4 years in the making - 42" dome

[C5dad]

I could not help myself today. I had to fire the oven. Honest, all I wanted to do was drive the water out of the insulation since I have all this great mesquite.

Kept the fire low for the first few hours then built it up.

Then, out of nowhere, pizza dough appeared on the counter along with the fixins. Not wanting to disappoint the, uh kids, thats it, thats the ticket, I relented and made pizza for the next few hours and built a few spares for the next couple of days - uh yea right sure -> I place my bets that it will be gone by the time my head hits the pillows. Had multiple 90 second pizzas - my sons girlfriend was shocked - you just went out there!

I tried to do a roast earlier in the clay baker. Oven wayyyyyyyy to hot, Moved it to the oven at 300 F for the afternoon. Oh well, I will have to learn.

BTW - I donated the hair on my arm to the fire gods today as well due to radiant heat (even with the gloves on.)

[C5dad]

Hey Gang,

I could use some advice

After firing the oven most of the day last Sunday, I found one of my outer arch bricks is cracked on both sides and on the back, basically separated (I slightly jiggled it and found it moved to my horror.) Question is, should I put the form back in prior to grinding the thing out to prevent a catastrophic failure?? Any other advise that could be shed?

I am planning to repair Monday morning (have the day off due to weekend duty) and am hoping it should be ready for Sunday's big game.

Thanks in advance

[brickie in oz]

How bad are the cracks, post some pics so we can see.

[C5dad]

The crack in the back is about a o.5 to o.7 pencil lead in width and radiates to the flu liner. The face only show a hairline crack (could not get it with the camera.)

I will have to post tonight as Picasa has locked up my computer (its a love hate thing since I run linux on my computer).

Crack description from observation: After oven had been fired for about 4+ hours, i noted that a crack previously repaired re-emerged. However, the brick had cracks on both sides and on the back (where it ties into the flu transition.) I cannot see any cracking on the bottom of the brick this am.

I decided to see if it moved (curiosity) and it was able to wiggle slightly while the oven is hot. This am the brick is tight. Sooo my concern lies with arch failure and all that good stuff. I am planning on repairing the large crack between the bricks holding the flue and the outer arch, just trying to decide how best to attach the outer arch.

[C5dad]

Here is the damage - ugh. More work.

Any recommendations??

[brickie in oz]

My thought on it is the fact that you have embeded the flue liner in the brick that caused the cracking.
The flue expanded faster than the bricks causing the crack, if the flue were to sit on top of the flue opening it wouldnt happen.

[C5dad]

Actually, the flue is not embedded - it is on a thin layer of home brew (surface mount) though I have 2 triangle shaped bricks on each side I used to stabilze the flue - guess I should not have done that. I did not expect the flue to

So, think I should I remove the 2 bricks from along the flue while I fix the loose brick?

Also, I think I am planning to support the arch with the forms during the grinding of the joints.

[C5dad]

After firing the oven last night, temps in the oven this am are looking good. Outside temp is approx 45F (7C) with a low of 30 F (-1C).

Floor temp was about 420 F (215C) using a thermocouple that I placed in a crack about 1/3rd in from the opening. The door is just 2 large fire bricks that I had on hand so not door insulation. Surface temp of the insulation is approx 60F.

What a big difference from when no door and no insulation (only about 120 F/49C). Plus getting all the water out of the insulation helped. Last night I had a dream of a nice roaring fire in the oven and steam coming out the floor bricks near the opening. Guess I can sleep well tonight!

Q: Since I am cooking tomorrow, wonder if I should just let it run its course or toss a couple of logs in to heat up the oven again - thoughts??

[C5dad]

I decided to take the chimney down and rebuild the arch smoke box after complaints and visual observation. My outer arch is getting too sooty, so, I am going to cast a refractory smoke chamber and then transition to my 8"x8" chimney.

I am thinking that it I have a 1 to 1 height to width aspect ratio, I should be in the tall cotton. Any thoughts??

Chris