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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:01:31 GMT
Hey Guys, Sorry for the late reply... getting over the hangover!! :shock: The pizza oven was awesome... Took 1 hour to get to 350+ Deg C and highest reading was around about 420 Deg C.  Heat gun helped to get the fire going well and kept the smoke down for the neighbours First pizza was a learning curve with using my home made pizza peel and hearth brush. I didn't clear enough room on the hearth and had too much coals and ash which lead to slightly sooting and burnt edges. But the pizza still tasted sooooo good.  Bit of a chicken, mushroom, tomato sauce number... nothing fancy for first go incase it went horribly wrong.   We cooked about 8 or 9 pizzas after which everyone had very full bellies!   Mum also made an overnight garlic bread which we cooked in a cast iron camp oven pot which cooked amazing... she was a bit heavy handed on the garlic though :wink: I am so very pleased with my oven and look forward to doing a lot more cooking in it. I have another pizza party in the next couple of weeks for my Parents and In Laws. Total build cost was around $500NZ main cost was the Vermiculite and Fireclay which is expensive here in NZ. But it beats $2500 for a pre made oven! I would like to thank everyone for there motivation, support and input. Special thanks to Marcus (minesamojito) who's oven motivated me to build mine. |
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:02:02 GMT
Also forgot to mention... when it was 420 deg C it was only 34 deg C on the outside of the oven. The Night Store Heater ceramic insulation and Vermiculite was doing it's job well. The under side remained the same temp through out the night... so also the thermal panels and vermiculite was doing it's job. My mates said I had a grin on my face the whole time I was cooking  Remaining tasks is to get some masonry paint for water proofing and might give it another light skim coat of render as the current is quite rough and bumpy. Also pave around the front of the oven and build a roof for further weather protection. Will let you know how the next cooking session goes.... again... can't wait... Happy New Year!! Cheers Rich |
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:02:23 GMT
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:02:53 GMT
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:03:18 GMT
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:03:42 GMT
Fat Bob - I agree will put some sand in the hearth bricks... I'll do that tomorrow. Thanks for the feedback!
Minesamojito - The oven works great, looks awesome, very easy and quick to build... really what more can you ask for. I soaked the door before I used it and gave it a quick dunk every time I took it out. It's a few off cuts I had lying around but looks OK.
Next oven firing is planned for this weekend...
Pizzas...maybe some more interesting toppings and dough recipes this time. Cannyfradock and Minesamojito dough recipes will be used!!
Bread... have to look for some recipes for this, Mum is right into bread making so she is looking forward to doing a few different types.
Roast Meat... Not sure what I'm going to do yet but will search the internet for something.
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:04:06 GMT
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:04:28 GMT
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:04:54 GMT
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 7:05:16 GMT
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Post by webbaldo on Mar 16, 2012 13:17:40 GMT
looks well good mate. If I ever ruin my lightweight oven, this would be the ideal build for me.
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Post by minesamojito on Mar 16, 2012 16:54:35 GMT
Nice one, copying over, think i'll get round to moving my build across here.
So how you finding cooking in your oven then Rich? Look forward to hearing your experiences and can compare notes.
Cheers
Marcus
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Post by rich361 on Mar 16, 2012 18:51:59 GMT
Hey Guys,
webbaldo - It was a fun oven to build and can be done very quickly. I think I built it from start to finish in 1 month!
minesamojito - Cooking on my oven is great fun, I was having a bit of a problem with too much smoke. We live in a residential area and I didn't want to annoy the neighbours. I found the oven worked fine when I first started the oven but got smokey a short time after that. My wood was dry and bark was removed.
With a bit of research on the internet, I found I was using too bigger pieces of wood after the initial kindling wood had burnt down. Now I use wood that is cut to about the size of my wrist. With the help of a heat gun (acts like a bellow) and smaller pieces of wood, I can keep the smoke to very low levels. Very Happy!
My oven takes about an hour the get to about 350 deg C with a good fire going. The oven stays really hot for a good hour before it slowly starts to cool down.
The oven is still 70 deg the next morning… The night store heather bricks work really well.
To be honest I haven’t used my oven for much more than pizza’s and a few baked potatoes in the left over coals. I need to pull finger and try cooking some different meals in it. Rolled boneless Pork is on special at the local butchers this weekend… May have to be a Roast Pork Sunday Dinner!!
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Post by Calaf on Mar 17, 2012 8:13:36 GMT
A heat gun? I thought it was you mum's hairdryer. hehehe  Great to see this build on the new forum and many thanks for posting it. Just goes what you can do with recycled materials. All the best! |
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Post by turkey on Mar 17, 2012 11:40:57 GMT
talking of hair dryers it would be good to know if that on low and cold gave the same results as I suspect you don't need the heat as much the airflow to get a complete burn and this will lower the un burn particles in the fumes, ie smoke. If it does work better with the hairdryer on cold it will be much cheaper to run leccy wise.
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