Stonebake Oven Company

[lillytheunicorn]

Hello,

Has anyone had any experience with Stone Bake Oven companies Primo 60?

www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk/shop/wood-pizza-ovens/primo/

Aa after much time spent debating whether to self build a Pompeii oven or a modular oven we have decided to go down the modular route. With the Primo 60 aonce the base is built all we need to do is pop the oven on the base and away we go.

The main reasons is we have only just moved into our new house and we have lots of other jobs to do, and we could build it into a gable enclosure next summer. The other point my father made is as this is our first house we are unlikely to stay in it for more than about five years so we could take it with us.

We built a wood fired oven in my parents garden with a brick enclosure and I think the total cost came to around £2000, so really we don't want to spend that amount out this summer. Unfortunately we live 150 miles so we can't just pop over to use theirs, we nearly moved back there just so we could be nearer the pizza oven but we couldn't get jobs near them doing what we do.

Thank you for your help.



I don't seem to have taken any photos since the roof went on just the fire and pizza's.

Attachments:

[tonyb]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Can't say I've come across that supplier before, hopefully others on the forum will have. I think a 600mm internal dia is at the low end for a wfo, not so much in terms of pizza, capacity (I only cook 1 at a time in my 42" diy wfo) but more in terms of other cooking, you'll struggle to get a suckling pig in there for instance or a couple of large cooking dishes, and fire management.

There's no weight given for their ovens but from the design and description it looks like they are made from ''lightweight' ceramic material, generally better for heat up times but worse for retained heat cooking, depending on insulation of course. If you plan to do a lot of bread baking then its generally better to go for more classical construction.

I built my 42" wfo from firebrick (200 of them), and part of the plinth was already there, but given the better availability of the materials now and discounts available to members you should be able to build the whole lot for £1000 to £1250 assuming you are diying. A modular wfo plus building works and insulation etc depending on source, will not be much if any cheaper.

Good luck with the build.

[minesamojito]

The people who run the company seem very nice, and have some stunning builds, but I don't know their ovens through experience.
The food that comes out of them looks great though.
Cheers
Marcus

[Tom B]

The Primo 60 model is, by the look of it, an excellent basic WFO - great for fast high temperature cooking, will cope very well with small roasts and small numbers of loaves. 600mm internal diameter is ok for small scale cooking. The Stonebake Oven Company do make larger models - have a look at those, and weigh up the prices and the reviews of those customers who've bought each model. I believe Si King of the Hairy Bikers has bought an oven off this company.

[cannyfradock]

Hello Lilly.....welcome to the forum.

Yet another who hasn't any first hand experience, but I have heard good things about this oven. It's good the company has customer feedback on their site www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk/comments/

As mentioned it may not have a lot of thermal mass but if your base is big enough you could always add this at a later date.

I noticed one of the feedback posts was from Bash Redford (Forza Win). I built him a Pompeii on the top of a multi-storey building in London. I also told him that if he had told me before I built it that it was going to be used for private pop-up events, I would have suggested that he buys a modular oven. I see he has now changed venues and has bought 2 of these ovens. I think it's difficult to obtain tickets for his pop-up events as they are always full......good for him.

Terry

[slowfood]

I contacted this company in the summer to see if I could get a job with them, I did think thier commercial ovens were far too expensive personally and a blatant copy of forno bravo's ovens which I also blatantly copied ha ha, But for an absolute tiny tiny fraction of the price,
See my oven here, PM for any help , thanks ukwoodfiredovenforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=mobilewoodfiredovens&thread=314&page=1

[3coPete]

Hi LTU
Welcome to the group, I am a new member also but I assembled my modular oven from Kilnlinings summer 2011 when they were much less expensive than now. I thought that I would not want to do the fire and all the time consuming elements for just the family (2 of us at the moment) so decided it would be an entertainment machine. My internal dia is therefore 900mm and I can comfortably cook 2/3 pizza at a time when friends are round or accommodate large pots and pans.
If you want to do breads or more exotic slow roasts I would recommend a larger oven with as much thermal mass and insulation as you can manage. But if it is just the occasional pizza or 2 then a more modest clay construction oven would fit the bill. If you have access to clay, sand and some scrap materials for the base it would probably fit the pocket and also be transportable.
Have fun

[lillytheunicorn]

Thank you for all your help, we decided to take the plunge and buy one, we were going for the Primo 60 as the Mezzo 76 was a little out of our budget. Just before we placed our order I went to find if they had a facebook page as to see what if their was any customer feedback on there.

Well, I spotted a second hand (they used it as a demo last summer) Mezzo 76 up for sale, I messaged them and it was still available for £300 + £50 delivery. So I am the proud owner of a wood fired pizza oven, apart from a little smoke staining it looks band new. The customer service has been fantastic, I have even had a message from Laura to see how we were getting on with it.

It is currently on a pallet in the garage as we plan to build a base for it to sit on this week, I will post how we get on cooking Pizza's!

[cannyfradock]

Lilly

That's great news. Don't worry about any smoke marks....it all ads to it's character. I'm sure Laura will let you know if the oven needs more insulation or waterproofing....but I doubt it.

If you are building a masonry base, don't forget to include some DPM (damp proof course) on top of your 1st or 2nd course of brick/block to stop rising damp. ......it's always best to finish with thermolite blocks laid flat to sit your oven on. this will give maximum thermal mass to your oven.

Terry

[lillytheunicorn]

Terry,

Thanks for the advice, will make sure we put in a damp proof membrane. As for the thermolite blocks under the over are these the same as aerated blocks? Also how do I build these under the oven, on a cast reinforced concrete slab or would concrete lintels suffice? Also do they need to be mortared in place or laid loose? Sorry for all the questions.

LTU

[minesamojito]

I used concrete lintels on my build, then the aerated blocks thermolite or celcon, then used storage heater bricks to store the heat, they make a great hearth to cook on. I just placed mine all tightly together, no need for mortar.
Cheers
Marcus

[cannyfradock]

Mar 24, 2013 16:45:09 GMT lillytheunicorn said:

Terry,

Thanks for the advice, will make sure we put in a damp proof membrane. As for the thermolite blocks under the over are these the same as aerated blocks? Also how do I build these under the oven, on a cast reinforced concrete slab or would concrete lintels suffice? Also do they need to be mortared in place or laid loose? Sorry for all the questions.

LTU

LTU...

I have done both. Like Marcus, I have used concrete lintels laid over the supporting walls. I spread the concrete lintols out so as each the thermal/insulation blocks had a bearing on 3 lintels....with a little space between them. I have also laid these insulation blocks on top of a cast concrete slab.

I use a normal 4:1 ratio of sand and cement (with a bit of plasticiser/febmix....or even a splash of fairy liquid) to bed the insulation blocks on the slab/lintels. The heat from the the hearth will not penetrate to the underside of these insulation blocks......best insulation blocks for me are the smooth faced thermal blocks from B & Q....there about £1.10 each and normally you only need 15 blocks.

You can but these blocks up dry to each other.....no need for mortar between them. The insulation blocks from B & Q are very uniform in size and if you can lay them as even as poss. it will really assist you in laying a smooth fire-brick hearth.

I always lay my fire-brick hearth, on top of the insulation blocks with a notched tilers trowel. The homebrew mix of sand, powdered fire-clay, hydrated lime and cement at a ratio of 4:1:1:1 is the best.....although sometimes I use 2 part flexible floor tile adhesive.

Aerated blocks.......I think these are just a similar product to any insulation blocks available.

Terry

p.s.....never apologise for asking questions ....if in doubt....shout out. If I'm not about for a few days, there's usually someone who will help out with questions....besides.....many Mods and members are far more knowledgeable than myself.

Terry

[Tom B]

You got a great bargain - a Mezzo 76 for £350.. well done.