FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

[Oven_Man]

Hi Guys

It's been a while since last posting here. I haven't had much use out of the oven recently - Just been too busy to even think of firing her up.
Recently, i've been toying with the idea of adding a gas burner to the oven and use it simultaneously. I'm looking at getting heat from the Gas and smokey note from the wood.

What do you guys think? Is this possible after the oven is built?
What size gas burner should I get? If you can tell me in BTU's, that would help greatly.
How do you suggest I install this Gas line into the oven? Drill through the dome perhaps and shove it in through there? Push it in from the front opening? Please give me some ideas?

Thanks a mill
OM

[Volongo]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

Where do I place my order? I want one! or two!

[Oven_Man]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

And 1 more

[Oven_Man]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

Hello FB Community
Been a long time since posting here but I haven't forgotten about you guys.

I wanted dedicate this post out to everyone here that assisted to help me build my Oven and a special dedication to David_S who has been so instrumental in almost building my oven for me with all his guidance.

For those that have following this thread - I'm sure you've been wondering what happened to me - did the oven ever get completed - did I scrap the project. The truth is I did finish the oven but because it's at a friends place - I don't use it very often - probably only used it about a dozen times - the cosmetics of my oven need a little facelift but the funcationlity does just as well as any good looking oven

I've only used the oven about a dozen times and haven't had much success in the beginning but as I learned more about the beast as David_s calls it, i learned how to tame it and found my shortfalls - it's all about temperature - I just wasn't firing her up high enough. Now my oven gets a beating out of me, I would be curious to know the temps but I don't have a term. at the moment so maybe when I invest in one I can let you guys know.

For your viewing pleasure - I've attached some pics of my most recent bake off which was both a success on one end (NY Style Pies) and a learning curve on the other (Neo Pies). I'm still learning so much but there's just so little time to do this as often as I like but I enjoy every bit of it when I have the chance.

All I can say is to anyone that wants to build their own oven - don't hesitate - go right ahead - the fruits of your hard work will sweeten once you complete a task like this and start using it's - I can promise you, its addictive. After the few bake off's we've had, I always told myself now I'm tired and don't think I can do this again and the very next day I'm craving that fire again

[Mudologist]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

You are running into the same problem everyone faces with mobile ovens. The better you built them, the heavier they are , and the heavier they are , the better you need to build them.

[Oven_Man]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

Hi David

I haven't been able to get down to do anything these past few weekends - been doing some renovations at home but definitely in the next 2 to 3 weeks - lookout for the Pics and wish me luck.

Take Care and keep in touch
Regards
OM

[david s]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

Hi OM are you ready for fire with the beast yet?

[Oven_Man]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

That sounds perfect. Today, I ripped out the patch of vermicrete and replaced it with render, hope it holds up to the heat.

Thanks a mill

[david s]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

It should not reach 300C which is the temp that destroys the Portland cement. It will of course be subject to expansion and contraction, but it holds up pretty well. I rendered over aerated concrete (Hebel) on my mobile oven and it has held up well. It is about 5 years old now and copped a fair bit of abuse. I have repaired a few thin cracks that developed, but if you do it yourself then it's no hassle to do some repairs occasionally.

[Oven_Man]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

If the vermiculite is a bit crumbly it will wear away so you could render over it.

Hi David
I hope you well.

Just to back track a little, I decided not to wait for the Vermiculite at my entrance to wear off so I'm going to remove a tin layer from the vermiculite and then render over it. Just so we on the same page, when you say render, do you mean use the Sand:Lime:Portland mix that i used over my dome as the final layer?

I should note that when i use the oven, this patch of exposed vermiculite gets hot, very hot in fact that you cant touch it; would that pose a problem for the render or may shall i use some Refractory Cement to run over the vermiculite sealing it once an for all?

Thanks
Regards
OM

[david s]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

stainless steel (especially thin stuff) warps considerably and easily, when heated. I don't think 1.2 mm is thick enough to prevent this. Make a cheap wooden one first.

[Oven_Man]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

Thanks.
I guess a 1.2mm thick stainless steel cut out in the shape of my entrance would work?

Now, just to find a company that does lazer cutting.
Is there any other way to cut the stainless steel in a arch shape with basic tools?

Thanks
OM

[david s]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

If one would pursue constructing a well insulated oven, why not the same with the door to make a cohesive unit? Since no wood is impervious to heat and or fire, it would highly recommended and practical to insulate it, then you would be traditional in appearance and modern in substance.

I totally agree. However finding a suitable material as an insulating panel that is both strong and insulating enough is difficult. It also needs to be made from a material that is safe unless it is totally encapsulated. This requires a lot more time and skill. One of the advantages of a wooden door is that they are easy and cheap to make.

[Laurentius]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

If one would pursue constructing a well insulated oven, why not the same with the door to make a cohesive unit? Since no wood is impervious to heat and or fire, it would highly recommended and practical to insulate it, then you would be traditional in appearance and modern in substance.

[david s]

Re: FINALLY!!! - Start Of Building My Oven

Hi David

I want to also experiment eventually with retained heat cooking and bread baking. I was thinking of making a door for my oven and was wondering if the pine wood will work?

If not, what wood do you recommend?

Thanks
OM

Wood is the traditional material used by Italians for their ovens. It is a much better insulator than steel which conducts heat out of the oven and gets dangerously hot unless it is insulated. Uninsulated wooden doors are likely to char somewhat and should not be put in place if the oven exceeds 300 C The Italians used to leave the wooden door in a bucket of water to help prevent charing, but it will still dry out relatively quickly on the inside surface. I think a hardwood is preferable and at least 19mm thick. Pine is likely to char the most quickly IMO. Check out what others have done by doing a search on doors. I use a timber called Quilla, which is hardwood, but it may not be available in SA.