Blast / draft door design question

[CoastalPizza]

I'm working on my blast (or draft) door design (something like in the link) and was wondering how big to make the air intake vent at the bottom of the door. The door will be used when starting up the oven (32" dia.) and will be placed such that it is further forward than the chimney and closes off the front face of the oven. I plan on an adjustable vent - a series of 2" holes in the lower portion of the door with a second sliding strip of metal with an offset group of holes. Slide one way, all the holes line up and the vent area is maximized, slide the other way, the holes are offset so that the vent area is minimized. The first cut design has 16.5 sq. in. of vent area when maximized --- what size vent is in your blast door?

[JRPizza]

I'm also interested to hear if others with a Pompeii style oven are using draft doors, or if that is something that more benefits a barrel type oven. My oven draws really well and I'm not sure I would want a fire burning any faster/hotter than it does with the opening unblocked. I've always heard slow and steady heating is best to avoid cracking and building up a uniform heat load.

[purplehaze]

In my experience low and slow is the norm for a pizza oven. A draft door could be used to reduce smoke in a residential neighborhood if that is an issue. On the other hand dry wood with a top down fire can achieve similar results. That just my 2 cents.

[CoastalPizza]

My purpose for the door isn’’t to burn hotter or faster, but to burn more efficiently. By controlling oven fresh air intake (possible with the door’’s adjustable damper), I control the rate of burn and also the rate at which exhaust gas leaves the oven. Damping it down will both lengthen the burn time of a given amount of fuel and put more of the generate heat into the oven by increasing the exhaust gas’’s residence time in the oven - all in theory at this point, will need to test! This will be a bit of a balancing act hence the desire for an adjustable damper.