Brick Oven

[WestHartfordBrickOven]

Hello everyone!
I've been lurking on this site for quite a while, and much more so while I was building my oven last summer. Now that I've finished construction, I wanted to share the pictures of my pet project.

This oven is in West Hartford, CT.
The oven was built using Alan Scott's plans and dimensions, and various minor tweaks according to Rado's plans and from the forums of this site. The design inspiration is from Brick Oven Tampa. This oven was built over 6 months, starting April '08 and finished September '08. The entire oven was constructed by me, using masonry how-to books from the library, and by asking lots of questions at the local masonry supply store.

[dbhansen]

Very nice! I like the tiles, and that pizza looks mighty tasty.

[DrakeRemoray]

Welcome! Great looking oven.

Since the design is a little different than what we are used to could you answer some questions for us?

How long does it take to get it up to pizza temp (750 or so)?
How long does it stay hot after (do you use a door?)
Is there insulation under the hearth or over the dome?

Again Welcome to the forum and congratulations on a good looking build!
Drake

[WestHartfordBrickOven]

Thanks for the welcome, guys!


How long does it take to get it up to pizza temp (750 or so)?
Since I tend to overbuild pretty much everything I touch, I've overbuilt this oven as well, and it takes a while to get up to that heat. It takes about 4-5 hours for it to get up to 750. This data is from a thermocouple buried about 1.5" in the dome bricks. It's so massive, I have to fire it for about 6 hours prior to cooking, so I don't have to worry about dropping temps.

How long does it stay hot after (do you use a door?)
I don't use a door, but I probably should make one. I can bake in it the next day after a good firing. The hearth bricks are really warm to the touch 2-3 days after a firing.

Is there insulation under the hearth or over the dome? There's TONS of insulation. The hearth is standard firebricks, on top of about 4" reinforced concrete on top of 5" vermiculite/portland cement mix.
The dome is firebricks, surrounded by about 5" reinforced concrete, surrounded by 5" vermiculite/portland mix.


--Gene