Metal lined

[Fred.C]

Hi All

I am about to build my pizza oven and having access to free metal I was going to build my oven using a metal shell and then insulating it with a mortal mix
The reason I was going to do this was the construction would be a lot easier for me being a Fitter/Boilermaker by trade
Also my Pizza oven will be build on a metal pole 2mt off the ground as I am limited with space on my deck, so therefore the oven will be at the edge of my deck.
Can any one tell me of any pitfalls with this plan, especially with having a metal lining inside the oven?

Regards
Fred

[taiwanpizzaman]

I assume the insulation will be on the inside of the oven, because metals release gases (often poisonous) at high temperatures, but it all depends on the metal and its thickness etc. What about warping of the metal? With a thick enough high heat mortar on the inside, it would theoretically work. Good luck!
Colin

[jengineer]

Who can pass up a bargain. Free metal? Got to find a use for it. Using a metal oven is nothing new. Many small mom & pop places uses a 55 gallon drum cut in half for BBQ. In your neck of the woods clean tanks can be converted into ovens. These oven probably have an peak operating temperature of around 500F/260C

Papua New Guinea - Drum Ovens

I agree that you will want this oven to be insulated on the inside and are essentially using the metal as a tortoise shell. A whole bunch of heat and wood will need to be used if you don’t insulate it. Your typical pizza oven cooks anywhere from 700 to 900F / 370 to 480C. Other than using direct heat from the wood the design intent is to also use the retained heat that is radiating from the side and bottom of the oven.

You are going into uncharted territory for this forum but we are more than willing to offer up our opinions to help you succeed. RMusa, in addition to doing a traditional oven has also ventured into the world of Tandoori’s. These cookers use high heat too and he pointed us to a few sites that offer help in the construction of that device. This site describes using a 5 gallon drum and plastering it with layers in insulating material (cement and glass) followed by fireclay/cement (RefMix?). One of my concerns with insulating the metal is the different rates of expansion that could occur between your insulation and the metal. If the metal heats up you could experience spalling (falling chucks of the “plaster’) That means your insulation has to be spot on and over-designed so that the heat is forced to stay on the inside of the oven and not allowed to migrate to the shell. In the tandoori setting spalling is not too big a deal as the chunks will fall to the bottom of the container.

Create those wonderful Indian curries by building your own tandoor with these easy instructions on how to build a Tandoor (an Indian clay oven)

welcome to the forum

[Xabia Jim]

I had posted some pictures of clay oven liners they used in Spain. One of the pics was a metal exterior that held the liners as an option.

I agree that putting some masonry (refractory or firebricks) in the interior would be a good way to go....and knowing metalworking you would be able close it up around the inside.

good luck...post some pics as you make progress!

[janprimus]

here are a couple of pics a friend back in Maine sent me from a country fair she attended last year. It sure looks cool!
http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/chad/o...tal%20oven.JPG
http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/chad/o...20interior.JPG
This certainly takes some math to get the dome right. Geez, it looks cool though...
Chad

[james]

Chad,
Those are very cool -- they look with a traditional refractory oven on the inside, with that great metalwork (copper?) on the outside.

Is that right? I have never given metal work a try, and it looks fun. We've had some copper roofs, but a copper outer shell would be excellent.
James

[Alf]

Formidable copper work, presumably the oven is a Le Panyol (as indicated by the sign board behind the oven) but to what effect. Here in the Uk the copper would go green due to our continues rain! However, well-polished copper always looks good. Well done for the excellent copper fabrication

Alf

[Fred.C]

Thanks for all the information
This forum is truly amazing
Having read through alot of peoples ideas I have decided to build my oven out of bricks , in fact I am almost 3/4 the way though completion
I have been taking photos along the way and will post when I have time
I have set my self a deadline to make my first pizza in two week

[Paul Hagan]

Hello I am also a Metal Fafricator and am building an oven of Steel
I modified the brick plans into steel and here is what I am doing. 3/16" steel inner wall 3000 degree KAOLWOOL refractory insulation in a 3" space and 3/16" steel outer wall. Base is 1/4" formed pan with insulation also. Am I going down the right road or am I setting my self up for failure? I appreciate your input

[dmun]

Steel heats up quickly, and cools down quickly. I don`t think you are going to get brick oven like behavior, which depends on retained heat for cooking and porous masonry for moisture.

I don`t doubt you can cook in it, the world is full of steel ovens and barbeques, but I don`t seen any possible advantage to this plan.