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Post by darrellme on Aug 10, 2015 19:58:17 GMT
Just a quick question, I hope. I'm nearly at the stage where I can start fitting the flue, I've nearly finished the landing area for the flue anchor plate. My intention was to simply put layer of cement (homebrew) on the landing zone and essentially cement the anchor plate to this landing zone, and then possibly add one further brick layer on top of the anchor plate. Am I heading in the right direction
Thanks
D
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Post by darrellme on Aug 13, 2015 7:59:55 GMT
Decided to just go it and cement the anchor plate to the firebricks, looks quite good so far, just need a bit of good weather to start a couple of fires and see how that flue performs (obviously once I fit the rest of it to the anchor plate)
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Post by darrellme on Aug 29, 2015 17:29:32 GMT
Yup, that was a mistake, when I tried to put the rest of the chimney on the anchor plate came off, so I went for option number two, put the chimney on in one piece, cemented to the platform, and then immediately cemented some bricks on top of it too. That appears to have worked and seems pretty sturdy. Today I fired it up, and other than one of the bricks in the outer arch cracking its cement....again (same one as last time that I'd repaired) everything looked good. However when I was firing it up I was still getting quite a lot of smoke coming out the front, event after the fire had been going for well over an hour, so time enough for the chimney to be warm enough. It was certainly drawing the smoke up a lot, so perhaps it was simply the wood I was using having too much moisture, I'm not sure, any ideas ? Thanks D
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Post by oblertone on Aug 29, 2015 18:53:46 GMT
One way to ensure you get the best 'draw' from your flue is to start your fire directly underneath it, then when it's established just push the fire back into the oven. Regardless I think you're always going to get some smoke out of the door as it is not a sealed system; dried wood helps reduce smoke but isn't always to hand.
Great job on the chimney, that's not going anywhere !
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Post by darrellme on Sept 11, 2015 14:50:36 GMT
Ahhhh crap, I need some advise please :-)
So, I fired the bad boy up again and was determined to get the temp up. looking inside the dome if started to go white, yay I thought. I then happened to notice that there was a bit of smoke coming through the outside of the dome. Ok, a little bit more repair work, nothing too special. I started ti dig some of the outside rendering off and must have got the edge of the trowel between the bricks as I nudged it I noticed that there was a massive area of the top of the dome that moved, which I guess means the cement isn't really sticking the bricks together any more. is this type of play normal or do I have some serious issues with it, or should simply making the repairs to the cement where there smoke was coming through sort this out. Is this something I should be overly worried about
Thanks in advance
D
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Post by cobblerdave on Sept 11, 2015 21:40:50 GMT
G'day Firing an I insulated oven can result in cracking in the mortar due to uneven temperatures between outside and in. You have built a dome. Gravity is what holds it together not the mortar bond. Uneven heat will crack mortar but it will hold together ! No need to rebuild or anything drastic. Give it an inch of mortar render over the whole thing. Then insulate and re fire. Yes you'll be unset that your domes not perfect. But what the heck. You'll just have to get over it and get on with it. Pizza helps Regards dave
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Post by darrellme on Sept 12, 2015 7:32:44 GMT
Hahaha, cheers Dave, I was more upset that I might have to take some down and rebuild, I'm glad thats not the case, therefore I'm already over it :-). Cheers, phew, thats a weight off the mind, especially with the crappy weather here now :-)
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Post by darrellme on Oct 20, 2015 8:34:40 GMT
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Post by darrellme on Apr 20, 2016 14:53:55 GMT
So, I didn't finish the done before xmas, so I've just managed to get some more stuff done. The dome is finally finished Just need to get the outer arch and the sides done now and then dress brick the base, but thats as an when I can get the time. I had my first curing fire, and to dry out the dome today, fired up relatively small for a couple of hours. Everything looking good so far One question I have is that there is still more smoke coming out of the front instead of the chimney. It could be the wood I'm using to cure the oven, which is fine if thats the case. Any ideas ? Thanks D
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Post by moonhead on Apr 20, 2016 20:26:31 GMT
That's a nice finish to the dome you have there. I think most of us have smoke coming out of the oven entrance during light up due to the lack of draw through the cold chimney. You could try lighting a small starter fire under the chimney to get some heat in and the draw going quicker but until it's really got some heat in a bit of smoke is pretty normal.
Don't built to tall a wood stack in the oven - keeping it low allows better air flow to the flame and will reduce the amount of smoke generated until the oven temp starts to rise.
Rick
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Post by cobblerdave on Apr 21, 2016 8:05:24 GMT
That's a nice finish to the dome you have there. I think most of us have smoke coming out of the oven entrance during light up due to the lack of draw through the cold chimney. You could try lighting a small starter fire under the chimney to get some heat in and the draw going quicker but until it's really got some heat in a bit of smoke is pretty normal. Don't built to tall a wood stack in the oven - keeping it low allows better air flow to the flame and will reduce the amount of smoke generated until the oven temp starts to rise. Rick G'day Rick just like this wasnt smart enough to think of something like this.... But I was smart enough to recognize a good idea when I seen it. regards dave
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Post by darrellme on Apr 21, 2016 8:38:36 GMT
Cheers both. The smoke was still coming after having the fire going for two hours, so I would have thought the chimney would be warm by then :-(
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Post by cobblerdave on Apr 21, 2016 19:14:10 GMT
G'day Wouldn't expect the wood to be smoking after 2 hours. If your woods dry and the ovens hot you'll get no visible smoke. In your case I'd blame the wood. Regards Dave
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Post by darrellme on Jul 18, 2016 18:29:02 GMT
Hi all, I've been making the most of the oven now and have various pizza parties, which is awesome. The pizzas are amazing and loved by everyone, so well worth it. Some quick advice really. I'm going to be building a brick outer wall against the block work, and for the life of me I can't figure out the best wall ties to use, the spaces between them, and basically how to install the stupid things. I would have thought (naively), that the mortar joints of the bricks would like up nicely with the joints of the block work. Apparently not. Can someone recommend me any wall ties and the best methods of installing them, i.e. will I need to drill into the blocks (straight, at an angle), whats the spacing I need vertically/horizontally. I have (roughly) calculated that I could insert a wall tie (depending on the wall tie) every two blocks (the base is only 4 blocks high) and this works out at around 17" vertical height, but I don't know whether this is sufficient or not.
Any ideas
Thanks
D
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Post by darrellme on Jan 21, 2017 19:12:30 GMT
On the home stretch now. The dome has been completely dressed as has the base, which is looking amazing. I had to get some local builders in to do it mainly because I don't seem to have as much time since my little boy arrived, although he is nearly two now, so perhaps I shouldn't use that as an excuse :-). The last thing is to put some form of tiles on the slab. So, with that in mind what type of tiles have people used in the past? and any ideas as to where would be a good place to look
D
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