SC Chris's 42" WFO build

[mluttropp]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

wow, very nice back yard. What sort of enclosure are you going to use for your oven?

[SCChris]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

The structure is going to be stucco with a spainish tile roof. I expect that we'll include a few Talavera tiles and mabey a nicho or two. I'll have to try a few things the figure it all out. Dino has some copper flashing around the chimney, this would be far better asthectically than the high tech dura SS for the flavor of our home.

Chris

[stonylake]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

Chris, i know that brickies clean up mortar with muratic acid..I've cleaned some of the stone wall in my backyard with the same..that said, it probably isn't "food safe"..however, I have cleaned tile grout with vinegar.. has anyone tried either that or perhaps lime juice to clean mortar?? by the way, we hope for the "el nino" here in Michigan..makes for a milder winter

[jmhepworth]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

I would be surprised if cleaning with muriatic acid is not food safe. That's just another name for hydrochloric acid, and you have that in your stomach. It's really nasty stuff to work with, and burns like crazy if you get it on your skin or breath the fumes.

Joe

[Lars]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

Joe,
Good call. That's what I was thinking. ( muriatic= HCl ) If you rinse it off it would be harmless to a pizza or your stomach. If you were especially concerned, one could probably throw a little baking powder on the area after rinsing to neutralize anything that might be left. Just a thought.

L.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

Stonylake: I'm always rootin' for you Michigan folks to have a mild winter. Hope you get one. Actually, I'm also rootin' for us in SoCal to get a wet winter...

I used the straight white vineager with a stiff brush and it worked to a point. Then, I just had to use the pool acid and water mixture too. I agree, it's fine in the oven as long you rinse it.

Chris, backyard is splendid! Looks like a perfect place for friends, pizza and wine. The WFO is nice addition. I wouldn't worry at all about the mortar cracks under your vent anchor plate. It wouldn't hurt to add a little mortar over it when you make your next batch. But it still might still get surface cracks again although that will not matter.

Great job! -Dino

[SCChris]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

Thanks for the feedback Dino!

The weather at the moment is ideal for curing, warm and dry, so working with what I have at hand and not wanting to push beyond what's prudent, I placed a work light in the oven last evening. I did a bit of fussing with what was left of the arch support, using it as a door, and ended up this morning at 88 degrees in the oven. Although this doesn't seem to be much, its 30 degrees over the ambient temp and the top, exterior, of the oven is about 10 degrees over the ambient. The bricks at the front of the entry are only 5 degrees over air temp, so I feel like I have a bit of gentle drying going on and am using the weather to get a head start. I'll trade out work lights and see if I can hold the mid hundreds in the interior tonight. My hope is to get a turkey fryer burner running Friday night and hold 300 degrees for 24 hours. This would make Sunday morning the start of a 350 degree burn and if I don't insulate on Saturday it'll be Sunday. I'm hoping to do a bit of low temp cooking during these cures..

Cassoulet? hmm?

Chris

[SCChris]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

Update Wed Oct. 22.
I replaced the shop light with a 500W version and had 120 degrees F in the interior this morning. The outside temp was about 55 degrees F. I'm really just trying to keep the dry air moving and the weather working for me. We don't have too many dry air days along the southern California coast so as the saying goes, " make hay while the sun shines". The forcast is for 80 degrees along the coast so I'm hoping that I have a temp of 150+ when I get home. Tonight I'll get a better idea about what LP burner I'll have to use to hold 300 degrees for 24 hours, I may have to run up to walmart for one of the closeout turkey fryers, $20 on sale.

[SCChris]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

I found a burner at Lowes and ran just under 300 Degrees for 14 hours last night. I put more specifics in the "Firing your oven" forum.

Chris

[SCChris]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

As I'm writing this I have the forth curing burn running. Tonight I'll run 15 or so hours up to 450 degrees or so. As for the structure and insulation, it's a bit rough at this point. I'll be adding cement board to the outside this weekend and this added structure will allow me to tidy the insulation up. Before buttoning up the roof I'll add a bit more insulation in what ever voids i see. I hope to do a pizza burn next Saturday.

Chris

[SCChris]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

20 hours of burn to as much as 540 Degrees. I now have cement board wraping the sides. I need to get the roof structure in shape and get it all weather proofed, sooner than later. The cement boards up front will be cut to follow the roof line.

Chris

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

way to go chris...............

[John K]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

Hi Chris

I have recently read through your build and it is fantastic!!

Love the idea of using gas to cure the oven.

A bit of an alrounder I see! Your whole entertaining area is top notch. Looking forward to the rest of the build

Cheers
John

[SCChris]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

After the last report, we all got ready to go "trick or treating" at a friend?s and low and behold my wife has the audacity to come down with the flu. Bummer!! I slept on the couch and checked in on my wife throughout the night. I took Sunday off to catch up on all other things. The burner seems to work ok, better, more robust, at the lower temps, but as the water has been pushed out I see faster upward swings in temp when heating. In my mind, that I could set the burner running and have a predictable flame level over a long period, was if nothing else comforting. I have about 50 hours of running heat on the oven and feel pretty sure that I?m dryer than a hand full of shorter wood burns would have left me. The one thing that the wood burns would have done that I haven?t is the quick thermal shock. Bringing an oven from ambient to 850F or so in 1.5 or so hours is going to be a very different type of burn.

Chris

[jmhepworth]

Re: SC Chris's 42" WFO build

The ambient to high heat burn is when I got my cracks. I thought I had made it through the cure without cracks and then saw them after I really got it up to temperature. But it still cooks pizza even with the cracks, which, by the way, we refer to as expansion joints. I didn't co through anywhere near as prolonged a cure as you did, so you should be OK. If it still cracks, I don't know what more you could possibly do.