OctoForno

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Chris,

Thanks for the load of great information based on your experience. I have been weighing the timing of insulating the dome not only for uniform curing but also for potential crack repair. I had not considered how the presence of insulation will affect curing temperature rise and drying rates. I think wrapping prior to reaching 250F is a good idea. Once wrapped, if I see a slow temp rise I'll continue to go slow. If I see a fast temp rise I'll know the water has been driven out and will go a little faster. Knowing what a slow vs a fast temp rise looks like is going to be the tricky part.

Thanks again.
John

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Then again, an idle completed oven is screaming for a fire, it's hard to resist.

Man, is that true!

So I would stretch the days of the early curing temps by 2 or 3 days each making the whole process a week and a half

So it shall be. I feel much better about applying a structured curing approach and having control of (or at least considering the affects of) inherent dome conditions that unless you guys had pointed them out, I would be unaware of.

Thanks again, Dino, for your insight and experience, which is indeed invaluable.

John

[Mike D]

Re: OctoForno

-I can't wait to see how it heats up.
-My dome and vent have been done for a wile, but I have been waiting to finish the outer decorative brick before I start the fires. I had a lamp in there for a couple of days (an old chicken lamp 250 watt) and it did heat up the oven nicely.
- I will be watching closely.

Mike

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: OctoForno

I am the same as John in that I had not considered the fact that insulation changes the curing and drying rates but it definitely makes sense. I will have to remember that when I (finally) get to my build. I am all in favor of the idea of putting the little heater in the oven like Mark (drseward) did in his Colorado oven build thread. With the ability to keep the temperature within 1 degree of where he wanted it for days at a time that seems like a very smart and wise way to cure the oven...slow and low.

John, you might have already stated this but since I have read through your thread a few times now and don't remember seeing it I will just ask my question. How do you figure what angle to cut your firebrick? And at what point do you switch from half bricks (or larger) to the smaller 1/3 brick size? That is one thing I haven't been able to imagine yet but definitely something I want to figure out before the build starts.

Thanks,
Nate

[chidding]

Re: OctoForno

I am the same as John in that I had not considered the fact that insulation changes the curing and drying rates but it definitely makes sense. I will have to remember that when I (finally) get to my build. I am all in favor of the idea of putting the little heater in the oven like Mark (drseward) did in his Colorado oven build thread. With the ability to keep the temperature within 1 degree of where he wanted it for days at a time that seems like a very smart and wise way to cure the oven...slow and low.

John, you might have already stated this but since I have read through your thread a few times now and don't remember seeing it I will just ask my question. How do you figure what angle to cut your firebrick? And at what point do you switch from half bricks (or larger) to the smaller 1/3 brick size? That is one thing I haven't been able to imagine yet but definitely something I want to figure out before the build starts.

Thanks,
Nate

Like everyone who has built a pizza oven, you will know when to make the bricks smaller.. from experience that is.. If you find its starting to get hard to make circles.. then reduce the brick size.

[SCChris]

Re: OctoForno

Nate, Re brick size;
Ideally you won't have joints that run vertical between courses, or stated another way the bricks of the course you're placing should bridge the joints of the joints of the course these bricks lay on. This will help define your brick size/s. Additionally you'll start to see a "V" appearing under these bricks that creates an overly large mortar joint. When the joint gets unacceptable, this is qualifyable not quantifyable, then you need to adjust your brick size.

Now for the disclamer; Some oven builders on this site have used 1/2 bricks throughout and filled the gaps with mortar, and these ovens are capable of the same high quality pizza and food as are very tight ovens. The build of the oven is a reflection of how you execute the build and this is about so many other things like time and $

Chris

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Nate,
I didn't pay attention to 1/2-bricks and 1/3rd bricks as many builders do in an effort to minimize their brick waste. The two objectives I had when designing my oven was to stagger the bricks symmetrically and to create a hand-crafted brick oven look, whatever that is. In fact, I didn't really even use full half-bricks to start, rather, the lower courses were started slightly more narrow because I wanted to minimize the overhanging 'I' that is created by larger bricks as they overlap. It wasn't until the 4th or 5th course that I discovered I could contour the face of each brick (on both axes) to eliminate the 'I'. Since each successive course requires increasingly narrower bricks to stay 'on bond', there comes a time when individual brick width becomes prohibitively small and you're forced to revert to a larger brick size to maintain the stagger. In the pic below, you can see I did this on the 8th course.

Hope this helps.
John

[SCChris]

Re: OctoForno

Such a pretty oven.. Are you sure you want to spoil it with a fire..


Chris

[ggoose]

Re: OctoForno

Dang that's a good lookin' oven...

[Aegis]

Re: OctoForno

Dang that's a good lookin' oven...

Good lookin' isn't even close! One of the finest pieces of work I've seen. Has to be in the top ten for sure!
Great Job!

[ggoose]

Re: OctoForno

Top 10 at least...number one gets my vote

gene

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: OctoForno

John,

I hope you don't think I "hijacked" your thread (even if just temporarily) but thanks for taking the time to respond. And Chris and chidding thanks to you guys, too. The more I have studied this build thread the more "aha" moments I have been having so thanks for all the help just by posting so much detail. It is appreciated more than you know.

Nate

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Thanks for the compliments, guys. You really know how to keep a guy humble! Truth be told, if it wasn't for the generosity of the builders here who invest in becoming engaged and sharing their knowledge, I'd probably have never committed to building my oven.

I hope you don't think I "hijacked" your thread

Nate - Actually, I was thinking just the opposite after I posted my reply to your question. What a great place to provide clarification or a design approach to one who is now in the same place I was a year ago. All you have to do is ask, and to hear the occasional 'aha' makes it all worthwhile. I figure this isn't my thread. It's for everybody who uses it for inqueries and answers.
John

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: OctoForno

Thanks John,

It is good to hear you say that. The idea of people helping people like this forum does is one of the things that makes this forum awesome. Also, after reading what you said about Sketchup I had to go find it and now I just need to learn to use it better so that I can sketch up my plans (once I figure out what I want to go with of course ). So thanks for that info as well.

I am looking forward to reading about and viewing the rest of your build (no pressure of course )

Thanks again!

Nate

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: OctoForno

Hey John,

I just thought of another question since I just got done reading the Sticky on Refractory mortar. Do I remember correctly that you used the "home brew" mix or did you use something like Heatstop 50? If you did use your own mix which did you use and how do you feel about it now since you got your dome completed?

Thanks again for all the help and answers.

Nate