4 years in the making - 42" dome

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

I decided to take the chimney down and rebuild the arch smoke box after complaints and visual observation. My outer arch is getting too sooty, so, I am going to cast a refractory smoke chamber and then transition to my 8"x8" chimney.

I am thinking that it I have a 1 to 1 height to width aspect ratio, I should be in the tall cotton. Any thoughts??

Chris

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

After firing the oven last night, temps in the oven this am are looking good. Outside temp is approx 45F (7C) with a low of 30 F (-1C).

Floor temp was about 420 F (215C) using a thermocouple that I placed in a crack about 1/3rd in from the opening. The door is just 2 large fire bricks that I had on hand so not door insulation. Surface temp of the insulation is approx 60F.

What a big difference from when no door and no insulation (only about 120 F/49C). Plus getting all the water out of the insulation helped. Last night I had a dream of a nice roaring fire in the oven and steam coming out the floor bricks near the opening. Guess I can sleep well tonight!

Q: Since I am cooking tomorrow, wonder if I should just let it run its course or toss a couple of logs in to heat up the oven again - thoughts??

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Actually, the flue is not embedded - it is on a thin layer of home brew (surface mount) though I have 2 triangle shaped bricks on each side I used to stabilze the flue - guess I should not have done that. I did not expect the flue to

So, think I should I remove the 2 bricks from along the flue while I fix the loose brick?

Also, I think I am planning to support the arch with the forms during the grinding of the joints.

[brickie in oz]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

My thought on it is the fact that you have embeded the flue liner in the brick that caused the cracking.
The flue expanded faster than the bricks causing the crack, if the flue were to sit on top of the flue opening it wouldnt happen.

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Here is the damage - ugh. More work.

Any recommendations??

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

The crack in the back is about a o.5 to o.7 pencil lead in width and radiates to the flu liner. The face only show a hairline crack (could not get it with the camera.)

I will have to post tonight as Picasa has locked up my computer (its a love hate thing since I run linux on my computer).

Crack description from observation: After oven had been fired for about 4+ hours, i noted that a crack previously repaired re-emerged. However, the brick had cracks on both sides and on the back (where it ties into the flu transition.) I cannot see any cracking on the bottom of the brick this am.

I decided to see if it moved (curiosity) and it was able to wiggle slightly while the oven is hot. This am the brick is tight. Sooo my concern lies with arch failure and all that good stuff. I am planning on repairing the large crack between the bricks holding the flue and the outer arch, just trying to decide how best to attach the outer arch.

[brickie in oz]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

How bad are the cracks, post some pics so we can see.

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Hey Gang,

I could use some advice

After firing the oven most of the day last Sunday, I found one of my outer arch bricks is cracked on both sides and on the back, basically separated (I slightly jiggled it and found it moved to my horror.) Question is, should I put the form back in prior to grinding the thing out to prevent a catastrophic failure?? Any other advise that could be shed?

I am planning to repair Monday morning (have the day off due to weekend duty) and am hoping it should be ready for Sunday's big game.

Thanks in advance

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

I could not help myself today. I had to fire the oven. Honest, all I wanted to do was drive the water out of the insulation since I have all this great mesquite.

Kept the fire low for the first few hours then built it up.

Then, out of nowhere, pizza dough appeared on the counter along with the fixins. Not wanting to disappoint the, uh kids, thats it, thats the ticket, I relented and made pizza for the next few hours and built a few spares for the next couple of days - uh yea right sure -> I place my bets that it will be gone by the time my head hits the pillows. Had multiple 90 second pizzas - my sons girlfriend was shocked - you just went out there!

I tried to do a roast earlier in the clay baker. Oven wayyyyyyyy to hot, Moved it to the oven at 300 F for the afternoon. Oh well, I will have to learn.

BTW - I donated the hair on my arm to the fire gods today as well due to radiant heat (even with the gloves on.)

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Man o man, the insulation is done! 1/2 bag of portland to 3.5 cu ft of pearlite. Total used was 5 bags with a 5 inch thick layer! Just gotta wait for the next round of Za!

As a side note, traded a server for a PU truck bed of wood (mesquite) the am.

Now to make the caddy under the oven for wood storage! and a door.

For the newbies, I started from the bottom up for the insulation so that I could have a shelf to build up on. Make sure to pre-wet the rendering coat prior to placing the insulation layer

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Sorry for the lack of explanation - typically weather forecasts are reported for the downtown area. Due to my exposure and location, my property at night during the winter can be about 10 degrees cooler, which means I would be below freezing. Plus I local forecasts are for in town, which does not work well at my house as well.

I know I can do the blanket thing, but I always have reservations. At work we just poured a deck on a traffic bridge with some high early and blanketed the thing. I cannot wait to see the test results on that as years ago, I had a concrete failure due to a bad mix poured during a cold spell. What a PITA. Lets just say that the Engineer who gave the go ahead will NEVER work for me again.

[brickie in oz]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

I need 40F+ overnight to do my insulation and render coat!

Why?

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Had friends over for pizza. Statistics are as follows:

• average age: 14
  Pizzas made: 12
  Pizzas split between youngins: 4
  Number of kid smile - too many

Have a ton of water under the cracks in the rendering due to the storm Still blowing steam after 4 hours

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Will someone please turn the heat up outside at night - my thermostat is not working. I need 40F+ overnight to do my insulation and render coat!

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Hey John,

First off, thanks.

As for the smoke. I live in a residential area, just low density - everyone is on an acre in my neck of the woods.

The big challenge is that we have no burn days with folks from the Air Quality District driving around. On Christmas eve, it was a no burn day. However, I used the food preparation exemption - cant force me not to eat, eh?

Most Air Quality laws/rules I have reviewed around the world (I was an environmental consultant) have an exemption of smoke for food preparation, just need to dig a bit into the regulations. Neighbor complaints, that is another story. Offer a pizza and most are happy to let it go. If they are a persistent pain, give them brownies with phenolphthalein in them. Works better than exlax. Plus you can say that you did not hide exlax in the brownies - LOL. Better life through chemistry.

CW