vent position question

[101catpawz]

I haven't started my project yet and have questions on the vent / chimney.
I see only a couple of pictures of ovens with vents that are not in front. How important is it for it to be in front? And it appears in some photos that the vent is outside of the door. Is it? In an igloo style oven, where is the vent in realation to the closed door? What exactly is it's purpose? To let the smoke out? Because it seems like I even saw a couple of pictures of ovens that did not have vents. And lastly is there an optimum size for the vent? It suggests an 8 in chimney but it looks like the actual hole is quite small, like maybe 3" by 6". I know this may sound stupid to you who have done it but any info you can share on vents and chimneys will be appreciated.
Thank you
Larry in San diego

[tfasz]

Hi Larry - Yes most folks put their chimney at the front with a door that closes off the entire dome. I'm guessing most of the idea is to get a nice draw from the opening so the smoke goes up vs. just coming out in your face when your trying to put something in the oven. Then when the fire is out, you can close off the oven with a door and keep the heat from going up the chimney. Seems like most folks like to cook pizza at night, and then the oven is still warm enough for bread/roast/etc. the next day. That is why most folks also strongly recommend doing a great job insulating your oven - less wood to heat it up and keep it at pizza temps and then good heat retention for other uses.

If you haven't downloaded the plans yet and read through them they are great and a free download. Good luck with the project!

[lwood]

Originally Posted by 101catpawz

I haven't started my project yet and have questions on the vent / chimney.
I see only a couple of pictures of ovens with vents that are not in front. How important is it for it to be in front? And it appears in some photos that the vent is outside of the door. Is it? In an igloo style oven, where is the vent in realation to the closed door? What exactly is it's purpose? To let the smoke out? Because it seems like I even saw a couple of pictures of ovens that did not have vents. And lastly is there an optimum size for the vent? It suggests an 8 in chimney but it looks like the actual hole is quite small, like maybe 3" by 6". I know this may sound stupid to you who have done it but any info you can share on vents and chimneys will be appreciated.
Thank you
Larry in San diego

I don't know if this is a common misconception or not...but I didn't understand the chimney placement either when I first started looking at building a WFO. Yes, the vent or chimney is outside the dome, in the entryway arch. This allows hot, smokey air to exit the dome while cool fresh air comes in the bottom. Yes, the door is btw the vent and the dome, it completely closes off the dome.

Pizza is cooked with the door open or removed at approx. 700F. The door is used for heat retention and baking bread at <500F.

Don't try firing up your oven with the door on....like I did the first time and wondered why I could get the oven passed 350F. Haha

[eprante]

Larry,
vent size is one of the variables that builders on this site do in many different ways. From my reading and looking at other builds it seems to be a consensus that you want your vent as large as possible to improve draw and prevent smoke coming out the front. I looked at the finished ovens with smoke stains on the front, then went back into the build threads to see their vent transition design. It seems that the smaller the chimney vent transition, the more likely to get smoke out the front. I made my vent 9"x 15", and get little or no smoke out the front.
Eric