Craig,

Cool idea - this got me thinking about whether my aim was to insulate the
inner core of the oven to minimize heat loss, or to increase the thermal
mass also. Most pizza oven rely on the latter strategy and therefore an
outer skin of bricks would be the best option. However, I could try an
insulating blanket first. I'll try your links and see what I can find -
doesn't sound the cheapest option though!

Cheers

Andy



"Craig Schroeder" wrote in message
...
Andy, I've good luck with 3M's Nextel fabrics for some work related
applications. They are essentially like Thinsulate fibers but made
with ceramics. They are very pliable and easily
shaped/folded/stacked, etc. Here's some info:

http://tinyurl.com/2wutkh

I can't direct you to a source (I work in another area of 3M and get
it internally). It helps keep the space shuttle insulated so it would
likely work for your pizza oven! NASCAR teams also use it as
insulating barriers between hot exhausts and the cockpits for driver
comfort, too. I mention this as it might be available through racing
supply catalogs and sources.

http://tinyurl.com/2twawp

http://tinyurl.com/3223z6



On Sat, 26 May 2007 23:00:04 +0100, "Andy Phillips"
wrote:

Hi,
I have a pizza oven made from refractory cement (see
http://www.purimachos.demon.co.uk/pizza.htm). This works OK, but the walls
are not thick enough to retain much heat - therefore, having heated the
oven with a wood fire and raked it out, it's only possible to cook about
two
pizzas before it's cooled down. I'd like to be able to cook at least four
pizzas and maybe some bread afterwards. I therefore need to thicken the
wall
to increase the heat capacity - I thought by adding at least one course of
bricks around the sides and top of the oven, followed by an inch or so of
render. Question is, do I need to use special heat-proof bricks (eg
firebricks) and cement, or can I get away with normal house bricks and
mortar? I'm concerned that the mortar and render will crack - when in use,
the outer wall of the oven gets too hot to touch for more than an
instant -
I would guess about 100-140C.
Any advice appreciated.
Andy


Craig Schroeder
craig nospam craigschroeder com