How to finish a stainless steel arch?

[JasonK]

Hi All,

I finally finished my build here in Adelaide (took a long, long time but all worth it in the end) and I'm pretty happy with it, a few things I'd do different if I had my time again but given it was built by two blokes with no idea, it turned out alright.

I'll attach some photos in case anyone has any questions, always happy to help those starting the building process, I know I asked lots of questions when I was doing it.

My biggest dilemma is how to finish off the stainless steel I used to help me with the brick arch. Whilst it made building the brick arch incredibly easy, it now remains part of the oven and gets ridiculously hot - so hot you lose your hair and eyebrows everytime you put something in the oven!

I had some spare render and had a go and rendering it, and it stuck for a while but with each firing more and more is coming off.

Does anyone have suggestions on how I could finish it off so that it not only looks nice but doesn't get so hot?? I'm thinking maybe a fire silicone with some cut down tiles glued on perhaps?

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Rendered steel arch


Before it was rendered
https://imageshack.com/i/iq34HNq9j

[JasonK]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

And the build photos for those that are interested

[JasonK]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

Build photos (cont.)

[JasonK]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

Build photos (cont.)

[JasonK]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

Build photos (cont.)

[cobblerdave]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

G'day Jason
I don't think myself that the steel on the entrance is your problem with burning heat.
Your entrance is not that long. The chimney is only a small section of the roof of that entrance and a lot of the superheated gases bypass it. It shows by the smoke stains on the front of your oven.
I have a friend who's oven oven has internal chimney. To keep the heat up he blocks it off, thus everything exits the front. To complicate matters because its only 1/2 brick to the fire inside side breezes blow things around. He's used to it , I'm not. He excepts a few lost hairs.
My entrance is 2 bricks lengths deep, and I have a chimney that is wider than the door. No great heat to contend with.
Now of course to rebuilt the complete entrance to include a wider chimney is not what you would what to do. I certainly would not.
Perhaps a brick arch in front would stop the effects of the breeze at the sides and the unexpected puffs of heat.
Now again thats a big task. But why not get a strip of tin and shape it to fit and see if it helps. Then if it proves to be worth it then build an arched brick entrance. You have built an arched dome so an arched brick entrance is possible. I have an square entrance and added and arched brick entrance so its doable
Regards Dave

[stonecutter]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

Hi All,

I finally finished my build here in Adelaide (took a long, long time but all worth it in the end) and I'm pretty happy with it, a few things I'd do different if I had my time again but given it was built by two blokes with no idea, it turned out alright.

I'll attach some photos in case anyone has any questions, always happy to help those starting the building process, I know I asked lots of questions when I was doing it.

My biggest dilemma is how to finish off the stainless steel I used to help me with the brick arch. Whilst it made building the brick arch incredibly easy, it now remains part of the oven and gets ridiculously hot - so hot you lose your hair and eyebrows everytime you put something in the oven!

I had some spare render and had a go and rendering it, and it stuck for a while but with each firing more and more is coming off.

Does anyone have suggestions on how I could finish it off so that it not only looks nice but doesn't get so hot?? I'm thinking maybe a fire silicone with some cut down tiles glued on perhaps?

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated!

The only suggestion I have to address your problem with the arch is to get some insulating fire brick splits, and build an arch covering the steel on the intrados and face of the steel arch. There is nothing that will adhere material to that metal...the thermal cycling will break the bond every time.,guaranteed.

Are you happy with the oven overall? Because if you're not, I would recommend dismantling this one and rebuilding another. The current oven has a lot of problems with efficient design: lack of insulation ( none under the hearth?), way undersized throat and flue, cone shaped dome, etc, etc,etc.

[Laurentius]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

I agree with Stonecutter, it seems as if you jumped in the water without learning how to swim! The great effort in building your foundation and platform is totally loss with the construction of the oven, it looks good, but the flaws will cause constant headaches.

[david s]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

As steel is way more conductive than brick and because your steel is also closer to the fire, it will expand faster than the brick that surrounds it. Unless you've made provision for this by leaving a gap between the steel and the brick, expect the brick arch to crack. This may or may not be a problem.To answer your initial question, you could just leave it. Periodic sanding of the front facing should bring the stainless back to shiny new.

[JasonK]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

Thanks all for the honest replies!

We did follow a plan, so though it may look like we made it up as we went along, it's not quite true. The odd shape was part of the plan with the extra height being to prevent the top of bread loaves burning. If I had my time again, I wouldn't bother but it seemed a reasonable decision at the time.

There is insulation in the hearth, V1100 Insulating Board. This oven doesn't lose heat, the outside of the oven hits 35 degrees max when it's fully cranked, the underside of the base doesn't even hit 30 degrees and inside is 600 plus (the IR thermometer only shows up to 599 degrees!). The only heat loss is out the front due to the short throat but the performance of this oven is fine. My only issue with it is (or was, until I read the replies to this post!) that it was a bit warm working with it and hair loss occurred, no big deal really, just something I'd fix if I could. I don't think lack of insulation is a problem, there is a heap of Superwool and it's finished with insulating cartable, about 70mm thick.

I might have a go at extending the throat if i can't live with it, I shall see how I go.

Thanks again for your replies

[Lancer]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

Yow that steel carries the heat of the oven straight out to the front. So, build a wood arch and set facing bricks on it to insulate between the heat of the metal (full oven heat) and you a bit.

Piece of cake. Not that its a big issue anyway but your steel carries the arch. You should be able to put a facing in front with no additional structural support.

Realize that nothing carries most arches and arches carry most everything to my understanding. Your arches don't have to carry beven themselves, so an insulating and decorative arch in front would be practically free standing.

Aside from that an added buffer between the fire heat and the steel on the inside is worth contemplating though there may be no space.

If I may, can you instruct me on the reasoning for the steel in the first place?

[jeffreybenge]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

Well Jason, it looks like an amazing piece of work. You can try to wear insulated clothes to protect you from the heat and to prevent yourself from getting charred.

[cobblerdave]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

G'day
You've got to remember that the old school wood fired ovens were fired to so called pizza temps to get the heat into the brick. The serious task of bread baking only began when the oven cooled back to bread baking temps. The oven had to cool back to the 250 C.
Pizza was really the "first bread" cooked by the bakers themselves waiting for the oven heat to stabilize and sealed of with a door to cook multiple batches of bread.
Vent areas and external chimneys were not that important. Now days with our expectation of pizza and bread temps, the "oven mouth" is worth an extra effort.
My oven is a "wood fired oven" it's not just a pizza maker, its a baker, roaster, griller, the vent and external chimney a must
Regards dave

[Laurentius]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

Agreed, very few pizzas come out of my oven.

[Lancer]

Re: How to finish a stainless steel arch?

That could be a problem. Have you tried putting more in?

Sorry Laurentius, long day with a couple good rum drinks at its end.

Cobbler, thanks for that post. I've been wondering what temps I should be looking at to make bread in the AM.