Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Hi Russell,

Yes that is a problem with the two different brick types so yes I would leave 1/2'' gap and fill it with some of that insulation cord.
Russell, I think that would only apply to an oven that is enclosed like mine, my arch is part of a wall but if you are intending to only have a decorative arch I don't think that would be a problem. In my situation it was not just the arch that cracked but the next couple of courses above the arch, if you look you will see that I also have a half brick immediately above the decorative arch I see that as a bigger problem, I should have made sure there were full bricks above the arch to keep a full bond not a quarter bond like I have.

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Thanks for getting back. I think I have it dialed in now.

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

I had the opportunity to visit a friend last weekend he has a mill and apart from getting plenty of wood for the WFO I was in the hunt for a slab of timber that I could use for a sign to hang up at our side entrance carpark.
When we have lots of guests or when I run my cooking class / workshops people park at our side entrance so I wanted a sign to say that they are at the right place.
I was lucky and found a great piece of Grey Gum a beautiful and multi coloured timber.
So after some planing, sanding, routing, varnishing, drilling and hanging we now have a great new sign.

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

The end result

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Doug,

That is really cool. Your spread downunder must be the equivalent of the US SouthFork for the old TV show Dallas.......Nice touch to a welcome to the Karangi Gourmet Kitchen!

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Doug,

I am going to steal you innovation on a proofer. I was able to score a hospital blanket heater for free from my brother-in-law. All the external guts are gone but the insulated cabinet is intact and in great shape. The SWMBO says how many people are you going to cook for when she saw it

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Russ,

That looks good I don't think it's to big.
I put my washed wooden peels and dough boards in my proofer after I have finished proofing and use the retained heat to dry them.

Good luck with your proofer it should work well mine certainly does.

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

FIRE ON THE SIDE OR AT THE BACK?

A couple of weeks ago I went down to Victoria to visit my Son, while I was there I got to use a barrel / vault oven that a friend of my Son’s built last year.

After the fire had got up to temp my Son and I cooked pork belly, the fire was at the back of the oven and I was surprised how much heat control we had, near the front of the oven it was much cooler and of course closer to the fire was really hot, by moving the dish back and forth we had complete control of the heat.

After the pork was cooked we cooked a couple of pizzas one with the fire at the back and one with fire on the side of the oven.
The second pizza cooked with the fire at the side was a lot easier to cook so I agree that with the fire on the side is the way to go for cooking pizza but not necessarily for roasting or baking.

When I got back home I tried the same thing with my igloo oven and I was pleasantly surprised just how much easier it was to move dishes and pans in and out I seemed to have more room and again the control of the heat, also how the smoke rolls back over the dish before exiting which gives a better smokiness.

I have always built my fire in the middle of my oven then moved it to the left side to cook, it works great for pizza but I will be roasting / baking with the fire at the back from now on.

First two pictures of the barrel oven fire at the back third picture barrel oven with fire moved to the side ready for pizza and the last two are roasting in my igloo with the fire at the back

[cobblerdave]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Gudday
Thanks Doug the fire at the back for cooking 'fire in oven 'is a lightbulb moment for me
Regards dave

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Doug,

Thanks for sharing your observations. Another arrow in the cooking quiver.

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

FIRE AT THE BACK IS BEST WHEN COOKING WITH TRAYS

The difficultly of moving dishes in and out when the fire is to the side (sometimes having to move 2 to 3 to get to the one at the back) is shown in the first 3 pictures.
But having the fire at the back alleviates this problem and gives you a lot more working space as shown in pictures 4 and 5

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Since starting my WFO workshop and cooking classes I am continually asked about building ovens but my answer is always the same, I politely say no.

But I suppose I have been conjured into doing some consulting, as it turns out, now I have 3 ovens on the go

1. 1500mm with a hand made door
2. small precast cheep store bought
3. barrel vault.

The 1500mm oven is the first I will cover, the stand was built about 2 years ago, since then the owner Josh organised a blacksmith to manufacture an awesome door. (the problem is the door is a little large and I had to work out how to fit it into the oven, it would have been good if he had of consulted me first but i did not meet him until it was to late)
Now Josh has really got himself together and has all the materials needed.
After taking some measurements and setting the door in place it was time to pour the suspended slab, the door had feet made of 12mm rebar so it needed to be set to the height of the hearth. In the meantime I did a couple of drawings and we were ready to start the build.
Hearth is insulation bricks 230x115x75mm then medium firebricks 230x115x75 basically the same as my oven.
Note the insulation under the door that will act as a thermal break plus it was a lot easier to cut than the firebricks.

I am not on the tools so to speak but I am hands on to do the tricky bits and show Josh how it goes I then leave it to him and wait until he completes that stage and I go back and set him up for the next bit.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Gudday Doug
Thats an interesting method of construction...starting with a door then building an oven around it....but thats a hell of a damn fine door.
Coupla questions....are they insulating firebrick under you hearth brick?
And .... the small tile shown in the last photos....what are they for?

Regards Dave

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Yes Dave, it is a different way to build an oven I suppose thats why he asked if I would help, first I thought a barrel / vault design would be easier than an igloo but Josh the owner had his mind set on an igloo, I also thought of going up 4 or so courses before starting the curve that would have made transition a lot easier, but after doing a dry run I changed my mind as it would probably need some buttress as support, I suggested another ring of plain bricks about 6'' out and fill the void with vermicrete but we decided on starting the curve from the first course like I did with mine.
Dave, yes they are insulating firebricks and the little pieces are some spacers he cut out of masonite.
With the door having to be set in the slab, that determined a lot of things such as position to the front and height of the hearth etc.

[Karangi Dude]

Re: Karangi Dude's 48inch Oven

Progressing really well seeing it has been less than 2 weeks since the first brick was laid.
Josh is a really nice young fellow who works really hard, he has 2 young children with another due in a couple of months, he works late into the night so he can spend time with his family during the day.
Josh had never laid or cut a brick before this build so he is learning really fast.

Fitting the oven around the door has been a challenge as the door was not made to suit the bricks, so we have cut and modified where we can.
You can see how Josh is following my lead on only cutting one side of each brick to avoid the upside-down vee's it is working well.
I suggested when gravity starts to take over to use angle brackets anchored down with a weight on a piece of string to hold bricks in place while the mortar sets, Josh is using that method to hold the bricks in place while he is measuring the amount that needs to cut of the next brick, so he is adapting well.