An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

[mcaswell]

Has anyone ever considered building an oven using the cement backer board for the sides of an oven?

I thought they could easily be joined together using those angle iron strips with holes in them (the ones folks use for shelving) and some nuts and bolts. By placing the strips on the outside edges of the panels, there would be a fairly tight seal. It would also be easy to make one sheet into a hinged door.

Silicone rubber could be used to caulk the edge joint. It will withstand the heat, but not a flame.

As for insulation, I would think that the aluminum foil backed foam sheets could be easily glued to the outside of the cement boards.

I prefer the idea of an electric oven element for the heat source.
Of course, these panels come in approx 4x5 feet sheets, so larger ovens could possibly be constructed.

A cement board baffle could be placed into the oven if a gas heat source were used.

What I like about this idea, as opposed to steel sheet, is that the concrete board actually absorbs and holds the heat, letting it radiate back into the oven when the door is opened. It should save energy.


Mike Caswell

[kchotboat]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

http://forum.caswellplating.com/showthread.php?t=3693&page=2&pp=10

Go down to post #16.

[kchotboat]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

I need to try it since we have cement board left over from tile work we did in the house.

[pickleboy]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

very good idea mike. i am looking to expand in the very near future to do long parts so i will most likely use this idea.

[mildman61755]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

I think that the cement board would absorb alot of the heat, what about the reflectability(msp?) of the aluminum inside walls? Still think it is a good idea, but as a heat sink sandwiched in between insulation & a sheet metal inside. maybe I think too much. Comments most happily welcomed. Steve

[Popeye]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

I think the cement board would work well as it doesn't take on heat readily.

Most heat sinks are made from materials that take on (gain) and give off (loss) heat easily.

The advantage of the cement board is you'd have some thermal mass working for ya
IMHO

[crazy_mtb_2002]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

I made the oven that was in the other topic, it works great, however i use a gas method of heating it, which is dangerous, but i have methods that protect the oven from ever combusting. i also used 2x4's to frame it all, since the cement board does heat up slightly, but not that bad, it's doesn't really affect the frame at all. It works great, and only cost me around $250 Canadian to make.

[bzer1]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

I would think that you could use furnace cement to seal it on the inside. It's very easy to work with and is capable of taking tremendous direct heat. I used high temp silicon to seal the inside of my oven and it worked great but I think you might be hard pressed to keep it on cement board.

[boink]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

I am in the process of building one 6(h)x3x3. I am using steel framing as the support and reflective furnace board on the outside of the cement board.

By making it 6' tall it saves some floor space and its easier to get a motorcycle or atv frame in without handling it much. I am also incorporating a racking system inside as well as the ability to vary the interior dimensions of the oven. (for smaller batches)

I'll try to take some pics today...

[crazy_mtb_2002]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

for caulking pick up a tube of 2000F fire place sealent, it works great, and gets the job done.

[DALE]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

Pickleboy, expanding your oven is easy. Remove rivets in back panel then build extension boxes to go on where panel was. If insulated well enough then the existing fans and elements should be fine without change.
As for cement board, ok sounds good.You guys do know sheet metal is cheap right?4' x 8' 20gauge steel is approx. $20.00. You can weld it, bend it, rivet it and screw it. Cement board can't be that much cheaper and certainly not easier to work with. Let's face it safety first.

Dale

[pickleboy]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

thanks dale i forgot that the back was only one layer deep. that will work great. btw i am still having a blast shooting the powder. thanks again.

[boink]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

pic of a few days ago...

[Popeye]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

There ya go... metal studs and some insulation!
Looks good!

[wamontgomery]

Re: An Idea -building An Oven From Cement Board

pic of a few days ago...

I never really thought of having a standing oven like that with cement board. That's a good idea, because you can make a cart, and just wheel the parts right in there. I think that's how I'm going to make the new oven when I decide the one I already made isn't big enough.