If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

[SCChris]

.. Ping, just bringing this back to the front. I think it's a helpfull thread for newbies and fun for us with WFOs to see where others go with this thread. I may be a bit presumptuous however.



Chris

[Lill Dave]

Hi Chris
I'm just finishing my second oven a 36 in pompeii, Insluation is the main thing Iincreased.

[Lake lover]

Well I have not built one yet, this is a good thread.

Still gathering materials. Also decide where to put it in the yard.

[cobblerdave]

Hi all
Wouldn;t change much
Pompei brick oven to Forno plans everything is tried and proven ....right down to the herringbone patern of laying the hearth so the peel don't catch.
42 inch yes.... 3 pizza at once....Good size entrance great for big pans could not see anything under 32 in being usefull
Fire brick and ceramic insulation yes.....Firebrick store a goodly amount of heat and ceramic keeps it in for longer usable slow cooking time.
Deep entrance yep.... love having a area for an "ambient" fire in the front. 42 in has big opening so it makes no difference to operating the oven.
Igloo dome Yes....just like the look
Dome built on a plywwod guide....Na would use the indespensable tool if theres a next time.
Stand with one entrance for stowage....No would have a entrance on either side for easy of access theres some wood down the back of mine thats been there since its been built!
Cut all the brick angles with a saw...No... did it with bulster and diamond blade on grinder....works well enough and didn't take to much time and still produces a dome which is a strong structure itself.
Use the forum more.. Big yes...Not a big computer user and never been in a forum theres heaps of information and some truely awsome builds in here.

Regards dave
Dave"s build Australian section

[vtsteve]

I think I'd do a modified "H" base - shallow storage across the front, then a lengthwise divider to give shallow storage down *both* sides. My patio area isn't big enough to do the roll-out wood carts.

[cobblerdave]

Gudday
Check out " First time oven build " by megapulse in the Australian section.
Ive just seem this oven in the flesh so to speak and the stowage is awsome!

Regards Dave

[Lburou]

Brickie, your thread came at the perfect time for me. I read and reread this thread and incorporated many of the improvements mentioned below.

With a do-over, I might not taper the dome bricks and would definitely add more mortar between the bricks and not try for brick to brick contact on the inside of the dome -its both unnecessary and needlessly complicated. Above all, I would NOT use a soldier course, a sailor course would improve the bond matchups and reduce cracks in the dome!!!

Originally Posted by brickie in oz

If you had the chance to rebuild your oven, what would you change?

Id make mine 200mm (8") higher so I dont have to stoop over to look into it.
Id add more insulation on top, Id also like a bigger bench out front.

We made the oven entry 46.75 inches high....Perfect for us....No bending at all!

Originally Posted by echopark

More insulation under the floor (4" instead of 2" ceramic board), a slightly lower door (12" max), and a bigger opening to vent smoke to the flue.

Originally Posted by jcg31

much much more insulation in the floor
Jim

We put four inches of rigid insulation under the floor. I did have more settling on the insulation than I expected though. The settling was under the dome (about three sixteenths of an inch or so which made the oven floor higher in the middle than under the dome -dome is on the oven floor).

Originally Posted by Les

I would try and incorporate some lighting from the dome. Maybe use glass block as the plug and use it as a light pipe to shine light from the dome to the floor. Don't know if it is possible but that would be slick.

Les...

We mounted a spotlight above and behind the oven entrance and switched it inside the house. Good visibility for the entry but not for the back of the oven; the fire lights up the area pretty well. Sometimes I wear a light on my forehead.

Originally Posted by kebwi

...snip...
Oh, here's a biggie: Place your floor bricks from the opening of the hearth back. If you place them starting from any other point in the oven, you risk having small triangles along the front edge of the floor. Wish I'd paid closer attention to that.

We did that, thanks Keith.

Originally Posted by SteveP

I wouldn't have built my work surface so deep. I'm 5'9" and have problems placing wood where I want them in the oven. I could nitpick, but I'm pretty happy with the overall build.

With a 19 3/8 inch oven doorway, we made the entry arch 22 3/8 inches wide, 15 inches deep (without flaring), similar to Karangi Dude's oven.

Originally Posted by scottz

I guess the only other thing I would change is perhaps adding more insulation, although the oven cooks everything fantastic and the way it should, it does have a small amount of heat loss through the top of the oven...not really enough to worry me though. But seeing all those pics of you guys in snow affected areas cooking and not having any snow melt is amazing! But this maybe just the oven still curing and getting moisture out. But I too love my oven, my most fav toy at the moment...and I have had at least 8 people wanting to build one after seeing mine!!

Scott

We used 40 cubic feet of vermiculite over two inches of ceramic insulation for our dome....7 inches of vermiculite over the peak of the dome.

Originally Posted by MK1

I think I would isolate the entry arches from the dome like the commercial guys do.

Mark

We included three thermal breaks (see my signature).

Originally Posted by Les

I would definitely put another product in the entry way other than fire brick. It's not a problem when cooking pizza and breads, but beer can chicken and the Tuscan grill has made a mess of it. I would think that there is a lot of product that is "cleanable" that can withstand the reduced heat.

Les...

Our oven entry is a combination of firebrick and granite with a thermal break between.

Originally Posted by fornax hominus

Rick ,
I don't think you can have too much insulation. Most people wished they had put in a little more . Vermiculite does settle and although it has heat resistance it's not as effective as say ceramic blanket.
I'm wishing I had put a vent in the top of my dome in case I get a moisture build up in the vermiculite from doing stocks and adding all that steam to my breads.

We allowed the enclosure to meet the ceiling and left the insulation open to the attic space for ventilation (see the album in my signature).

Originally Posted by Paul in Rockwall TX

I'd have invested in a good brick saw. I did everything with an angle grinder or chisel, and some of my stuff was less than neat. I covered it with mortar. works great and nobody notices, but I do. If I ever build another (I hope not), I'd pay more attention to the angles.

Bought a good used saw on craigslist. Sold it for the purchase price, net cost= $00.00. Well, I did buy a new blade

Originally Posted by kebwi

I haven't been using my oven very long yet, but I am somewhat perplexed by the challenge to store the numerous peels somewhere relatively nearby. I would give that some thought. Otherwise you have to fetch all these tools from the shed or basement all the time. ...snip...

I have a stainless door I'll be installing just under the oven entry, where we will store the oven tools.

[Pompeii Nate]

There is some GREAT information here. Nice idea for a thread. It has me thinking about a lot of things. Thank you!

[fornax hominus]

After 2 years of use I finally got a roof , and before I installed it cutting off access to the dome forever , I cut through the mortared dome to install a vent . when I opened it .. no moisture , but the vermiculite had settled and I was able to pour in and spread about 1 1/2 cu.ft .
I'm still working on the adjacent work surface .. you need lots of room to lay out loaves of bread , flour shakers, water sprayers, and your peel .
I am next going to install a water bottle cage from a bicycle to hold my bottle of beer.. too many knocked over by enthusiastic/clumsy cooks!
tim

[leonard tolisano]

I want to use the pizza oven my Grandfather built in the basement of his house in 1919. For a variety of reasons the oven cannot be wood fired and meet current buildings codes. I have seen several restaurants that have converted from wood to natural gas. This would be an easy conversion if the gas heating unit was available. Any advice??