saturday - started about 3pm, and kept it going until 8pm, when I loaded in a fairly large log, shut the front and let it burn out.

I have 4 thermocouples -

• Above insulation,
• Dome Apex(approx 3" from surface)
• Dome Side (approx 1" from surface)
• Floor

The temperatures at 11pm were 95F,482F,455F,347F respectively. By 9am on Sunday, they had dropped to 73.4F,338F,302F,158F, and I was amazed that by Monday 8am, they were still above ambient at 60.8F,158F,131F,122F.

Now all I need is a proper door - been using bricks ! Looking to a decent burn this weekend and PIZZA !

None of this would have been possible without this forum - cheers guys and girls !!

Peter

[egalecki]

Re: New UK Oven

I love your chimney. It's perfect with your brick and the plaque.

Nice work!

[Frances]

Re: New UK Oven

Wow, that looks really fantastic! Congratulations!

Great find with the chimney... I looked around for something like that, but they don't have them in this country. Saw lots on ebay in the UK though...

[rafv]

Re: New UK Oven

Nice one Peter, I intend finishing mine with brick. It may look a bit like yours. That pot is great, don't think I will be able to find one as good though. We will soon be able to send smoke signals to each other.

[Carl]

Re: New UK Oven

Great work Peter - you should be really proud of that. Love the chimney - you've made a smart job of it. I'm about to post my attempts at making a door - neither were very successful, so I'll need to make door number three...

[PeterW]

Re: New UK Oven

Hmmm... door !!

Was thinking 1/4" plate, with insulating firebrick on the back - nothing too combustible, and it would not be too difficult to make (hopefully!)

What have you used..?

Peter

[aureole]

Re: New UK Oven

That looks great!

I'm planning to start building this summer (although it already seems to be running away!) - so I may end up with a lot of questions for you about suppliers and materials.

[AGRCooper]

Re: New UK Oven

WFO newbie here!
Ever since I holidayed in an old mill in Umbria where they had a wood fired pizza oven, I've been threatening to build one. It's great to see there are lots of others building their own in the UK... Nice job Peter.

I have a similar small area available to build mine... what what the final external diameter of yours?

[PeterW]

Re: New UK Oven

Hi

Final diameter is about 42" if I remember correctly. The base is the size of the smallest corner install thats in the Pompeii plans, and built up from there. If you download the plans from the shop, they are an excellent place to start, and most of your other questions can be answered by the forum !

So what are you waiting for...?? Get Building !!

Cheers

Peter

[DrakeRemoray]

Re: New UK Oven

Peter, looks great! Congratulations!
Drake

[AGRCooper]

Re: New UK Oven

Hi Peter,

I've been frantically searching the web for UK suppliers of medium duty fire bricks but to no avail.

Where did you manage to find the fire bricks you used?

Alistair

[aureole]

Re: New UK Oven

I think the Yorkshire refractories should do it.

Peter had a lucky break with someone else winning a large collection on ebay IIRC. Check the previous threads about it.

UK suppliers that I know of:

Handsworth Refractories - Services
YORKSHIRE REFRACTORY PRODUCTS LTD:: HOME
Sheffield Refractories Ltd. Refractories Manufacturer and Supplier
DUDLEY DESIGNS
Manchester Refractory - Contact
And also a place called Purimachos in Bristol (no link)

From my skimming of the forum, I think Yorkshire have been better recieved than most, and will also sell bags of fireclay and Insulfrax blanket.

According to the Pompeii plans and the site, you want the 30% alumina and 50% silica - either a BNZ 23-C or any of the calor range from Yorkshire refractories.

Try these threads:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f28/...gain-3935.html
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f2/f...y-uk-3467.html
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f6/u...tems-2317.html

Brick Oven Design | Choose the Right Brick Oven Brick

[AGRCooper]

Re: New UK Oven

Thanks so much, checking them out now.