We are full time RV travelers. I have this idea for building a box that I can sit on top of a RV gas stovetop and make homemade pizzas in. I want it to be 8"-10" high and have a hinged fold down front door. I have a piece of sheetmetal I can use for the top. I am wanting to know if I could make the sides out of wood and cover them with hardie backed board (concrete board typically used to attach tile on) to protect wood frame from getting to hot and catching fire. If not hardie board, what could I use that wouldn't burn or catch fire? I anticipate the internal box temperature may reach 800 degrees. Suggestions?
A high-fire ceramics kiln can get to 2350F to fire porcelain and stoneware glazes. Even low-fire terra cotta work usually fires at 1945F. A gas-fired production or specialized kiln can get much higher, but a very basic gas-fired raku kiln, like many pottery enthusiasts build these days, only gets up to 1850F max.
Theoretically, if you still want to go through with this, forget HardieBacker and go with firebrick and the specialized high temp mortar for firebricks which is also used for casting. HardieBacker doesn't burn. but it will transfer your pizza oven's heat. Wood catches fire instantly when it's exposed to 700F heat, which it would almost inevitably be when you opened your oven. You'd definitely have to do metal.
I think this is all a crazy, risky idea for an RV and you should avoid it, but to each his own way to the devil in this wonderful free country we live in, and I've been wrong many times about just as many things.
Rental Property Investor · Turlock, CA · Member since 2018 · 226 posts · 147 votes
7y
@David Fuhrmann, as I welder/fabricator I would recommend not having any hardie board or wood around that stove. I would have a fab shop bend a box for you with an open front so you can weld on a door and hinges to flip it up. Then they could add a shelf inside to sit your pizza on and you can slide it out. Not sure where you are located but your probably looking at least a couple hundred bucks to have this custom made for you. Again, I would not entertain any wood box around the flames!! Bad news!! Probably not the answer you wanted but its the safe on :)
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Friends of ours at the Lakehouse have a stove top unit I think it's a 'pronto' that can do a personal pie. They then installed a huge portable standalone pizza oven on their porch (got it from Sam's) for bigger groups.
Hudson, OH · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 32 votes
7y
I think it would be worth your while to just buy one. Let someone else's R&D department work out all the kinks for you. I would be reluctant to build and try to test anything inside the RV that needs to be fireproof. One failed test could take your whole house out!
Like Pat said, the Pronto is a stovetop product but only does personal size pizzas. It will run you about $100. The Bakerstone makes up to 11" pizzas and it's about $125. I've been considering one of these as well because it's going to be a few years before I can build my outdoor kitchen with wood fired pizza oven :-) and even then, I'm not firing it up in the winter!
Good luck, and let me know if you get one of these products. I'm interested to know how they perform.
Hudson, OH · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 32 votes
7y
Just as a side note, the stovetop pizza makers use baking stones on the interior to hold heat better and radiate it back out to the food. This is how they get up to the 600-800 degree range that a wood fired oven would. I doubt a product made of sheet metal alone would be efficient enough to get up to that temperature. You would lose a lot of heat to the ambient air.
construction · Nacogdoches, TX · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
Wow, I did not know pizza was cooked at 800 degrees. No wonder I burn my mouth when I eat one. I think my mothers kiln gets only a little hotter than that.
A high-fire ceramics kiln can get to 2350F to fire porcelain and stoneware glazes. Even low-fire terra cotta work usually fires at 1945F. A gas-fired production or specialized kiln can get much higher, but a very basic gas-fired raku kiln, like many pottery enthusiasts build these days, only gets up to 1850F max.
Theoretically, if you still want to go through with this, forget HardieBacker and go with firebrick and the specialized high temp mortar for firebricks which is also used for casting. HardieBacker doesn't burn. but it will transfer your pizza oven's heat. Wood catches fire instantly when it's exposed to 700F heat, which it would almost inevitably be when you opened your oven. You'd definitely have to do metal.
I think this is all a crazy, risky idea for an RV and you should avoid it, but to each his own way to the devil in this wonderful free country we live in, and I've been wrong many times about just as many things.
construction · Nacogdoches, TX · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Jim K. lol that's why I stick to driving nails I guess. I have cooked many pizzas in the oven at 500 degrees but didn't know it required more than that.