Polito oven build in Melbourne

[Kkcache]

After many years of investigation and planning, I finally decided last year to build a Polito oven - a Donatello in particular.

The guys at Polito were great. Very knowledgeable and very helpful.

I decided to build the myself which allows me to save some money, have the fun of building it, and also do it my own way. I want my oven to perform a bit different from the factory built ovens in that I am hoping mine will get to temperature faster (400 degrees is about 1 - 1.5 hours, or faster) which means it won't be as hot the next day. I don't expect I need the heat retention after 12 hours - if I do, I'll put a log in.

Anyway, I picked up the kit before Christmas and built the firmware for my base and welded up the stand (see pics).

I also poured the slab for the base on Saturday. I used 15 bags of premix high strength concrete (55 mpa) from Bunnings.

Once it dries properly, I start on the oven.

[Kkcache]

Also, here is a temporary build of my oven pieces in my garage (note, I plan on having my manifold exposed and also using a mesh cover around the flue.

[Kkcache]

Calcium silicate board installed and then floor of the oven. Dome installed and sealed with refractory mortar.

3 layers of insulation installed, check Chicken wire and tied down.

I made a platform for the manifold to sit on whilst I do the first cement render coat.

Here are more progress images.

[Kkcache]

More....

[Kkcache]

More progress .... I have now done my first coat of render using sand and cement, mortared the manifold in place and mortared in the front arch, It's now looking closer to the end result.

More render still to go before we finalise the shaping and seal it.

The reason I simply used sand and cement is two fold: cost and strength. I also used Bondcrete (10:1 ratio) so that I could add more strength and adhesion to the mix. The extra patches that appear darker now are because I added more fill this morning in a few sections.

[david s]

I always like to leave sealing the outside until after around 10 decent cooking fires to ensure there is no moisture trapped in the oven. Sealing only helps to prevent it from escaping.

[Kkcache]

Thanks David. I have read a few people say that as well. I have quite a bit more mortar to put on there before I finish render the oven. Once the shape is done and I acrylic render the whole thing (smooth finish), I plan on curing it for a week and fire it up before sealing it.

Good advice.

[Kkcache]

Final coat done over the weekend. I'm really happy with the shape now.

Now we wait till the weekend before we start the first fire. Plan is to cure the oven progressively for 7 days and then build it up. Once I've fired it few times, on goes the seal coat.

[Kkcache]

Render finished now and waiting for it to dry well. Triple skin Flue finished. Next is curing fires before I seal it.

[cobblerdave]

G'day
Sweet looking oven, that's a very fancy looking flue with a square transition piece.
Regards dave

[Kkcache]

Thanks Dave.

It's a really simple setup. This is the standard manifold that comes with the Polito oven. The standard install from factory has the whole manifold and flue covered in render. I prefer the manifold exposed (like the Valoriani Hobby 100). The flue is a standard triple skin setup with decorative mesh. The whole just works easily.

I like this look a lot.

[david s]

I hope it's made of stainless steel.

[Kkcache]

The flue is. I don't believe the manifold is though. It should be fine as its under cover

[Kkcache]

I have cured the oven over a week with great results. I also discovered a trait of my oven; it gets quite hot around the manifold and just behind the arch. In fact, with the oven Rabin at 500+ deg Celsius the outside of the oven next to the manifold gets to 120 degrees C. With the oven at 400 degrees, the same area was around 90 degrees.

So I made the decision to add a layer of perlite render approx 20-30 mm thick. Hopefully it should help substantially.

I have now also rendered the whole oven with acrylic render ready for texture coat and it looks fantastic.

I also discovered that the only texture coat that is rated up to 90 degrees is Dulux Acratex. That's next.

[Kkcache]