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[egalecki]

When I came to this forum in April, I was pondering a barrel oven too. I quickly became convinced that the pompeii oven was a better choice, even though it was a bit more complex for me to make. Much better heat retention capability (the barrel oven I was looking at making didn't have any insulation), the chimney is in a much more logical place (barrel wanted it out the back!), and it's a generally more attractive shape to my eyes.

I now have an oven which I can use for a whole lot more than I had ever dreamed of. I just wish I'd been able to get a 42 inch into the space I had!

[asudavew]

Originally Posted by egalecki

When I came to this forum in April, I was pondering a barrel oven too. I quickly became convinced that the pompeii oven was a better choice, even though it was a bit more complex for me to make. Much better heat retention capability (the barrel oven I was looking at making didn't have any insulation), the chimney is in a much more logical place (barrel wanted it out the back!), and it's a generally more attractive shape to my eyes.

I now have an oven which I can use for a whole lot more than I had ever dreamed of. I just wish I'd been able to get a 42 inch into the space I had!

Did you build a 36" Elizabeth?
Your wish of building a 42" is funny, because I built a 42" and sometimes I wished I had built a 36".

Is the grass greener here?

[staestc]

I'm leaning towards a 42" dome now, since when I drew out a 36" it seemed kinda small. I assume the door would be smaller as well, but have not actually looked up or calculated that yet.

I am curious though, why Elizabeth do you sometimes wish for a 42" and why Dave to you sometimes wish for a 36"?

Thanks,
Travis

[egalecki]

I wish I had built a 42 because, while my 36 does do everything I need it to, and does it well, I would just like a bit more elbow room. Why? Well, you have to remember I've been used to cooking for 8 on a regular basis. I don't have to now, and I'm still learning to scale down... so really, the 36 is fine for us now. If I were making a lot of bread at a time, as I used to, I would have definitely gone with a 42. You can get more in with less crowding that way.

But then again, if I had a 42, I might not be able to reach in far enough to take advantage of it. I'm short. I also do not have a real peel yet, so my reach is limited to what I can get to with a cookie sheet. I have a couple of the "air bake" flat sheets which are no good for cookies at all, but they make ok peels...

[christo]

I'm quite happy with my 39" and I'm pretty sure the grass is a bit greener here!!!

Cooked Pizza Saturday night; Bread sunday morning; left the door off to let it cool down some and put in a boston butt and a rather large chunk of beef to slow cook later that day. (BTW - I used the Paula dean rub and seasonings on the pork - it was great)

Yeah - pretty versatile!!!

Christo

[staestc]

Paula Dean just makes me cringe! But I too have tried and liked some of her recipies

I have not looked up your oven yet Christo, but I assume details are here somewhere. Did you add any extra cladding or thermal mass to get the performance you described?

Thanks for the responses and comments and help!

Travis n'Texas

[christo]

I basically made a copy of Davids (DMun) design and just made my pieces slightly larger to get a 39" oven. no extra cladding just one layer of brick - thin side. His documentation is much more complete than mine.

I did not have some of the space constraints that David had, so my entry way is a bit different.

About the time I started James was talking about a solid-state oven - and it intrigued me to the point that I used the ISOboard under the floor vs. vermicrete and 2 layers of Ceramic blanket on the dome. - Since I made an enclosure vs igloo - I filled in the empty space in the enclosure with loose vermiculite for good measure.

Christo