If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

[fornax hominus]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

Rick ,
I don't think you can have too much insulation. Most people wished they had put in a little more . Vemiculite does settle and although it has heat resistance it's not as effective as say ceramic blanket.
I'm wishing I had put a vent in the top of my dome in case I get a moisture build up in the vermiculite from doing stocks and adding all that steam to my breads.

[oventhusiast]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

I'd build a giant 'can' around the outside of the dome (inside the dog house) with sheet metal or metal screen to hold the vermiculite right around and over the dome. I almost filled my dog house with vermiculite and I'm sure a good portion of it is just sitting there wasted!
Rick

[Dolf]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

...I wish I had put in a niche to hold my beer, I have lost count of how many I have knocked to the ground with peels, tools and my elbows.
...
tim

Now that's a crucial piece of info! Should be a tip for the main manual please James - think green - dont waste! :-)

[Les]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

Mine has some stainless steel which seems to be doing the job nicely.

Robs,

After my post I was talking to the wife and then I had the epiphany, use a sheet of stainless - you beat me to it. . Much easier then removing the brick (it will also match my flue cover and BBQ)

Les...

[robs]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

I would think that there is a lot of product that is "cleanable" that can withstand the reduced heat.

Mine has some stainless steel which seems to be doing the job nicely.

[Les]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

I would definitely put another product in the entry way other than fire brick. It's not a problem when cooking pizza and breads, but beer can chicken and the Tuscan grill has made a mess of it. I would think that there is a lot of product that is "cleanable" that can withstand the reduced heat.

Les...

[MK1]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

[QUOTE=fornax hominus;91889]I wish I had put in a niche to hold my beer, I have lost count of how many I have knocked to the ground with peels, tools and my elbows.

OMG! The horror. No pizza, no matter how good is worth the life of a quality beer!!!

Mark (I brew a lot)

[fornax hominus]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

I wish I had put in a niche to hold my beer, I have lost count of how many I have knocked to the ground with peels, tools and my elbows.
I would also have mad it a bit taller so I don't have to stoop to see the back , but that would have meant another course of fieldstone and so far I can still stoop.
I bullt my vent as big as I could 27''x7'', with an isolated arch ....great!

I wrapped the parged dome with buider's foil then the1'' of ceramic blanket then another layer of foil [shiny side in!] then the vemiculite [lots ]

Under the floor of 3''x 7'' x9'' firebricks I put the octagan lid of an old pottery kiln [insulating brick] 2 1/2 '' in a bed of insulating cement .
tim

[robs]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

I have only had my oven a short amount of time and only cooked in it a half a dozen times. With this limited experience i wish i had some experience mixing and using concrete, mortar and render. Having said that after my build i now have a wee bit of experience and feel ready to do it again.

I would like a bit more room inside my oven probably about 1 metre diameter instead of the current oval shape approx 1 metre deep and 0.7 metre wide.

I don't have a door on my wood storage area yet, it is in the plan haven't got around to it yet. So when it rains my wood gets wet. Also to help keep the wood dry i think i would have the hearth overhang the stand at the front with the added bonus of some more prep area in front of the oven.

Like everyone else i wish i built one ages ago.

I did jump into my build a bit under prepared and full of gusto but always had in my mind that i will soon be building another one as we have outgrown our house and this build was my practice. The oven is still great and functional and wouldn't be too dissappointed if i had to keep my current oven.

[david s]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

I sometimes think I want a bigger oven, but then I remember how easy, and cheaper it was to build it small. These ovens are so much fun, especially if you get a kick out of playing with fire. I was just thinking today how we are so careful not to let kids play with fire, yet most kids are really fascinated by it. I think we need to encourage kids to learn about the primeval elements. They have so much to teach us. I think the home brewed cider is beginning to talk.

[MK1]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

I think I would isolate the entry arches from the dome like the commercial guys do.

Mark

[SCChris]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

I asked myself the question, in a no holds barred, oven build, what would I do? This seems to be a bit of a moving target but many of these things are fixed in my mind.

I like the brick dome, so I’d keep it. It was just fun to take rectangular bricks and make a hemisphere. Too cool! It’s also very satisfying to look into the oven and see the brick structure. Is pride a sin??

I’d put 3 inches of rigid insulation under the floor, more is better as long as it doesn’t compromise the structure.

I wrap the dome in 4 inches of blanket before filling the house with fiberglass. Overkill.

I’d make the house 6 inches wider to accommodate the additional insulation. Overkill.

I’d install a monolithic inner arch with a swinging or 2 “French style” swinging insulated doors. All of this to maximize a tight, no heat leak, fit. I dislike pulling the doors out and putting them somewhere, out of the way.

I’d put the exterior door, the door on the outside of the entry, on a hinge as well. I dislike pulling the doors out and putting them somewhere, out of the way.

I’d put 6cm of Soapstone as the interior floor. The thermal capacity is about the same as the brick but the Soapstone should minimize hot / cold spots in the oven. (Uh.. Mabey not, Ovencrafters doesn't recommend Soapstone for the floors their bread ovens because the conductivity of this material can burn the crust before the rest of the bread is done!)

I’d somehow design an insulating break between the dome and entry area to minimize the heat loss through this area. Can it be done and still be durable??

I’d replace the entry area floor with some nonporous stone. I’ve already replaced the brick with Soapstone but will likely replace this with the Granite that I have on the adjoining work areas. This is more about aesthetics than function.

I might, just might, put an ash dump slot in the entry to facilitate bread baking. While I at it, I incorporate a 1 inch grid into the dump tray to pull off the live coals for steak or whatever.

I’d build a smaller, second oven, to provide greater cooking flexibility. Smoking something or bread with a roast or??

Chris

PS I kinda feel like this thread should be sticky, there is a whole bunch of good info in this thread.

[Wiley]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

If the budget is lean one could look into finding a smaller Visions pan or pot at the local thrift or Goodwill and embed iot into the WFO dome itself. This product is quite superior to Pyrex (real borosilicate not the junk presently produced by the company that purchased the "Pyrex" name).

Visions products come in two colors: a amber and something they call "cranberry" (which my wife calls "pink"). This wonderful stuff was produced until the mid 80's by Corning and they used to have adverts (see link) where they melt an aluminum pan in one on a stove top (modified stove I'm guessing, as they say it's at a temp of 850C). One could easily imagine one being built into the stonework of a conventional brick WFO or included into the casting on a cast WFO as a shielded location wherein a conventional oven light bulb could be installed/replaced external to the WFO and yet be shielded from the flames etc. of the interior.

YouTube - 80s Commercials - Visions Cookware

Hope this helps,
Wiley

[Raffy]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

Damn you, Mark! Hehehe Now I want a Neoceram window to let in light for my oven. I wonder if it's too late to knock a hole out in the side of the oven. Nyahahaha

To address the topic of this thread, I would put more insulation and widen my vent opening. Other than that, i guess all the other desired changes are minor.

[SCChris]

Re: If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

Like Mark, I'm adding a piece of soapstone to my oven. I bought a cut off for $55 that will replace the brick floor in the entry area. Soapstone is stable at temp, easy to work and will allow easy the clean up of spills. I'll let eveyone know how easy I find the stone to work and include pictures of the process. I have also been toying with the idea of facing the sidewalls of the entry with soapstone tile for consistency sake.


Chris

PS See my update in this thread below and read the following for more Soapstone info..
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/s...ick-13110.html
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f24/...one-12975.html

Additionally search "Soapstone" for older posts as well.