So it begins.....

[shuboyje]

Thanks a lot for the compliments guys, I'm just thrilled with it.  The first curing fire is going now and it runs like it is turbo charged compared to my old oven, not sure if it is the bigger door or the vent, but something is causing it.  Considering the oven is still wet and I've yet to put the stack on which will increase the draw this is just awesome because it will only get better.

I'm not really sure about the landing at this point.  Personally I only had a very small landing on the old oven and it only got used once a year while baking a turkey.  To be honest I've always seen them as something that puts me further away from the back of the oven.  Unlike traditional Neapolitan ovens mine is fully insulated in the front, so I'm already 6 inches back as it is.  That said my wife would like one for the turkey, and if I do decided to add one it will be similar to the traditional ones, I'll weld a angle iron frame to the oven stand and probably build it all out of stainless.  It will not be "heat conducting" like a traditional Neapolitan oven though, as my oven is insulated from the stand. 

[TXCraig1]

Jeff, that is so sweet.

[ken524]

Now THAT is a really cool oven design. And portable to boot!

[shuboyje]

Here is a video demonstrating the oven vent.  Hopefully it is the first of many videos to come.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP3tTMnnGDY" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP3tTMnnGDY</a>

On a side note, I'm loving the oven on wheels and the offset stack right now.  It rained cats and dogs last night, and I had plans to fire the oven.  I opened the garage door and rolled the oven so the front was sticking into the garage and the stack was out in the open.  I was a happy dry pizza cooking fool.

[Jackie Tran]

Wow, your oven draws great!  Great job.  You got skillz man.

[BrickStoneOven]

Is it me or does the chimney look really low and in the way of the entrance? It looks like your going to have to kneel down at an angle to look into the oven. It might be the angle the video was shot.

[shuboyje]

It is low(level with the top of the door), but the angle makes it look more so.  Kneeling isn't as issue, I built the oven high on purpose.

[shuboyje]

I was firing the oven tonight and thought it was really displaying the convection patter well so I took a video.  I must have bumped the button to stop recording so I only ended up with a few seconds of what was supposed to be about 30, but it still shows what I was seeing well.  The fire is rolling across the dome and then a veil of smoke is hovering above the floor as it circulates back toward the front and out the vent.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKeSzasaDgk" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKeSzasaDgk</a>

[TXCraig1]

Looks just like mine. Very nice!

CL

[shuboyje]

That is good to hear.  As you know ovens like your are my inspiration.  So far I'm very happy with its performance.

[shuboyje]

Sorry to bump this thread.  I've been getting a lot of questions lately and felt it would be beneficial to add this cut view from the CAD file.

[arby916]

Hi Jeff,

I'm new to the forum and I'm having a patio built in the next few months and I want a pizza oven to go with it. I had been debating what to buy but thanks to super helpful threads like yours, I'm now debating what to build. Your oven looks awesome. Other ovens "build your own" ovens had put me off with the amount of brick cutting and fitting but your design seems much easier. Anway, a couple questions:

• Do you think your cast refractory entrance could have been cast without the bottom edge? Like just the arch? I think it would be much easier to build the mold that way but I'm wondering if you see a reason for the bottom. Then I'd use brick to fill in the landing
• Is there a performance reason to route the exhaust up to the top of the dome? Or is that just an aesthetic preference over going straight up?

Thanks,
Adam

[shuboyje]

I don't see any issues casting the entry without the bottom section, but can say that is far from the hardest part of the mould.  Laying out the arch onto the radius takes so knowledge of layout, as does making the conical section where the entry intersects the dome.  Your way the mould would be easier to fill, although I have learned a lot about mould making since then and would probably use weep holes now to ensure a full fill in the bottom section.

I have talked about it a lot, but not sure it has came up in this thread.  I do not currently advise people to use the Neapolitan vent in backyard ovens.  For commercial ovens it may very well have it's place, but in a backyard it is just extra complication with little gain.  I do however still feel strongly about keeping the oven accessible and the entry to a minimum depth.  You will see some ovens with entry's the size of a small house.  That is the last thing you want for neapolitan pizza. 

[Tscarborough]

I agree.  If the oven is continuously fired, do the Neapolitan vent if you want.  For occasional use it is not adding anything to the equation but is probably moving heat out of the dome brick far faster than it is adding to it.