Firing type for bushfire zone

[biggnu]

Hi. I'm wanting to build/purchase a backyard pizza oven. However, for much of the summer, woodfires may not be lit here (Sydney) due to total fire bans. Is there any reason why I cannot use gas at these times, and are there any 'solutions' for this? I'm not trying to avoid the whole authenticity of wood, but it is important to be able to use it! I assume that there is no major flavour difference in the type of oven from which the fire is removed prior to cooking. It would be perfect if we could use either, depending on season. If I had to choose, it would be a hard decision.

[nissanneill]

Hi biggnu,
you are the third Aussie that I have welcomed on board today. Maybe it;s those elections that are pre-occupying the others from posting.
It might help you to check with the CFS and local councils for a definitive written answer to your wood fired oven.
I am in the Mount Loftey Ranges and 10 properties from a National Park so some 500m away. Last summer, my daughter and son-in-law who are active members of the CFS could not give me an answer as to whether I could light the oven, complete with a spark arrester on top of the 3m chimney, so they phoned their team leader and even he could not give a definitive reply.
"Play it safe and don't use it" was the reply!
If you build the oven inside, then you can I believe use it all year except on a Total fire ban. If it is outside, as if a bbq, then you are in untamed waters.
Even using gas, you can put some selected sawdust.shavings in the oven for that special flavor, but I think that even gas fires are not permitted on a total fire ban day.

Neill

[david s]

Because of the heavy mass involved,you will end up using a LOT of gas. I built my first oven with a port on the side to take a gas burner which I had from an old kiln. I only ended up using it a couple of times, just to give it a blast after a few pizzas cooled the oven. On making inquiries about installing a burner from a gas fitter I was told it would cost about $2000. End of gas story. I've never bought wood, it's one of the things I like about using a WFO- free fuel. Search the forum for gas. This topic has come up before and most of us agree that gas is not a goer.

[david s]

Move to a sensible location like Townsville where there are no fire bans. No traffic hassles. Affordable housing. Abundant employment. Fantastic tropical climate. Few snobs.I could go on.

[biggnu]

]Because of the heavy mass involved,you will end up using a LOT of gas.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for this reply, and I appreciate your experience. I'm interested to understand how so little wood can be required, yet so much gas - does it heat differently? ON fire ban days any woodsmoke, whether strictly legal or not, will arouse fear and unhappiness amongst neighbours, so it is a big usability issue.

I had imagined that a burner could be placed into the oven, and removed after heating, at the point where a wood fires would be removed. If other people have been down this track before, and it jst causes pain, then I am happy not to follow them! But it does seem a logical supplement to wood to give this a go.

[dmun]

For home ovens, a portable burner that can be removed and stowed may be a safer choice than a permanently mounted burner. Remember: gas can accumulate in the dome and cause a safety hazard.

[Johnny the oven man]

Us "Mexicans" in Victoria would , I believe, be able to use it as it is in an enclosed fixture.