Frank's Build

[NCMan]

Reading a few of your posts I wonder why you went ahead and soaked your bricks? Also, why mortar down your floor brick instead of setting them in a dry mix of sand and fireclay?

[david s]

Yes it does, but the floor bricks will expand more unevenly because the fire is hotter at the centre of the floor. This means uneven expansion so allowing each individual brick to expand independently is a better solution. It also makes replacement of a cracked or spalled floor brick far easier if not mortared down. Don't worry it though your floor should be fine as is. If you are having trouble finding the powdered clay from building suppliers try searching for "bricklayers clay". Failing that ceramic/pottery suppliers use lots of bagged powdered clay, go for the cheapest, probably Ball Clay.

[fhausback]

thanks for the tip David. I'll probably continue as is, and see what happens. If i have to buy much more mortar, i'll probably find a ceramic shop. The heat stop is pricey.

Also, now that i appreciate how much work it is to add temp probes, i wouldn't do it again. It's a lot of work for something that is basically for a perceived coolness factor. If i didn't already buy the probes, i would have cut my losses.

[fhausback]

As i cut brick after brick for this thing, i'm thinking about the flue. I've seen a couple of posts with a "squirrel tail" design, a flue that angles back from the entry to a chimney centered over the oven dome. Can anyone point me to a couple of those threads?

One in particular utilized stock clay flues cut into 1/2 or 1/4 to form a impeccable flue against the outside of the dome, routed to a center chimney. I'm wondering how this arrangement performed over time.

I have a small welder, and am also debating welding up a stainless duct to accomplish something similar.

[UtahBeehiver]

If you do a search with key words "squirrel or beaver tail" most of these builds pop up.