Heating the Oven

[Ray Repic]

Do you use small fires or large ones? What type of wood? How do you get your fire burning? Where in the oven should a fire be started? What tools do you use? Where can I get tools? These are some of the questions I know I had after my oven was built.

[Joe Campbell]

I usually start a small fire near the front to warm the oven up, then I start feeding it bigger pieces of would and work it toward the back of the oven. To start the fire, I have a supply of unpainted cedar shingles. I've been tearing off shingle siding on my house and keeping the undercourse of raw cedar for kindling. Most of the wood I'm burning is cherry, from 2 big trees we cut to make room to build the patio and oven. I've got another to bring down. It's 90+ feet high and has seven trunks that are 18" to 20" at the base and about 14" to 16" 40 feet up. I hate to burn it, would love to get it slabbed out for lumber.

A good source of free wood is HVAC contractors. The have pallets to throw away, Mostly pine, but some oak. I can get all I want any time I want from 1 contractor near my office. I got enough in one load to fire the oven 4 or 5 times.