My Cast Refractory Oven Build Other Oven Types Discuss My Cast Refractory Oven Build in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; Originally Posted by jmhepworth I like the look of the bricks on edge. Will you position the oven so that ...

[JoeyVelderrain]

Originally Posted by jmhepworth

I like the look of the bricks on edge. Will you position the oven so that the floor is herringbone? That would make the oven angle toward the wheel, so that might not work. I doubt you want to do all of the cutting necessary to put them at a 45 degree angle. Let us know how the oven performs. So much of what we talk about is just theory until someone tests it. I'm interested in seeing how much time it adds to heat up.

The reason I laid the bricks in straight, stacked lines is because this way I only have to cut ONE brick!
I will add the extra 2" tomorrow, let it sit a couple of days, re-install my bricks and then the dome.
I cannot wait to light the first curing fire.
Any leads on a cheap laser thermometer?

[jmhepworth]

I bought my thermometer from Harbor Freight. I have no idea if it is at all accurate. But it seems to be adequate.

[james]

I would recommend against having a 4 1/2" thick cooking floor. That is too thick for pizza baking. The Modena commercial ovens from FB have a 2 3/4" floor -- and there are even commercial pizza ovens with 2" cooking floors. My experience is that you will never really fully heat the entire 4 1/2" mass, which means that heat will always be wicking away from the cooking floor where you need it.

It isn't just heat up time. You can get the inner face of a thick cooking floor up to 750F fast enough, but after 1-2 pizzas the temperature of the floor drops (like a brick, ha ha) really fast, and it's impossible to keep baking pizzas. The heat you have in the floor has moved to the outer reach of the thermal mass, and you find yourself with a 500F floor that can't bake pizza.

Really! I've been there.

James

[JoeyVelderrain]

Originally Posted by james

I would recommend against having a 4 1/2" thick cooking floor. That is too thick for pizza baking. The Modena commercial ovens from FB have a 2 3/4" floor -- and there are even commercial pizza ovens with 2" cooking floors. My experience is that you will never really fully heat the entire 4 1/2" mass, which means that heat will always be wicking away from the cooking floor where you need it.

It isn't just heat up time. You can get the inner face of a thick cooking floor up to 750F fast enough, but after 1-2 pizzas the temperature of the floor drops (like a brick, ha ha) really fast, and it's impossible to keep baking pizzas. The heat you have in the floor has moved to the outer reach of the thermal mass, and you find yourself with a 500F floor that can't bake pizza.

Really! I've been there.

James

crud...
ok, I believe you. so another 2" perlcrete, and lay the bricks flat. got it.

[jmhepworth]

Harbor Freight just put its laser thermometer on sale for $26.99, more than half off. Probably not a great thermometer, but it's tough to beat that price. You need the coupon in the current ad.

[JoeyVelderrain]

Originally Posted by jmhepworth

Harbor Freight just put its laser thermometer on sale for $26.99, more than half off. Probably not a great thermometer, but it's tough to beat that price. You need the coupon in the current ad.

dang...our sales paper has it for $59!!!
they have the same one online for $39.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

i subscribe to HF on three diff email adresses... they give me diff coupons on each email,, i pick the best an go there.....

Mark

[shuboyje]

Print out the page from their website and take it with you. They will price match. Add a 20% of coupon to that and you are good to go. If you do our research you can get some decent products from harbor freight and this seems to be one of them. The important chips and electronic components in it are all german, and so far I am very pleased with mine.

Originally Posted by JoeyVelderrain

dang...our sales paper has it for $59!!!
they have the same one online for $39.

[Johnny the oven man]

Originally Posted by james

I would recommend against having a 4 1/2" thick cooking floor. That is too thick for pizza baking. The Modena commercial ovens from FB have a 2 3/4" floor -- and there are even commercial pizza ovens with 2" cooking floors. My experience is that you will never really fully heat the entire 4 1/2" mass, which means that heat will always be wicking away from the cooking floor where you need it.

It isn't just heat up time. You can get the inner face of a thick cooking floor up to 750F fast enough, but after 1-2 pizzas the temperature of the floor drops (like a brick, ha ha) really fast, and it's impossible to keep baking pizzas. The heat you have in the floor has moved to the outer reach of the thermal mass, and you find yourself with a 500F floor that can't bake pizza.

Really! I've been there.

James

Ditto, approx 40-50mm of floor allows a good amount of fairly quick recuperation time. Any thicker = slower heat up.

[JoeyVelderrain]

Originally Posted by Johnny the oven man

Ditto, approx 40-50mm of floor allows a good amount of fairly quick recuperation time. Any thicker = slower heat up.

lets see mm to inches conversion.... 50mm=1.9685inches round up to 2"
hhmm...my bricks measure to 2 3/8"=2.375in which is about = 60mm

am I close?