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[Matthew]

I have been doing some research on WFO heat management & have read that a log holder seems to work really well. Supposedly it increases the airflow around the wood making for a hotter fire & larger flame in the dome.  It has also been noted that it helps to drive more heat across the oven floor.  I was watching an interview with Carmine of Settebello & I noticed that they keep what appears to be a large block inside the left side of their oven for this purpose.  You can see this in the 24th second of this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKBtHSsoNDE.

The log hoders that I am referring to are shown below.

Does anybody do this or have tried this? If so, does it actually make a difference?

Matthew

[Bill/SFNM]

I don't use one, but here is my take based on my experiences with my small oven in a residential setting. Increased airflow is a good thing when first firing up the oven. But once I have built up a nice bed of coals and the oven is up to cooking temps, I only need to toss in a few chunks of wood before each batch to get the conditions I like for baking. I don't see how increased airflow at that point would benefit me.

[Matthew]

I don't use one, but here is my take based on my experiences with my small oven in a residential setting. Increased airflow is a good thing when first firing up the oven. But once I have built up a nice bed of coals and the oven is up to cooking temps, I only need to toss in a few chunks of wood before each batch to get the conditions I like for baking. I don't see how increased airflow at that point would benefit me.

The main reason that I have been looking into this is because my oven is fairly large & has a pretty high dome so it takes quite a while to heat up & I have to keep quite a large fire in there to maintain 900-950. The end result is that I go through quite a bit of wood. 

[widespreadpizza]

Matt,  I think there is the possibility of going through more wood...  I think that the slower your large fire burns,  the more chance the oven has to absorb that heat.  If you accelerate it by elevating parts of it I think it will retain less of those btu's.  Also,  once your oven is up to temp,  it doesn't appear to me that you need more floor heat.  I think you may need an inexpensive source of firewood   I swaped from a car to a pickup shortly after my oven was completed and get free wood whenever I get a chance.  I haven't bought any yet,  except for some gas money to go get it.  I find it on craigslist all the time.  How much do you go through in a good firing? -marc

[Matthew]

Matt,  I think there is the possibility of going through more wood...  I think that the slower your large fire burns,  the more chance the oven has to absorb that heat.  If you accelerate it by elevating parts of it I think it will retain less of those btu's.  Also,  once your oven is up to temp,  it doesn't appear to me that you need more floor heat.  I think you may need an inexpensive source of firewood   I swaped from a car to a pickup shortly after my oven was completed and get free wood whenever I get a chance.  I haven't bought any yet,  except for some gas money to go get it.  I find it on craigslist all the time.  How much do you go through in a good firing? -marc

Hey Marc,
I was thinking that it would be a good idea to use something like this once I push my fire to the side. If I had to guess, a facecord lasted about 12 firings.

Matt

[pizzaboyfan]

I have the curvy one pictured in the 2 nd picture..you are welcome to have it for free.
It certainly helps getting a fire started by raising it off the floor and getting kindling or whatever under the wood,..but just as easy to do with 2 small pieces of wood on either side

[David]

Mathew,i think it depends on what you are using your oven for?If you are just cooking a few pizzas over a short period of time it's not a necessity.If you are going to be doing hundreds over an extended period then it is greatly beneficial.As widespread said it acts as an accelerator and when you are pulling multiple pizzas and thus drawing heat from the oven and then throw in lulls in demand,your oven is constantly changing.Sometimes you need to "step on the gas" as it were.The use of wood shavings (Pampuglie sp? ) also can help with this,and it another tool in the arsenal of some pizza makers.I've used my oven for a number of years and still struggle.I've worked commercially with and without and i think it is an asset in that environment,
Regards,
David

[shango]

It's good for keeping the floor temp from getting too high during off peak hours. However, just propping the wood vertically against the side of the dome can have the same effect.

[Jack]

You guys ever consider using lump charcoal with the wood.  It's a more compact heat source, with lots of BTU's in a smaller volue than wood.  Obviously more expensive than free wood, but it makes nice coals that stay hot a lot longer than wood.

I may be way off, as I only cook pizza in a home oven, but I run a smoker and I like burning lump charcoal is better than anything else, wood, briquettes, pellets, etc., because it burns long and hot, and is easy to maintain an even heat.  .

Jack

[Trogdor33]

You can make lump charcoal in your back yard with a couple metal drums.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/makinglump.htm

[Matthew]

You can make lump charcoal in your back yard with a couple metal drums.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/makinglump.htm

Thanks for the suggestion but this is not something that is of interest to me especially burning a plastic container to start a fire.  I would never consider using anything but well seasoned hardwood as fuel . The intent of this post was to hear from members who use or have used log holders in their WFO.

Matthew

[apizza]

I don't have a wood fired oven but I wonder if these are useful for you wood oven owners. I have one in my fireplace and am happy with the results. The smallest is 12" high. I'm guessing they would be a tight fit. Look under fireplace grates.
http://www.gratewalloffire.com/

[thezaman]

matthew, this is a nice thread . i use a little primavera 70 which has only 28 inches of cooking area. i monitor my floor to see where i have the most even heat . it can be 900 + degrees 4 inches from the flame and 700 by the wall . the pizzas don't rise evenly, the back side rises a lot less than the side started closer to the flame . after rotating the back side seems to of lost it yeast activity and rises about half of the front. i want to get a a small log holder that will put the logs a couple of inches off the floor .i am hoping that this will get the flame to roll further across the dome and heat the floor more evenly.

[Matthew]

matthew, this is a nice thread . i use a little primavera 70 which has only 28 inches of cooking area. i monitor my floor to see where i have the most even heat . it can be 900 + degrees 4 inches from the flame and 700 by the wall . the pizzas don't rise evenly, the back side rises a lot less than the side started closer to the flame . after rotating the back side seems to of lost it yeast activity and rises about half of the front. i want to get a a small log holder that will put the logs a couple of inches off the floor .i am hoping that this will get the flame to roll further across the dome and heat the floor more evenly.

I was thinking the same thing.  My floor is just shy of 4' & the dome is about 23" high so in my case it will definitely help to get the flame to lick the dome.  I have also read that it helps with the floor temperature.  It's definitely worth a shot.  I'm probably not going to fire my oven up again until the spring, so if you try it, please let me know on the outcome.

Matt

[BurntFingers]

I've been firing our oven for a few years, but recently learned a trick that does what those log lifters do.  It is to load the oven just after the coals go out or after sweeping out the coals at the end of pizza making or once bread making at a lower temperature is done.  Then start at 7 o'clock on the oven floor next to the wall and lay down the first log (each piece is about as long as your arm from wrist to elbow and as thick as your wrist) then place the second log leaning up on the first, then the third and so on like dominos that fell all the way around to five o'clock.  Then stack a rick in the center of the oven and close it up until your next firing.  Then open the door and light the rick kindling in the center.  After a while the very dry wood on the perimeter will ignite and help heat the oven using a minimum of wood.  You should reach cooking temperature fairly fast that way and a little additional wood to soak in the heat to bake bread after the pizza.  Give it a shot and see what happens.   Let us know if you have success that way too.

[BurntFingers]

BTW we fire it year 'round.  Just not in the rain if we can help it. 

[trosenberg]

I had the one on the bottom.  After a while it melted.  I do not see the purpose in replacing it. As others said simply stack the wood & you will get the same result.

[thezaman]

matthew, i bought a small grate that will lift the wood 3 inches off of the floor . i am going to try it tonight will get pics and results.

[thezaman]

matthew, i had a chance to try a log holder in my oven,i was very happy with the results. my oven is very little and my pizzas burnt on the edge closes to the flame. this was the main problem i hoped a log holder would solve. i purchased a inexpensive log holder at home depot, the smallest one they had. they have a natural curve on the back which works to keep the holder close to the wall.i had to put it in with the front at three o clock so that a 14 inch peel would land a pizza straight in the oven opening. i filled the holder with wood and lit it up. i took about 1 1/2 hours to get it to temp . my floor was at 915 closes to the fire and 815 towards the side wall . i was hoping for more even floor, but it stayed about 100 degrees apart. the pizza cooked much more even. no burnt front ,and i was able to let the pizzas bake longer before turning them. this helped the dough set longer without burning the front facing the fire . that is also a area i had a lot of problems with. i have enclosed a few pics. i am definitely going to try this method again.

[Matthew]

matthew, i had a chance to try a log holder in my oven,i was very happy with the results. my oven is very little and my pizzas burnt on the edge closes to the flame. this was the main problem i hoped a log holder would solve. i purchased a inexpensive log holder at home depot, the smallest one they had. they have a natural curve on the back which works to keep the holder close to the wall.i had to put it in with the front at three o clock so that a 14 inch peel would land a pizza straight in the oven opening. i filled the holder with wood and lit it up. i took about 1 1/2 hours to get it to temp . my floor was at 915 closes to the fire and 815 towards the side wall . i was hoping for more even floor, but it stayed about 100 degrees apart. the pizza cooked much more even. no burnt front ,and i was able to let the pizzas bake longer before turning them. this helped the dough set longer without burning the front facing the fire . that is also a area i had a lot of problems with. i have enclosed a few pics. i am definitely going to try this method again.

Larry,
Great job! Thanks for posting the results.  What about facing the long holder at 12 o'clock & keeping it right against the side wall.  Build your fire on the floor in the center of the oven like you were doing previously.  Once the oven comes to temperature, push the coals to the side where the log holder is & prop a couple of pieces of wood on top of the log holder.  The super hot coals & airflow created by the log holder should give you a super hot flame which in your oven would easily lick the dome from end to end.  Thoughts?

Matt