|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 29, 2016 22:39:25 GMT
It's always good to see a finished dome; I used mine 'bare' for a year before putting insulation and a flue on it. Well done !
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 29, 2016 17:21:21 GMT
Hello Bauldy, your basic oven dimensions seem about right in that the door height should be 'about' 63% of the dome height, and the door 'about' half the width of the oven. Not sure what you mean by 42 or 62gd bricks, firebrick grades perhaps ? Basically any firebrick you can buy will be ok as no WFO will reach the temps these bricks are designed to handle; it's worth saying that many ovens have been built using old clay building bricks and function fine. Again, I'm not sure what the final measurements in your post mean, but I do know that mosaic finish can be VERY time consuming ( see my build thread below).
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 28, 2016 10:24:56 GMT
I've no experience with the type of fire-down-below oven you mention but would urge caution over the oven temperature; bread needs to cook below 220c otherwise you'll kill the yeast and prevent 'oven Spring' therefore most WFO bakers rely on retained heat rather than a live fire as the latter will be considerably hotter. The retained heat is stored in the oven mass during firing, the fire is then removed and the oven allowed to cool to a usable level before putting the bread in. This is why most WFO's are built of brick/clay/refractory and heavily insulated. Hope this helps.
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 28, 2016 10:16:18 GMT
I've got a marble off cut that would be big enough once cut, yours foc for collection but I am in West Devon ...
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 28, 2016 10:11:28 GMT
I had a pig & pizza retirement party but the pig was done in a bespoke portable gas oven/cooker not in my WFO. I seem to recall it took about four hours and was incredibly messy due to the quantity of rendering it produced, so factor in some way of removing the byproducts during the process.
ps - It was delicious !
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 25, 2016 0:13:41 GMT
Should be a link below.
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 24, 2016 11:28:26 GMT
Welcome Digger, looking forward to seeing how a professional approaches this task as most WFO builders in here (myself included) are definitely 'Sunday League' in terms of experience.
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 24, 2016 11:20:26 GMT
I saw a guy once come to our town who had a pressed concrete slab on a steel framed trolley. He had a dome built on top of this slab and cooked the pizzas in this oven. It tasted pretty good too. All I could say really is he must have lost a lot of heat through the base. This just about describes my build (see below) the underside of which gets to about 80c during a pizza session, so while there is heat loss, it's not significant. So far the most I have managed is 70 pizzas in one session, just keep adding small quantities of fuel. |
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 23, 2016 10:30:39 GMT
I quite fancy a barrel build but most that I've seen built use 'separate' arches with no interlock between them. Purely from a structural perspective wouldn't interlocking arches be stronger ? I realise that this would require a longer (whole length) former but it would allow a half-brick overlap between courses which would be stronger.
I made my entry-arch former from sheets of 25mm expanded polystyrene pinned together with dowel and think this could be a quick and easy method of construction.
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 23, 2016 10:11:09 GMT
Very attentive audience in that last picture !
All meat, including turkey should be rested after cooking; top tip with birds is to place them breast down for this resting period, this allows juice to flow back into the breast rather than drain.
Personally I prefer the boned and rolled technique with all apertures sown up using twine and an upholsterers needle leaving a 'meat football' that can be just sliced.
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 23, 2016 10:01:10 GMT
I cut my heater blocks using an old tile cutter with a rather knackered diamond blade which worked well; one note of caution, the blocks have an even face and a ridged one, if you cut off the ridge you'll have an uneven tile. Also they are quite friable and the corners break off with little or no encouragement. Good luck.
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 23, 2016 9:53:27 GMT
FWIW the only time saving aspect of a kit over self build is the construction of the dome itself, all other aspects i.e. base, insulation, covering still have to be addressed so the actual time saving is not as much as one might envisage.
The majority of self builders (myself included) would also add that finishing the dome marks a significant milestone and sense of achievement. That said, a precision dome using chamfered bricks cut to a predetermined pattern from a spreadsheet can be time consuming; however a bolster cut 'half-brick' dome using reclaimed red brick can be built in days and will give years of service. Contrary to popular belief, the latter requires very little skill, as my own efforts (see link below) demonstrate.
Whatever method you settle on, please ask questions and record your journey on here; you will receive advice, tips and encouragement in equal measure.
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Feb 10, 2016 12:46:33 GMT
Winter is a little quiet in here, but nice to see another build growing from the ground; any idea how you are going to contain your dome once it's finished ? I'd be tempted to build the outer walls straight up and fashion a pent roof, then backfill the void with vermiculite, but that's just me ...
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Jan 20, 2016 13:03:12 GMT
My s-I-l (to be) is a HB store manager and seems very positive about this move.
|
|
|
|
Post by oblertone on Jan 18, 2016 10:25:48 GMT
I do hope so although HB have made a conscious move away from building materials in favour of decor and interiors in recent years.
|
|
