Hello and instant question

[fingle]

He new member here, hoping your wealth of experience can help me. Sorry to burden as soon as I join !

I have a brick/ vermiculite/ rockwool/ chickenwire / mortar pizza oven with Storage heater bricks on sand over vermiculite, on top of a reinforced concrete base
I have attached a photo (it has scine been smooth rendered and painted) , but can provide more of its constuction stages if required.


Worked like a dream last year, dome was cold to the toiuch and over 400c inside over 2 or more hours

Fired it up this weekend, and although it worked i noticed a few issues:

1: The dome was quite hot (admittedly the hottest day of the year so far, but was definitley as a result of firing). Last year it was cool to the touch after a lot longer firing
2: The base didnt seem to make the dough crispy on the underside
3: At the end of the meal we noticed water dripping from the front corner of base onto the floor. water was cool and concrete base was also cool to the touch

Im suspecting some sort of water ingress. (hairline cracks on the dome, and im guessing water through chimney too. I do keep the door on all the time to stop fauna making a home in it too

Any similar experiences ?
Is it safe to try and dry out with firing? would it help to drill holes in the dome temporarily to let out steam?
Is it dangerous?

[devontiger]

fingle, Hi & welcome.

I would think your problem is the oven needs to dry out again.
So start the process again. Small fires then build up, to do the drying out.
Chimney needs to be blanked off when not in use. Do you have a cowl on top?

Would be nice to know what part of the world you are in. If in UK, thats most of the problem.

[fingle]

May 8, 2018 10:52:51 GMT devontiger said:

fingle, Hi & welcome.

I would think your problem is the oven needs to dry out again.
So start the process again. Small fires then build up, to do the drying out.
Chimney needs to be blanked off when not in use. Do you have a cowl on top?

Would be nice to know what part of the world you are in. If in UK, thats most of the problem.

Thanks for your response.
Im based in Dorset UK

I dont have a cowl (facepalm) I did stick a glass ball in the hole, but I suspect rain clung to the shape of it and dripped below. I will fashion one list weekend.
Main thing is I dont want it to be a danger to anyone.
I will continue drying during this nice weather. Im supecting it may make sense to seal the dome more, after its dryed, not before.

[oblertone]

Sealing the dome will undoubtedly help, but not until you've got rid of all the water its ingested over the winter; slow and steady on the curing fires until it performs as well as it did previously, then seal any cracks and waterproof it in some way. It is important to let the oven cool completely between firings while you carry out this process.

A cheap 6' round patio furniture cover off eBay will help keep the winter water away.

[johno]

Hi guys I’m new to here and have a question for you wiser ones !
I’ve already got a pizza oven that I bought, it’s a traditional style with the dome shape and fire bricks ect. The dome does get warm to the touch when cooking at high temperatures, I’m thinking of re-insulating and rendering over to help conserve the heat a while longer. Can you suggest the best way of doing this and what to use please? It’s not hot that you can’t touch it just warm, and it loses heat quite quickly. It’s also got some hair line cracks that are getting bigger.
Thanks john.