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

[SteveP]

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

I wouldn't have built my work surface so deep. I'm 5'9" and have problems placing wood where I want them in the oven. I could nitpick, but I'm pretty happy with the overall build.

[olddude]

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

as for a light in the oven why can't you put an oven
light in side the newer ovens self clean at 900 deg

how hot does the fire get ?

[Les]

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

as for a light in the oven why can't you put an oven
light in side the newer ovens self clean at 900 deg

how hot does the fire get ?

My IR thermometer only goes to 968 deg. The dome goes off scale with no problem.

Les...

[olddude]

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

anyone know how hot it gets

being and electrician and a bit on the ADD side
was wondering how to light the dome

so first off lets use a 36" dome can some one tell me how hot it gets
was looking into furance's and they come with lights at 1400 deg so that would mean it might be pos.

getting close to building my dome just thought it would be cool to have

if not i'll put and outlet at the arch

or i could put a bracket for a arm light that you can remove when firing

[scottz]

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

I guess the only other thing I would change is perhaps adding more insulation, although the oven cooks everything fantastic and the way it should, it does have a small amount of heat loss through the top of the oven...not really enough to worry me though. But seeing all those pics of you guys in snow affected areas cooking and not having any snow melt is amazing! But this maybe just the oven still curing and getting moisture out. But I too love my oven, my most fav toy at the moment...and I have had at least 8 people wanting to build one after seeing mine!!

Scott

[fxpose]

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

For those who wished they had more insulation beneath the floor, you wish you had more than what the pompeii plans recommend?

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

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

I have an inch of vermiculite board from a fireplace that I picked up cheap on ebay then 4 inches of vermicrete on top, then of course the fire brick.. I feel thats plenty and never had a heat retention problem, I baked a pulled pork the other night,, took it out in the morning at 300 degrees,,, I left the door on and the next morning was still over 200..

The 81" oven build on the forum now has a light built in,, check it out http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/37/8...html#post86732

As far as glass for a door or light window

Strength and Durability
NeoCeram? can take the heat. Continuous temperatures up to 1470? F (700? C) can be withstood because this ceramic has an extremely low thermal coefficient of expansion. It doesn't run or swell at high temperatures the way normal glass does.

Neoceram there prices are fairly reasonable too...

the only change I think I would make is now that I have discovered the soapstone, I might put in one solid no seam piece for the floor...

As well as definitely making my vent opening larger... Like all builders/creators we will always have something we would do different I think...

Do It Yourself Soapstone : Slabs Sinks Countertops Soapstone Self Installation

Cheers
Mark

[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/soapstone-vs-firebrick-13110.html

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f24/soapstone-pizza-stone-12975.html

Additionally search "Soapstone" for older posts as well.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[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