Once you’ve built your dream earthbag house, you’ll need an efficient means of cooking. At our house, this includes an oven as one part of our outdoor kitchen that keeps heat out of the house. This latest project was a collaboration by Owen Geiger and Mother Earth News Magazine to develop a super efficient multiple-use stove. Instead of building a brick barbecue, smoker and pizza oven separately, you can build just one stove that can cook everything.
The key to its efficiency is a thick layer of lightweight perlite cement around the sides and bottom of the firebrick firebox. Perlite is highly insulating and helps hold the heat where it’s needed.
The oven is made of standard materials available at local hardware or building stores — concrete blocks and firebricks — that will last a long time. And the price is right — only about $300 plus the chimney.
Click to read the full article for free at Mother Earth News.
Owen,where would I find the plans for your outdoor oven ,stove, grill, & smoker. thanks Al
It’s in Mother Earth News magazine. Everything you need is in that one article.
Original article stated “details for building your own cast-in-place concrete countertops will be available in the future.” Are these available now? Thanks.
The next issue of The Owner Builder magazine will have my concrete countertop article. I’ll post a link from this blog to the article when it comes out.
I live outside of Savannah, GA and am having problems finding perlite in larger bags. Also on the weight of perlite a 2cuft bag weights approx 8 lbs I’m told, is that correct?
I would use the Internet to search more suppliers.
You’ll have to look up the weight.
That pizza peel looks suspiciously like a bag slider…you arent an earthbag builder by any chance.
For the inside geometry, did you follow the rocket stove proportionality or another method?
If any of your readers would like the proportional dimensions for a rocket stove they are available as a free PDF download from my website.
The size is based on fitting all the most common size baking dishes, pizza pans, bread pans, cast iron pans, etc. Then we used standard sized firebrick to determine final sizes.
We are firing up the stove as I type. How did you protect the inside of the stove door from smoldering? We used oak hard wood w/copper on both sides. Drilled 2 holes for air, then covered on outside with a copper flap.
We just “peaked” in and the wood is smoldering.
thanks
t
My stove door is all metal. It’s double layer sheet metal filled with perlite.
Can you build the outside walls and frame for the firebricks out of the steel/ aluminum frame and cement board? Looking at doing the rest of an outdoor kitchen in this to set in a sink, burners, etc.
I know cement board holds high heat. Wondering about the weight of firebrick, heat, etc.
Thanks.
You can do that, yes. The perlite cement holds in the heat so the outside is not very hot.
when building the outdoor oven do you use straight portland cement with the perlite or a concrete mix? thank you dave
Straight Portland cement with perlite.
We are ready to do the portland/perlite mix. We were thinking of putting copper on the outside of the firebrick to keep from moving when adding the mix. Did you have any trouble w/the firebricks moving?
We are a bit apprehensive about this step. Does “light” mean a soupy mix of cement?
Thanks
Teresa
Copper is not needed and will just complicate things.
The cement/perlite mix is like a thick milkshake. I use the word ‘light’ because the perlite makes it very lightweight. So don’t add too much water, which will weaken cement. Add just enough so you can shovel and trowel it in place. Work carefully and the bricks won’t move if you have something inside to brace them, such as other bricks or concrete blocks.
Hi – me again – how many 3cu ft bags of perlite did you use? I’ve googled the weight/cf ratio with varying results.
Could I also substitute/mix vermiculite with perlite?
Thanks – we have the pad poured – now onto the blocks.
My husband insisted we hand dig down 42″ to the footer for added stability and frost line protection. It’s been hard work in a tiny area!
Thanks
T
I’m pretty sure it was three bags of perlite. And yes, you can use either perlite, vermiculite or a combination.
ok, thanks!
Another question – we’re thinking of using bricks to build the stove instead of cement blocks. Any comments on this?
Also may consider bricking over the blocks, this would result in a 4″ decrease of perlite – comments on this?
We do have the base in place – 40 x 40. Using the bricks (which we have leftover from house) was an afterthought.
Thank you!
Teresa
You can use bricks, stone, etc. for the outer walls, no problem. But do not eliminate the perlite cement. That’s key to the design. The perlite holds the heat in.
Hi – we’re planning to start our/your stove over the Memorial Day weekend. So glad you shared this.
Do have a question, how did you put the racks in the firebox. My husband is thinking about placing screws, etc. in the mortar to act as holders for the racks.
Thank you –
Teresa
First of all, don’t use mortar between firebricks. this is explained in the article.
Drill holes for 1/4″ steel pins at the joints between firebricks. Four pins is all you need per rack.
We are building the outdoor grill and oven looking toward using it for the bread we bake for local farmer’s markets. Are there any more details on this project available? It looks as if the design and the photos don’t totally match up.
The complete article with everything you need is free online: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/Build-An-All-In-One-Outdoor-Oven-Stove-Grill-And-Smoker.aspx
As explained in the article, I made a last minute decision to make the firebox slightly larger. I recommend following the directions in the article for best performance. Also, I highly recommend adding a thermometer built into the door.
We’re really happy with our stove. There’s a brief learning curve when you first start using it (just like anything), but you’ll soon catch on. The best tip is to use a covered baking dish for making bread. The lid seals in the moisture and creates light, tasty bread.