Another Milano 750

[truckcab79]

Many thanks.

I won’t fit a vent as I’ve used mine for three years now and not had any issue. Dome is cold after hours of burning. No sign of any hot spots suggesting steam is trying to escape, though I appreciate the theory of it.

Quarry tiles already slope down at the front but more so that any rain will run away than catching the peel to be fair. It’s as likely to soak up moisture from the air as anything else though I’d imagine. On the subject of the fire bricks it’s worth noting that this oven comes with the floor fire bricks already cut to shape. A shame as I’d prefer to lay them in a herringbone to avoid catching any edges. That said so long as you lay them properly there should be no edges to catch.

It will get a coat of thompsons water seal in the spring once the brickwork has had a good change to dry out again. I used it on mine and it’s brilliant stuff. Definitely worth doing that.

It will also be covered all winter, as mine is and I always go through the ‘new oven’ firing sequence before first use of the year and will advise likewise on this one. I’ve already sent the customer the forno bravo guidelines.

[truckcab79]

Nearly done. No pictures but I got 90% of the pointing done yesterday. Just the rear and the lower arch to point and then we’re done, bar cleaning. Customers’ kiln dried ash logs turned up too so lit a long slow fire all day to start the drying process.

Not sure when customer will have the money but next job is to extend it to the left to build a tandoor and I’m hoping to convince them to make it big enough to incorporate some worktop space. They have a huge patio so there is no shortage of space for it but they (wrongly IMHO) don’t think they need it as the kitchen is nearby.

Fortunately I have another job on the go at the moment building two reclaimed brick patios for another customer so I’m hoping to have enough leftover materials to offer them at a bargain price (free!) to help out. They are a bit too red but once they age they’ll be fine. There is also a company that sells brick dyes that does a ‘sooting’ dye that I might try to blend them in.

Here’s the patio out of interest. Bricks will tone down. These are freshly cleaned and acid washed. Still needs cleaning again once it’s cured. Slow process this time of year. Floodlights are essential otherwise I have to finish working at about 3:30! Very frustrating.

[downunderdave]

I’ll be interested to hear how the high temp silicon stands up to the heat in that position. In my design it would fail there. I do use it about 150 mm higher up to seal between the weather cap and the pipe, but at the base of the pipe it’s too hot.

[truckcab79]

Did wonder about that but to be fair there isn’t loads of it. The lower (permanent) section of flue is largely held in place by the packed ceramic blanket with just a fairly thin layer of silicone on top of that and under the mortar so if it fails it doesn’t really have anywhere to go. I guess at worst it will burn away from where it touches the flue. It can’t fail and drip into the oven fortunately as it has no route through and I didn’t use any to secure the bottom as that was a nice tight push fit.

[truckcab79]

All done. Forgive the slightly patchwork look to the brickwork. It’s a combination of wet, freshly acid-washed and freshly pointed. Will try and get some pics when it’s a bit more uniform.

Oven already cured by the client during the week and his daughter lit it up and did her first ever pizza on it pretty much before I’d even finished pointing. 😂









Done for now. Will resume the same thread once I start on the tandoor extension.

[oblertone]

The black bits are 'handles' to hold it by; nice finish.

[truckcab79]

😂. Many thanks. Her first attempt so not too bad. She was struggling a bit with the new turning peel. It’s almost as big as a regular ‘square’ peel so was a bit awkward. I’ve suggested they get a smaller, more practical one.

[downunderdave]

The smoke staining on the outer decorative arch is evidence that the flue is inadequate. While it is only cosmetic and the draw perfectly adequate once the oven heats up more, it is almost impossible to clean off brick, A 750mm oven requires a 6"diam flue. My own design employs a 5" flue, but is only 540mm in diam. Notice the lack of smoke staining (the oven is 11 years old).Design for efficient smoke extraction is mostly accomplished by flue diameter and height, but also by having a sufficient volume at the base of the pipe where the smoke can gather. Smooth flow is also important.
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