Author Topic: Need your guidance on which WFO oven to buy? Total newbie!! (Read 4246 times)

bebe · « **Reply #20 on:** May 22, 2012, 05:04:53 PM »

thank you !!

what about Los Angeles Pizza Ovenworks?

TXCraig1 · « **Reply #21 on:** May 22, 2012, 05:11:25 PM »

Quote from: bebe on May 22, 2012, 05:04:53 PM

what about Los Angeles Pizza Ovenworks?

I don't know anything about them. At first glance, they look reasonable in the pictures.

As for size, there is a balance of evenness of heat, cost, fuel consumption, etc. I'd suggest an oven diameter of at least 37" (95cm), and all things being equal, more mass and more insulation is better.

bebe · « **Reply #22 on:** May 22, 2012, 05:18:01 PM »

hey Craig, where is the best WF pizza in Houston !! I'm craving some after looking at all these sites.

TXCraig1 · « **Reply #23 on:** May 22, 2012, 05:23:07 PM »

Quote from: bebe on May 22, 2012, 05:18:01 PM

hey Craig, where is the best WF pizza in Houston !! I'm craving some after looking at all these sites.

My Garage

Seriously, there isn't much to write home about here in Houston. Probably better coal fired pizza than wood fired around here. Grimaldi's in the Woodlands may be your best bet. Go when they are busy.

Matthew · « **Reply #24 on:** May 22, 2012, 06:56:50 PM »

Terry (Blazing Ovens) just finished a 36" prototype trailer mounted oven. He is also in the early stages of making a mould for an oven with the proportions of a Neapolitan oven. If anyone contacts Terry, mention my name & he'll look after you. I'll post a picture later today of the trailer.

Matt

bebe · « **Reply #25 on:** May 22, 2012, 07:16:52 PM »

thanks Matthew. I need to study Blazing Ovens at length tonight.

bebe · « **Reply #26 on:** May 23, 2012, 09:39:36 PM »

http://www.losangelesovenworks.com/ovens/home-elisa_model_90_wood_burning_oven.php

Maybe???

Blazing Ovens has a 3 month wait plus shipping and such from Canada. And it is a 42" oven, not sure I need that much oven.

pabsey · « **Reply #27 on:** May 23, 2012, 10:18:42 PM »

Lookup Artesianovens out of MiddleRiver Mn. Very small company, very reasonably priced.

breadstoneovens · « **Reply #28 on:** May 24, 2012, 03:53:03 PM »

Quote from: scott123 on May 21, 2012, 10:16:32 PM

I'm not entirely certain how I feel about the way they do the bricks on the interior- it almost looks like they take the casting refractory, color it, and add wet refractory 'bricks' to the interior when they cast it, rather than using fire bricks. That being said, I'd gladly take a faux brick or even a full refractory low dome oven over any of the hundreds of high dome ovens out there.

And this, like many ovens, is a multi-piece unit so your contractor should be fine with it.

I don't want to get defensive about my product but I would like to clarify the manufacturing process of the FGM brick dome.

The brick dome is build with refractory bricks and refractory mortar over a mold, just like you would when building one from scratch. The bricks used are high quality refractory bricks. Because the oven is going to be shipped and designed to be used everyday commercially, they need to add some strengths to the dome. For that they pour over the dome a refractory concrete reinforced with metal fiber. As a side note, there is no difference in quality between the ovens used by a business and in a residence. This is a very modern technique that will insure your oven will last, literally for decades, and no other manufacturer has the technology to do that.

The low dome is ideal for the Neapolitan pizza and there is a raised option for those who want a higher dome. The raised dome option is built exactly the same way as the dome, with real refractory bricks. Not to make a stand for my product but it is a really impressive piece of engineering.

I have sold many of these ovens, including in Canada, they have supported the shipping without any damage and have been lasting through the very cold winters.

I hope this clarifies some of the questions I have seen about the quality of the FGM WFO.

Best regards,

Antoine

scott123 · « **Reply #29 on:** May 24, 2012, 06:51:41 PM »

Antoine, I stated a concern that these are refractory (cast) bricks made to look like traditional (fired in a kiln) firebricks and that they are not actually firebricks. Your answer doesn't invalidate that concern.

If these bricks are cast and not fired, you're basically talking about the same material as your refractory 'mortar,' so, rather than a traditional firebrick + refractory mortar oven, this is basically all cast refractory (in gray mortar color and brick color). Traditional kilned firebricks, are, by their nature, a more physically and thermally durable product than cast refractory. High quality refractory that's been expertly casted isn't going to be much less durable than firebricks, but it's still not exactly the same thing, and selling a wood fired 'brick' oven that doesn't actually contain kilned bricks may not be fraudulent, but, if this is the case, it would rub me the wrong way.

So, are these traditional kilned firebricks or are they a similar cast refractory material to the rest of the oven, but in a different color?

Woodfiredovenpizzero · « **Reply #30 on:** May 25, 2012, 04:01:16 PM »

This is what I have, the Piccolo. Small and portable but elegant www.fornoclassico.com.

Good luck,

Edgar

bebe · « **Reply #31 on:** May 25, 2012, 04:11:59 PM »

need something that is shipped in a kit/pieces. 1000 lbs might be a tad too much for my contractor. Or anyone!

breadstoneovens · « **Reply #32 on:** May 25, 2012, 04:49:49 PM »

Quote from: scott123 on May 24, 2012, 06:51:41 PM

So, are these traditional kilned firebricks or are they a similar cast refractory material to the rest of the oven, but in a different color?

Ok, I see your point. There definitely are a lot of manufacturer who take short cuts, make a cheap product and charge big $ for it

The reason I work with Four Grand Mere it is because it is the real deal, very high quality, no short cuts at a good price. We are about doing it right and serving the WFO community

The bricks used for the dome are refractory bricks or firebricks made of clay containing a minimum of 40% alumina, cold pressed and fired in a kiln at very high temperature. The bricks are made to support over 1500 C or 2700 F, without cracking. Most likely your oven will never get that hot or at least I don't recommend it.
Same quality bricks, shaped in tiles, are used for the oven floor.
Attached is a picture of the bricks used for the dome. As you can see they have a unique shape and are specially made for WFO. They are assembled by hand to make the dome.

I hope this answers your question.

Antoine

woodovenbaker · « **Reply #33 on:** May 25, 2012, 04:57:12 PM »

Quote from: bebe on May 25, 2012, 04:11:59 PM

need something that is shipped in a kit/pieces. 1000 lbs might be a tad too much for my contractor. Or anyone!

You should look at the 700 A from FGM. It is under 300 lb and works really well.
http://www.breadstoneovens.com/collections/frontpage/products/bread-stone-700-a

I would rule out anything from Forno Bravo, a lot of people have issues with the floor of their oven.
Bob

bebe · « **Reply #34 on:** May 25, 2012, 06:08:38 PM »

does the 800 oven come in a kit form ?

breadstoneovens · « **Reply #35 on:** May 25, 2012, 06:41:39 PM »

Quote from: bebe on May 25, 2012, 06:08:38 PM

does the 800 oven come in a kit form ?

Hi,

Yes all of the ovens come as kit. I would be happy to give you more details off the forum.

Antoine

woodovenbaker · « **Reply #36 on:** May 25, 2012, 06:50:21 PM »

Quote from: bebe on May 25, 2012, 06:08:38 PM

does the 800 oven come in a kit form ?

I think all of the oven come as a kit including the 800. My kit came with the oven, a metal door, a concrete door to do close oven baking, the chimney pipe connection that has a damper ( I think it is so you can use it like a smoker) and the insulation for the floor and the dome. The cool stuff was the mortar uses to do the joint is like a fire clay that doesn't requires drying time. I had my oven installed in no time and was able to make a fire in it the same day. 3 days of curing and it was good to go.
Customer service was really good too.

Bob

bebe · « **Reply #37 on:** May 25, 2012, 06:54:44 PM »

thanks for the help. I'm still confused about what size I should get and also need to be sure of quality. I don't want an inferior oven.

Comments from the members here?

TXCraig1 · « **Reply #38 on:** May 25, 2012, 07:47:22 PM »

Quote from: bebe on May 25, 2012, 06:54:44 PM

thanks for the help. I'm still confused about what size I should get and also need to be sure of quality. I don't want an inferior oven.

Comments from the members here?

Get the Four Grand-Mere F950-B. You will not regret it.

If you have not done so already, PM RobynB and ask her about this oven.

Craig

bebe · « **Reply #39 on:** May 25, 2012, 08:06:23 PM »

Quote from: TXCraig1 on May 25, 2012, 07:47:22 PM

Get the Four Grand-Mere F950-B. You will not regret it.

If you have not done so already, PM RobynB and ask her about this oven.

Craig

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that's a big oven isn't it ? :-) I'm concerned about depth/bulk and don't think I'll be cooking
a lot in it. It's just my husband and myself and occasional parties. I think you said to get at least
36" cooking space, so I guess the 950 fits that bill.