New member & mobile oven question

[TDVT]

I have been lurking here on & off for a while & finally registered to check out all the cool pics of various project. Lots of good information, all greatly appreciated!

Anyway, I too, would like a mobile oven & had the same concerns (vibration, etc.) as the scoutmaster from Sweden whose post I came across while searching.

Does anyone have any experience/thoughts regarding a dry block oven with a steel frame? I am thinking a heavy gauge angle frame with brick just laid in, secured & then insulated. It might seem a bit blasphemous but it seemed to me it might survive being transported better than a monolithic masonry unit.

Another thought is a cast dome with brick sides & hearth.

Thanks!

[gjbingham]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

Check out the pre-fab frames available in the FB store. That would cut down on your weight.

[asudavew]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

I have been lurking here on & off for a while & finally registered to check out all the cool pics of various project. Lots of good information, all greatly appreciated!

Anyway, I too, would like a mobile oven & had the same concerns (vibration, etc.) as the scoutmaster from Sweden whose post I came across while searching.

Does anyone have any experience/thoughts regarding a dry block oven with a steel frame? I am thinking a heavy gauge angle frame with brick just laid in, secured & then insulated. It might seem a bit blasphemous but it seemed to me it might survive being transported better than a monolithic masonry unit.

Another thought is a cast dome with brick sides & hearth.

Thanks!

I've been wanting to do this too.
You would definitely have to use a metal frame, and as little of mortar as possible. I think custom cutting each brick, like Ken's or Les' ovens.
I have been thinking the best way to guard against vibration damage, would be to complete the dome out of bricks, and then cover them with chicken wire. Then cover that with an inch of mortar, then another layer of chicken wire, then another inch of mortar. Then the insulating layer. After that more wire and stucco....

Just what I have been thinking. Not sure if it would work or not...

But that's my 2 cents.

Dave

[TDVT]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

Thanks for the replies.

I checked out the frames in the store & only saw bases. What I am thinking is a steel frame for not only the base but the oven itself.

I am envisioning an oven similar to the one in the "Bread Builders", but smaller. Square sides & back wall with an arched roof. The bricks would lay on the steel angle so there would be steel exposed on all the inside corners of the oven chamber. Anchor the bricks (strap them down w/some wire or ??), then insulate & fab some sort of outer shell.

I have done alot of steel fabrication so building the trailer & oven frame wouldn't be a problem.

[dmun]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

I'm afraid I don't envision what you're talking about. Maybe a sketch?

I don't understand what your angle iron structure would do, if it's not the base. It doesn't support your oven dome unless it's inside the oven, and then it would rust with the heat, and stress the brick structure with it's greater coefficient of expansion. That's why we don't put re-bar in domes.

Any mobile oven is going to be subject to vibration and shocks. That's why most mobile catering ovens have been done with pre-cast units, they're less subject to cracking.

[TDVT]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

It doesn't support your oven dome unless it's inside the oven, and then it would rust with the heat, and stress the brick structure with it's greater coefficient of expansion.

Inside is what I meant. I had thought about the oxidation but not the differences in expansion. That is probably a good reason I've never seen something like that. Sounds like a pre-cast dome is the way to go.

Thanks, that's why I asked!

[mine]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

My plan is to build a 36" brick oven over SuperIsol. The dome will be around the floor, inside a metal tray supported by a 1 1/2 x 3 steel tube frame.

This way I can mount the oven/frame to the trailer frame on its own set of springs. I 'm not planning a lot of travel with it, but I am a renter and can't see leaving a project of this magnitude behind.

[gjbingham]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

Mine,
Sounds like a good plan. If you ever grow roots, you can plant the oven too and finish it with Hardiboard and veneer/stucco.

G.

[TDVT]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

I have been looking at the various posts about refractories & came across this from one of the provided links.




This design looks like a good trailer candidate for weight & ease of assembly (or repair).It's a little small (24"), but would meet my needs.

I emailed the manufacturer earlier in the week to see if the dome is available separately, which it is. Haven't gotten a cost yet, though. If it's too expensive then I might try casting one myself.


Superior Clay

[gjbingham]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

Pretty cool. It would definitely be a good candidate for a trailer. It is pretty small and might not suit your long-term needs, but you could probably sell it pretty easily, I would guess.

[TDVT]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

I've been knocking around some ideas for forms/molds if the pre-made unit is too costly. I did a fair amount of scenery & prop fabrication years back so I've got a few ideas based on my experience with that.

The Superior Clay unit is 27" dia. & around 2" thick so it seems a managable size for a first project.

I'm pretty rusty with my geometry but I come up with a 28" dia.,2" thick dome have a material volume of about 2,100 cu in which is about 2 bags of refractable mix. So $150 (?, incl. forms) for the dome wouldn't be too bad.

[dmun]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

The superior clay stuff, when I looked at it, was silly expensive. Their largest oven is smaller than James's smallest one. Fire in the oven cooking is going to be really tight at 27"

Remember that there are lots of different kinds of refractory mix. Many are insulating, and not suitable for our work. Others need specific heat curing, which is hard to do with oven-sized units. Get the material data sheet and read it carefully. Refractory dealers are there to sell you stuff. They can help with technical stuff, but you have to read the stuff yourself.

[chuckster]

Re: New member & mobile oven question

Hey,
Here's a link for a mobile pizza cart. Maybe there are ideas you can use?

http://www.pizzacart.net/index.html

Chuck