Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

[johnnypie]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

thanks for your pic and info.ill b starting my oven soon have slab half doug out.thanks johnnypie

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Shay,

That seems like a great way to maintain a constant temp over a period of time.

The door does look good!!

Peter

[blacknoir]

Firing

I started Day 1 of firing today using a propane burner. I'm going to try and maintain a fairly steady temp of ~100F for 3-4 hours before I shut it off and pop the door on.

The door I whipped together last night using some sheet metal, leftover FB blanket, some sheet metal screws, a generic handle and some oven spray paint. It actually looks pretty good from a distance..

-Shay

[blacknoir]

Kitchen momentum

While I'm waiting impatiently for the oven to cure I decided to make some progress on the rest of the kitchen.. dang this oven is taking a lot of my time.. Sooo I put forms up for the bottoms of the 2 side counters. The middle part will be a fireplace so I'll be making a 3rd form later which sits up higher. I'm thinking I might do 1 more layer of cement block to raise it up to a low sitting height compared to the ground level of the counters.

[mluttropp]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Lars,

Thanks for the info. There may be hope yet.

Shey let us all know how yours works out when you fire it up.

[Lars]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Hey Matt,
I put up several posts about my experience with cracking, curing, and the clay flue. I really think it is all about the oven heating in an even manner. When you wrap your flue in portland/vermiculite, or even just enclosing it so cool air is not incident upon the outside, I think the liner will work fine.

Mine cracked, but after it's surrounded, the crack ONLY opens up on the top where it isn't surrounded.

Lars.

[blacknoir]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Only thing I have planned so far is to pour some perlite/portland around it tomorrow.. then I'll let it sit a week before I start firing.

oh, and cross my fingers..

As for speed, this is actually taking a lot longer then I thought it would. The dome was pretty quick but the entrance and arches take a lot of trial and error cutting which slows down the process a lot.. Originally I was hoping to complete an entire kitchen this summer but now I'll be lucky to complete just the oven..

[mluttropp]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Wow you are a fast builder.

I also want to try to use a clay flue. However, I am a little concerned by the number of people that have had problems with the flue cracking. Are you insulating your flue or doing anything to try to mitigate cracking?

matt

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Lookin good Shay...

Peter

[blacknoir]

Vent Complete

Today I was able to get the vent bricks cut and shaved to hold the clay flue. I created a wooden template of the base of the flue to help get things just right and once I was done mortaring the bricks in place the flue slipped right into my pre-cut bricks and mortar. I then slapped some mortar around the base of the flue and filled any gaps on the inside.

[KraemerBAC]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Shay ,

Sorry to hear about the collapse... I have been wondering about extra support as I build mine although I have a way to go before I can even consider it. Are you any where near Minneapolis??

Peter

[blacknoir]

Flue Started

This weekend I re-fixed my front arch after it collapsed due to a lack of good buttressing. I also added more support to the sides to hopefully prevent further incidents. Honestly I think extra support should be stressed in the pompeii guide.

Today I cut my 8x12 flue to make a tapered flue.. this wasn't that hard really.. the &@#%ty part is that I didn't actually pay attention to the measurements and realized when I was done that the flue was originally 7 1/2" x 11 1/2" and not 8 1/2" x 12" like I presumed.. which wouldn't be that big a deal except I stupidly assumed it was going to be 8 1/2" like my square flues.. so now they don't match up.. but I think I'll just cut one of my square ones up and make a small flared cap for it which matches whatever flue cap I get, which means I'll wait until I pick a cap..

Friday I plan on trying to finish up getting the oven prepared for the tapered flue and then I'll quit for a week to let it cure before I start firing.

-Shay

[blacknoir]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Thanks Dino! I plan on taking the grinder to those little protrusions once I've cooked in it a few times and it's fairly solid.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

Shay, so sorry to read about your arch falling. It looks really strong, good joints but like you said, you just did too much to it before it dried. I REALLY like your solution to notching the inner arch for the reveal, but bringing the reveal forward and using uncut or un-notched arch-wall bricks offset 1" for the side reveal. You were left with those little triangular points in the corners but I hope others follow your design, it looks good.

BTW: I also used some acid to get the white off, not too successfully and it DID all burn off anyway, so don't go crazy removing it. Just sponge it down when you take a picture and it'll look super until it dries.

Don't forget, I think it's better to tin-snip the 3/4" collar that drops down below the Duravent anchor plate so the opening is flat. If you leave it and build or brick up to it, it could expand when hot and shift or crack the bricks next to it OR if you leave some room, well then the smoke will not have a smooth escape route. Just a thought,

Still, it all looks very nice! Dino

[blacknoir]

Re: Shay's Pompeii Oven and Kitchen

I'm going to go with DuraVent.. once I have the vent anchor plate I'll build a place for it and then so a re-firing.. but I gotta have me some pizza!