Clay Oven

[Barewolf]

I'm starting a project for next spring, it's going to be a pizza oven with BBQ and also some stoves for pans.

My concern is the oven itself. I've seen kits online around £2500 and there is no way im paying that. The main cost would be the oven door and the oven base.

I know you cant just put your pizza or bread on concrete, and i have seen the tiles you can buy but they are only small.

after some research i found that clay bricks will work, however you would have to use mortar which is concrete, or would you? is there any type of clay mortar that you can buy or make that I could use?

[Osem]

Hope this helps:

http://clayoven.wordpress.com/

[Taf]

I've built several mostly in Cyprus where the autumn is oven building season as it is not so hot too cause rapid drying and therefore cracks.

All were made with a firebrick base and an arched firebrick liner, covered with a sandy clay insulation layer, then a well packed straw and earth layer, and finally a protective plaster coat that can be painted once it has totally dried out.

I only made one with a "door" but it was more like a wooden plug faced with steel sheet from an old car bonnet!

The cement of choice is calcium aluminate cement, though standard mortar can be improved with the addition of fireclay. A caveat though, is that firebricks should be laid with little or no gap at all on the inside of the oven. The cement is only used to fill up the spaces at the back (if it's an arch oven) or as a seal around the outside (if it's a block oven).

A good tall chimney will get the smoke out of your eyes as well as drawing the fire well. A neighbour passed his chimney smoke through lengths of steel tubing to a steel barrel that was his smoking oven.

Good fun to build, great fun to cook with!

---------- Post added at 20:32 ---------- Previous post was at 20:19 ----------

http://kilnlinings.co.uk/firebricks

http://kilnlinings.co.uk/wood-burnin...b964f9cfb4ba39 if you're feeling flush and in a hurry

[alferret]

Is there a reason that the ovens are arched other than allowing the fire bricks to be unsupported.

[Osem]

Have a look at this solution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBod0FbXkA0

I love the way the guy formed a dome out of sand on which to lay the bricks for the domed section of the oven.

[Taf]

Originally Posted by alferret

Is there a reason that the ovens are arched other than allowing the fire bricks to be unsupported.

Arch ovens allow the use of small bricks, block ovens need a large one-piece roof section which are a PITA to source, unless you have a blast furnace being refurbished locally and can get hold of some of their old liners.

---------- Post added at 11:25 ---------- Previous post was at 11:22 ----------

Originally Posted by Osem

Have a look at this solution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBod0FbXkA0

I love the way the guy formed a dome out of sand on which to lay the bricks for the domed section of the oven.

I would stay well clear of that oven if it was fired-up after a period of rain. The base/oven floor extends outside of the dome so could track water into the lining. That could cause steam explosions AFAIC!

[Barewolf]

thanks for the links guys, will check it out. will post pics when i start work on it.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Barewolf

thanks for the links guys, will check it out. will post pics when i start work on it.

Hope you'll post us some samples too...

[Taf]

I have a sudden desire to build another underground tandoor oven.

[alferret]

Make mine a spicy meat feast

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Taf

I have a sudden desire to build another underground tandoor oven.

I'd be interested in seeing that and tasting its output...

---------- Post added at 11:12 ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 ----------

Originally Posted by alferret

Make mine a spicy meat feast

Extra chillies for me!

[Halcyon]

Keep us updated with the build. Will be good to see some photos.