Fire location

[mn8tr]

I have noticed after making just a few meals that my dome reaches operating temp. quicker when I move the fire to the right side as opposed to the left or back. Do individual ovens have a "sweet spot" ? ? ?

[Tman1]

Yes... first post in this thread...
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f2/w...s-round-2.html (Why Italian Wood-Fired Ovens are Round)

[Neil2]

"Do individual ovens have a "sweet spot" ? ? ?"

Would it have anything to do with the wind direction at the time ?

[mn8tr]

I suppose the winds could... more so if it were or were not blowing into the oven door. This is challenging, much more experimenting to be done.

[amans54]

yups there is a sweet spot .But sometimes wind plays a vital role and thats the main reason

[lwood]

Yes there is a sweet spot, but it should be symmetrical. It shouldn't make a difference whether your fire is on the right or left. I fail to see how the wind would effect it.

[RTflorida]

In my experience, wind is a factor in fire intensity which in turn affects the dome and hearth temp. My oven faces south and usually the winds are out of the W, anything more than about 15 mph affects the fire intensity on the E (right) of my oven. The last time I fired a couple of weeks ago, just after a cold front, the wind was out of the SE and the W (left side) was about 50 degrees behind the rest of the oven. Seems that too much wind keeps the flames down, thus the lagging temp on that particular side. If there is little or no breeze or the wind is out of the N, all is equal and good. I usally just add am extra log or 2 to the cooler side and keep the fire stronger on that side until it catches up. Its only a factor on heat up, once everthing is burned clear and my IR shows surface temps of around 1000F and I let it saturate for 15 or 20 minutes, everything remains pretty equal.
I would also add that I always build a raging scary fire - flames up the flue and lapping out the entrance, but the side that catches the wind burns lower and slower from I'm guessing, the turbulance created by the wind.

RT

[Tscarborough]

My fire fills the whole thing, but I did notice last weekend when we had an unusual (cold) wind blowing right into the oven that it was hard to get hot and impossible to keep hot. I only made 3 of the 6 I was planning, in fact.

[lwood]

I agree, the oven hard to start and heat-up with a strong wind. I was referring to the wind affecting where the sweet spot is depending on the wind direction.

[GrahamG]

I find with a wind into the door the oven gets hot all over, it seems to blow the heat around the inside of the oven.