Paul
valid member
I Dare You
Posts: 45
|
Post by Paul on Mar 7, 2012 11:38:27 GMT
|
|
|
Post by cannyfradock on Mar 7, 2012 19:35:29 GMT
Paul......brilliant idea.
Not sure if we should jump on somebody else's bandwagon.....and it should be Wood-fired oven enthusiasts...from anywhere, and not just members.
For 6 months I have been looking at a couple of sites where it would be possible to build WFO's Pompeii or clay, and have perhaps a mobile WFO for so anybody could try baking their own.....while building one. So far I have found a field in Worcester where camping is available with toilet facilities and electricity for camper vans. It borders a river and would be the ideal location for an event......thats as far as I've taken it, as I thought it was a silly idea......reading your post...perhaps not.
I proposed an exhibition of Pompeii Wood-fired oven building to the organisers of the Abergavenny food festival at this years event. They welcomed the idea with open arms...I'm trying to raise enough funds to put on a show......
I think your idea of a "meet up" is brilliant..... definitely food for for thought.
Terry
|
|
Paul
valid member
I Dare You
Posts: 45
|
Post by Paul on Mar 7, 2012 20:53:59 GMT
Terry, I'm up for a meet in a field as long as it doesn't coincide with the Olympics. Why don't you start a thread under "General" where we can discuss. I'm happy to help with the logistics if I can. Paul
|
|
wjw
valid member
Posts: 58
|
Post by wjw on Mar 8, 2012 5:34:18 GMT
Still progressing... This first pic is a shot of a brick (fourth course on the left not far off vertical) about twenty seconds after being laid. That homebrew just sticks right up to the bricks. No need for a form as far as holding the bricks in place.
|
|
|
Post by webbaldo on Mar 8, 2012 12:52:54 GMT
well impressed, that'll be a beast for bread
|
|
wjw
valid member
Posts: 58
|
Post by wjw on Mar 8, 2012 17:27:52 GMT
It is big. Probablly a lot bigger than I'll need ninety percent of the time. But when I do wish to be a big party or cook a big batch of bread, I'll be ready. I'm hopefull the lack of added thermal mass and lots of insulation will result in a much quicker heat saturation time than would occur in a "normal" AS oven of this size. I'm also hopeful that with the insulation, and the heat break I plan to install, will allow it to really hold the heat. I'm installing three thermocouples so we will see exactly what it does in a graphical form. When I poured the stand I used straws to put two holes through the bottom of the cenerline of the floor. One of the thermocouples will be placed just below the cooking surface (maybe a 1/2 inch) to determine what the hearth temp is in the brick near the surface. The other thermocouple will be placed just inside the junction between the insulation board and the floor bricks (maybe 1/4 inch into the brick) in order to give an idea as to heat saturation of the hearth bricks. I'll then do the same thing in the arch...placing a TC at the outer margin of the arch brick. Again, it's undoubtedly overkill and not needed to cook good pizza, but it will come in very handy for bread and I am very curious to learn (in real numbers) what the time/temp curve of this oven is going to look like. As I've noted before...this is as much about the learning experience for me as it is the cooking. These are the TC's that I'm planning to order, www.omega.com/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=XCIBand I'll get a laser/IR thermometer which will give IR readings as well as accept TC inputs via quck disconnect connectors. Probablly something like this www.thermoworks.com/products/ir/irk.htmlI plan to run all three thermocouple leads to a small box located near the oven landing. Each lead will be labled with the TC location and I can simply plug them into the meter to check temps and saturation level. Should be fun. For the cost of three forty dollar TC's it's worth it to me.
|
|
|
Post by cannyfradock on Mar 8, 2012 18:31:09 GMT
Bill
Really loving your build and your professional approach to build the oven that YOU want.
I also swear by the sticky homebrew mix, but must confess that as an old fashioned bricky I always use a form when building arch's or domes.
I've never used thermocouples but I've worked ovens with built in TC's and they are worth every penny in my opinion....or is that nickel.
Unless you intend to use the oven for professional use, I would agree on your choice of insulation....quicker fire-up times plus it will still retain enough heat for the most enthusiastic of home bakers.
Terry
p.s......woops.....apologies for rabbiting on a bit on a different subject.....on your thread.
|
|
wjw
valid member
Posts: 58
|
Post by wjw on Mar 13, 2012 4:48:14 GMT
Well...I know why most people use forms... I was so happy about how the homemade mortar was so sticky it would hold bricks which were practically vertical...and therefore allow me to do the arch without using the forms...but I forgot that the forms were importatnt for making sure the rise of the arch was the same on both sides... As you can see, the right side was rising faster than the left. I didn't realize this until about the fourth course. Then I tried to compensate and ultimately got what you see here. A bit cock-eyed... I don't think it's going to affect performance or strength (I hope) but this is not one of those builds where people will be saying, "It's a shame to cover that brickwork up." Oh well, the stuff you can see here will be covered and it only looks a little bit odd on the inside...most won't notice it. You can bet that for the chimney and front arch I'll be using the forms I built. At least it's free standing and I can move on to the next step. (Butressing the sides.) Bill
|
|
|
Post by turkey on Mar 13, 2012 10:00:27 GMT
it is one of those builds where its a shame you cover the brick. Currently its exposed as a cross section, once you do the entrance and can only see either from inside or outside I recon seeing this will be very difficult and the brickwork will look great I like the sideways on wide keystone btw, not sure if it makes it stronger but does look much more solid as an arch because of it.
|
|
|
Post by veauifru on Mar 13, 2012 10:18:17 GMT
You will not notice that when the oven is complete. Great work Bill.
Tom
|
|
wjw
valid member
Posts: 58
|
Post by wjw on Mar 14, 2012 2:54:18 GMT
Thanks for the words of encouragement gentlemen.
Bill
|
|
wjw
valid member
Posts: 58
|
Post by wjw on Mar 21, 2012 5:24:13 GMT
Made some progress this week. Buttressed the sidewalls, did my entryway, and planted my San Marzano tomatos As most of you know, I'm using three inches of Insblock19 jammed up against reinforced concrete block to both buttress and insulate the side walls. In addition, I am partially compressing a layer of ceramic fiber blanket between the block and the Insblock in order to allow for something which can be compressed in response to thermal expansion. As a final expansion joint, I sourced a product from Harbison Walker called "Pumpable Inswool". It is an insulating ceramic fiber putty which can be troweled into place, dries to a somewhat rubbery consistiency, and is comressible and advertised as being suitable to use as an expansion joint. Here are some pics. Temporary support with stacked block. Concrete blocks in place with Insblock19 and ceramic blanket stuffed between. As usual, plenty of rebar. Cores partially poured with concrete. Pumpable Inswool. The entryway. As can be seen, I have offset my entryway to left by several inches to give me a more defined area for the fire, and a straight shot to the cooking area when cooking with active flame. Finally, I got my San Marzano tomatos in the ground on the hill out back. They're little now, but they'll be ready for some good pizza this summer. I'll get the cages on them this weekend. Bill
|
|
|
Post by Calaf on Mar 21, 2012 8:54:49 GMT
Fascinating idea with the offset, eager to see how it looks in completion. I'm also growing San Marzano. Don't think mine will compete with yours given the sunshine advantage.
|
|
wjw
valid member
Posts: 58
|
Post by wjw on Mar 21, 2012 16:03:34 GMT
The offset wasn't my idea. One of the guys on the FB site did it and likes it a lot. He says it gives him a larger, easier to access, cooking area. On his first build he offset a few inches as I did here. He says that on his second build he will slide the entry all the way to the side. I was reluctent to go all the way over because: 1) I was concerned it might not draw quite right; and 2) I didn't think I'd like the way it would look since my stand was all set up for a center entry. The funny thing about my stand was that I accidently set it up for a slightly off-center door although I just recently decided to do so. When I built the stand I placed my ash slot in the center of the stand, but when I started adding all that block insulation I was faced with chosing between making the oven width that much smaller, or sliding everything over to the right to make room for the Insblock. (I built my stand so that it was larger to the right for a counter...so there was room that way, but not to the left.) So I slid everything over and was left with my ash drop about four inches off center (to the left). So by sliding my entry to the left I once again have a (roughly) centered ash drop. Almost like I knew what I was doing. As far as the San Marzanos, I hope they'll do well there. I just built that planter box with railroad ties this past weekend. It was a steeply sloping hill on the back side of my property and I thought it would be nice to build up a terraced box there. The entire back yard at my house has lots of tall trees. The only area that is real sunny all day is right around the pool or the front lawn. My wife wasn't keen on tomatos growing next to the pool. You can't see from the picture but there is a large pine tree about twenty yards to the right which does shade the area in the late afternoon...and it doesn't really get full sun until about 9:00 am. That being said, it is a completely southern exposure and it gets very warm there. The other issue is that the canyon shown in the picture behind my house is full of oppossums, racoons, coyotes, skunks, and other wildlife that would probably love to gobble up some tomatos. I think the tomatos will make it where they are, but it's a bit of a question mark. We'll see. Bill
|
|
|
Post by tonyb on Mar 22, 2012 8:34:12 GMT
I'm struggling to see why an offset opening would make any difference to access except where the wfo is sited against a wall or fence. Having said that, I don't think it restricts access either. From a personal aesthetics perspective, I'm one of those geometric type people who prefer lines and symmetry to less formal designs in most situations. I'm not quite as bad as a friend who always feels the need to square cheese off if you cut off a corner
|
|