Hi Dave. I have a oven like yours but did improved the base by putting in 30 mm fire brick and have 50 mm of insulation and plaster ovre the dome. The oven goes for more then 6 hours when hot. I noticed you had your coals arund the d[side and back of your oven when cooking pizza. The trick is to move the coals to one side just before cooking so the floor is hot and you can put your pizza further into the oven. I use my oven for everything including roasts, chicken, fish and of course the odd pizza. I have a steel door to close off the opening to retain heat. Darrel
@@chetr003 I used plastic wrap over the exercise ball and that made a smooth internal surface.. I do not have problems with ash because the internal temps are up to 650C. When you build the dome you do 65mm on the first go, half the thickness add chicken wire mesh them mould on the rest of the depth. There are some good CZcams video on building a pearlite oven over an exercise ball
@@chetr003 i would recommend layers... different cracks in different layers might prevent you, from loosing most of the heat through one giant crack. At least thats what i have done with my second build.... but i'm not shure... i went with clay instead of cement... i think he used something with perlit .....
Hi everyone, I forgot to say that I didn't build the chimney at first because I didn't know if the oven would work... and then I never got around to it!
Thank you so much for following up on your original video, and for pinning a link to the follow up on the original! I was just about to make the same mistake by skipping the fire bricks because they're pricey. You just saved me years of wifely eye rolling and comments about "that thing in the back yard that doesn't work". 😅
Haha cool! Some other people suggested some wire mesh reinforcement like chicken wire in the dome might help reinforce it 🤷🏻♂️ good luck! I hope it turns out well and makes some good pizza!
Your Formwork was good, so that can be replicated using better heat retaining building materials. When you made the base I did think that there was room to of tiled it to make it more food friendly. The use of Perlite in the dome for lightweightness another good idea, that could of been tiled inside by placing the tiles on the rubber ball higher up inside just to reflect the heat down, there's lots of ideas, thanks for your videos, I really enjoy watching them, they are well done 👍
I like the idea of simplicity and cheap way for a pizza oven solution. I am not an expert of pizza ovens, but what I have learned when you make your own pizza oven, you have to cure the oven for days, before you actually heat to max temps for making pizza, bread or anything in it. The moisture must escape slowly as possible, this way you avoid big cracks. Fire stones beneath is of course the much better solution, for the dome you could isolate it and what most people do with wires and a new layer of cement finish and paint it in your desired color. This can be done still cheap and minimal more effort.
Thank you for the Update... Defentitly Fire Bricks on the bottom I would also have had rebar in the cement (bottom) Chicken wire over the ball... Here in New Mexico (US) I would do Adobe Mud on the outside and make it look more like a Kiva fireplace? Hatch Green Chile Pizza here we come...
It was really a great idea to use the exercise ball. I've been looking into making my own pizza oven as like you said they are so bloody expensive. So I've watched a good few videos of how to make them and your video is the best idea I've seen. I'm going to try it but I'm going to use bricks with the exercise ball instead of cement. Thanks for the idea 👍💡
So weird, just this week I WAS thinking of making one of these using YOUR video as a guide. Brilliant timing for an update, thank you! Hells bells that's a lot of views tho. Nice!! Happy NY by the way.
Easy, inexpensive pizza oven to build, but not a permanent solution. Fire brick, refractory cement, insulation to maintain the heat and a chimney to provide the draft that feeds the fire with oxygen are more practical elements to use in the design. But, still, a fun video to watch 👍
I was thinking if you cut a sturdy stainless mesh and incorporate that as rebar as centered as possible then another on the outside where you can a layer to press small tiles or colored glass into which would protest the outside.
I wonder if a lower dome height would help or putting a 1/2 inch steel plate on the bottom or possibly a round ceramic pizza stone. I use a Lodge cast iron pizza pan in my oven and I'm very happy with it. Pizza's take 10 minutes at 550 degrees and they dry a lot so I add extra sauce or wet ingredients.
I can see that also your dough handling skills have improved a lot, and pizza results as well. I can see you enjoyed using it. Good Job. What do you think could be done for the top part to improve both the durability and keeping it cheap. Probably a mixed approach would do a better job.
I have seen many times people using what you did here as the insulation part of the build with a regular brick build . By the way you can always find used bricks and used fire bricks if cost is an issue. Also there are many coatings to put on the outside of your oven to weather proof it, from clay , to more Adobe mix , to bricks , or a concrete finish with a sealer. Personally I like the Clay pot look.
I know that pearlite pizza ovens do not retain heat for long( I intend to use it for cooking other foods besides pizzas). Can you add something to the pearlite/cement mixture so that it retains more heat?
You should build a door that keeps the eat inside but most importand you should treat the outside of your oven with a moister resistand spray or stco. The cracks develop because there is moister creeping in you cement. This freezes ore cooks but in bothe cases it wil crack your concrete.
Cool oven! I have a pizza party oven but have the same problem that you have. If i Cook multiple pizza's i need to keep the fire going. Maybe i wil try a to make a DIY oven like this in the future
I’ve experimented with a bunch, I really like the way sourdough worked out but this is my go to because it’s so much easier www.fornobravo.com/pizza-oven-library/article/pizza-sequence/pizza-dough/
Two reasons is why your floor doesn't "hold" heat: 1. The floor has no insulation underneath so it bleeds heat into the area below it. 2. The exercise ball shape has a ceiling too tall and the flame rolling across the dome is too high to properly heat the floor. Spherical pizza ovens are the wrong shape for the dome and htere is a ratio of dome height to oven radius.
yes technically a ball is the wrong shape to use for a mold. Sure it's probably easy because of how it is inflated but ideally it should be much lower and flatter than that. A lot of pizza ovens you can buy are not neapolitan ovens but designed for more general use which is why they have slightly taller ceiling@@DavidParker
I’ve been experimenting with a variety of different recipes, sometimes sourdough sometimes regular yeast. This one has been a good staple www.fornobravo.com/pizza-oven-library/article/pizza-sequence/pizza-dough/
"Refractory" cement is specifically designed for high heat applications, such as chimneys and bbqs. Also, ordinary red brick will not hold up. Fire brick is necessary for high heat. Fire brick is very dense and has a very low moisture content so it will not crack or explode under 2000 degree temperatures.
what if u put some kind of sealant on the outside of the dome? would that help stop it from cracking? also used together with the fire bricks for the bass would be definately good for heat
Yes that was it just cement perlite and water as needed to make a good mix. I have no idea how much I used or the rest of the materials for the form, it was all just scraps of wood I had lying around
Sorry I don’t have the oven anymore as we moved house but I think I just googled it and chose one that would suit with the size of oven I wanted to make
Hi Dave. I have a oven like yours but did improved the base by putting in 30 mm fire brick and have 50 mm of insulation and plaster ovre the dome. The oven goes for more then 6 hours when hot. I noticed you had your coals arund the d[side and back of your oven when cooking pizza. The trick is to move the coals to one side just before cooking so the floor is hot and you can put your pizza further into the oven. I use my oven for everything including roasts, chicken, fish and of course the odd pizza. I have a steel door to close off the opening to retain heat.
Darrel
I am thinking of building one. Do you cover the dome all at once with cement or do you build it up in layers?. Does any ash fall on the food?
@@chetr003 I used plastic wrap over the exercise ball and that made a smooth internal surface.. I do not have problems with ash because the internal temps are up to 650C. When you build the dome you do 65mm on the first go, half the thickness add chicken wire mesh them mould on the rest of the depth. There are some good CZcams video on building a pearlite oven over an exercise ball
@@chetr003 i would recommend layers... different cracks in different layers might prevent you, from loosing most of the heat through one giant crack.
At least thats what i have done with my second build....
but i'm not shure... i went with clay instead of cement... i think he used something with perlit .....
What kind of insulation and plaster did you use?
Hi I use 50mm of Rockwool then covered that with chicken wire and rendered over the top with cement planter.@@ellenjean5632
Warning: do not watch this video while hungry!
So great David! Loved the update ☺️
Hi everyone, I forgot to say that I didn't build the chimney at first because I didn't know if the oven would work... and then I never got around to it!
Good day newspaper canoe Man may you and yours be doing very well.
Thank you so much for following up on your original video, and for pinning a link to the follow up on the original!
I was just about to make the same mistake by skipping the fire bricks because they're pricey. You just saved me years of wifely eye rolling and comments about "that thing in the back yard that doesn't work". 😅
Haha cool! Some other people suggested some wire mesh reinforcement like chicken wire in the dome might help reinforce it 🤷🏻♂️ good luck! I hope it turns out well and makes some good pizza!
Your Formwork was good, so that can be replicated using better heat retaining building materials. When you made the base I did think that there was room to of tiled it to make it more food friendly. The use of Perlite in the dome for lightweightness another good idea, that could of been tiled inside by placing the tiles on the rubber ball higher up inside just to reflect the heat down, there's lots of ideas, thanks for your videos, I really enjoy watching them, they are well done 👍
Thank you!! Lots of good ideas there!
Great video and honesty on the built. I will be given it a try as a started with updates on fire brick laying . Many thanks,
I like the idea of simplicity and cheap way for a pizza oven solution. I am not an expert of pizza ovens, but what I have learned when you make your own pizza oven, you have to cure the oven for days, before you actually heat to max temps for making pizza, bread or anything in it. The moisture must escape slowly as possible, this way you avoid big cracks. Fire stones beneath is of course the much better solution, for the dome you could isolate it and what most people do with wires and a new layer of cement finish and paint it in your desired color. This can be done still cheap and minimal more effort.
Dear David, as per what I can see, you ended up with a great pizza oven, congrats!! Your neapolitan pizzas look great! Cheers from Uruguay.
Thank you for the Update...
Defentitly Fire Bricks on the bottom
I would also have had rebar in the cement (bottom) Chicken wire over the ball...
Here in New Mexico (US) I would do Adobe Mud on the outside and make it look more like a Kiva fireplace? Hatch Green Chile Pizza here we come...
It was really a great idea to use the exercise ball. I've been looking into making my own pizza oven as like you said they are so bloody expensive. So I've watched a good few videos of how to make them and your video is the best idea I've seen.
I'm going to try it but I'm going to use bricks with the exercise ball instead of cement. Thanks for the idea 👍💡
So weird, just this week I WAS thinking of making one of these using YOUR video as a guide. Brilliant timing for an update, thank you! Hells bells that's a lot of views tho. Nice!! Happy NY by the way.
Thanks for the follow up! You deserve all the CZcams success you get!
put a 1/4" steel plate in there and cook off that, steel holds and reflects heat really well
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO! So so helpful in preventing mistakes i was going to make! haha
Easy, inexpensive pizza oven to build, but not a permanent solution. Fire brick, refractory cement, insulation to maintain the heat and a chimney to provide the draft that feeds the fire with oxygen are more practical elements to use in the design. But, still, a fun video to watch 👍
Thanks!
great honest video man! please do a new build 🙏
I was thinking if you cut a sturdy stainless mesh and incorporate that as rebar as centered as possible then another on the outside where you can a layer to press small tiles or colored glass into which would protest the outside.
That could work well!
Thanks for the update!
omg i didnt realise how quickly they cooked ......amazing thanks :)
I wonder if a lower dome height would help or putting a 1/2 inch steel plate on the bottom or possibly a round ceramic pizza stone. I use a Lodge cast iron pizza pan in my oven and I'm very happy with it. Pizza's take 10 minutes at 550 degrees and they dry a lot so I add extra sauce or wet ingredients.
FIRE BRICKS (eBay)
Hi Dave, thanks for your inspiring work. I subscribed. I watched the before and after. greetings from Turkey
I can see that also your dough handling skills have improved a lot, and pizza results as well. I can see you enjoyed using it. Good Job.
What do you think could be done for the top part to improve both the durability and keeping it cheap. Probably a mixed approach would do a better job.
Thanks! Some people suggest a chicken wire structure or rendering the outside 🤷🏻♂️ I have no idea if that’d work though
I have seen many times people using what you did here as the insulation part of the build with a regular brick build . By the way you can always find used bricks and used fire bricks if cost is an issue. Also there are many coatings to put on the outside of your oven to weather proof it, from clay , to more Adobe mix , to bricks , or a concrete finish with a sealer. Personally I like the Clay pot look.
Wow! This is incredibly inspiring. I know what I’m doing this weekend!!
very simple oven yet still great exclusive high quality oven pizzas!!!
Thanks for the update. I subscribed because of this
Glad to hear it was helpful
You also added Perlite to the base.
Hey, thanks!
Thank you very much for your experience
I know that pearlite pizza ovens do not retain heat for long( I intend to use it for cooking other foods besides pizzas). Can you add something to the pearlite/cement mixture so that it retains more heat?
I don’t know sorry!
Very good content!
You should build a door that keeps the eat inside but most importand you should treat the outside of your oven with a moister resistand spray or stco. The cracks develop because there is moister creeping in you cement. This freezes ore cooks but in bothe cases it wil crack your concrete.
Thanks for the tips!
I see that other ovens of this type use a door at the entrance. This would help keep the heat in.
I used clay cat sand and it's better than a perlite.
Cool oven! I have a pizza party oven but have the same problem that you have. If i Cook multiple pizza's i need to keep the fire going. Maybe i wil try a to make a DIY oven like this in the future
Nice
Interesting, I think they have fire bricks for the base? I don’t know if this would be any better than that
I would like to know what your pizza dough recipe you are using….looks like a really good one.
I’ve experimented with a bunch, I really like the way sourdough worked out but this is my go to because it’s so much easier www.fornobravo.com/pizza-oven-library/article/pizza-sequence/pizza-dough/
Two reasons is why your floor doesn't "hold" heat: 1. The floor has no insulation underneath so it bleeds heat into the area below it. 2. The exercise ball shape has a ceiling too tall and the flame rolling across the dome is too high to properly heat the floor.
Spherical pizza ovens are the wrong shape for the dome and htere is a ratio of dome height to oven radius.
Interesting theory thanks!
yes technically a ball is the wrong shape to use for a mold. Sure it's probably easy because of how it is inflated but ideally it should be much lower and flatter than that.
A lot of pizza ovens you can buy are not neapolitan ovens but designed for more general use which is why they have slightly taller ceiling@@DavidParker
friend how do you prepare pizza dough? your recipe, it would be nice to make a video about it...great review...
I’ve been experimenting with a variety of different recipes, sometimes sourdough sometimes regular yeast. This one has been a good staple www.fornobravo.com/pizza-oven-library/article/pizza-sequence/pizza-dough/
What would have helped you avoid the cracks? more concrete mixture?
"Refractory" cement is specifically designed for high heat applications, such as chimneys and bbqs. Also, ordinary red brick will not hold up. Fire brick is necessary for high heat. Fire brick is very dense and has a very low moisture content so it will not crack or explode under 2000 degree temperatures.
Que tipo de material es ??
what if u put some kind of sealant on the outside of the dome? would that help stop it from cracking? also used together with the fire bricks for the bass would be definately good for heat
Please do an exercise ball brick one please 🙂
Adobe (mud) over called "Earthen Ovens" Pizza oven
Hi David, do you by chance remember what the dimensions of your forms for the opening and base area were? Thank you.
No idea sorry, I just made them the sizes that looked right with the exercise ball I got
Would a cement/sand combo last longer than cement/percolate? If the base was cement, would that be as good as firebrick?
Perlite is used to reduce weight. You would have to build it place with sand.
Now I want pizza. Thanks a lot 🤪
A list of what you used would be nice I heard you give a measurement of each thing in the mix but is that it?
Yes that was it just cement perlite and water as needed to make a good mix. I have no idea how much I used or the rest of the materials for the form, it was all just scraps of wood I had lying around
Does it need the chimney hole??
How heavy is it to move please?
Did the base crack at all under direct heat? I have built everything, but still debating what to do the base with.
I haven’t noticed cracks on the base, but as I said you’d be far better using firebricks even if only for the base.
Can I ask was it refractory cement or normal cement?
I used normal cement but maybe it’d hold up to the heat better with refractory cement?
honest
Hi, could you share the size of the opening?
Sorry I don’t have the oven anymore as we moved house but I think I just googled it and chose one that would suit with the size of oven I wanted to make
i think a pizzaiolo always has a little fire lit...
hey david what are your favourite pizza toppings?
Tbh if it’s cooked right I just love a Margherita
How much cement and perlite did you use?
It was a long time ago so I can’t remember sorry!
How has the pizza oven held up
Much the same as in this video
I'd eat that pizza though