Despite all the benefits that civilization gives us, namely gas and electricity, the food for the preparation of which uses firewood or coal is much tastier. For this reason, lovers of home pilaf, shurpa, pita bread and kebab aspire to have convenient pitcher-shaped clay stoves, which are characterized by high heat capacity and low consumption of firewood. They are also called tandoor. Anyone can make such a design in his country house. You will learn about how to make a tandoor from a barrel with your own hands from this article.
Acquaintance with the device
According to experts, since ancient times in Central Asia, masters used kaolin clay to make tandoor. It was noted that properly prepared clay is more plastic. For this reason, it was soaked in water and left for several days so that it swelled. In order to make the furnace design more durable, sheep or camel hair was added to the clay mixture. The soaked and mixed composition was kneaded for a long time until it became soft and uniform. By its consistency, the clay should have been like soft clay. Only after that it was considered ready for use. Directly, the tandoor was erected from molded clay bricks, the thickness of which was 50 mm. Before construction, they were dried for a long time in the sun.
In their shape, tandoor are round and square. The first option is considered classic. However, for the reason that many masters had difficulties with the manufacture of stoves of the correct cylindrical shape, an alternative was invented, namely square tandoor. Nevertheless, during operation, they noticed that round and square structures differ in temperature conditions. According to experts, round shapes are preferable. Therefore, a home craftsman can be advised to use an affordable ready-made cylinder. Judging by numerous reviews, a tandoor from a barrel can be quite good. Its capacity can be 100, 150 and 200 liters. We will talk about how to make a tandoor from a 200-liter barrel with our own hands.
Expendable materials
Those who are interested in how to make a tandoor from a barrel, experts advise to get the following:
- Metal 200 liter barrel. It is desirable that it be made of a material that is not susceptible to corrosion.
- Refractory brick.
- The sand.
- Clay.
- By water.
- The pallet. In the future, it will be used to collect fat.
- Armature.
- Board. Its thickness can vary within 2.5-3 cm.
- Wooden cuttings.
Instruments
Those wishing to make their own tandoor from a barrel will have to work as follows:
- Angle grinder (grinder). It is equipped with cutting discs.
- Trowel.
- Spatula.
- Kelmoy.
- Electric drill.
Where to begin?
After preparing all the necessary supplies and tools, you can begin to work. The first step is to prepare the barrel. First it is cleaned. For this, experienced craftsmen recommend using a high pressure washer. Next, the end wall under the filler neck is cut out of the barrel using a grinder. Then below you need to cut through the same grinder for the blower through which fresh air will be supplied into the tank.
Working process
At this stage, the inside of the barrel is surrounded by refractory bricks. Masonry is performed on clay mortar. Experts advise using a solid thick layer. You can buy a ready-made mixture. For example, "Weber Vetonit ML Savi". However, many home craftsmen make clay solutions themselves. For the manufacture of tandoor from a barrel, it is advisable to use a mixture prepared in the following proportion: 1: 1: 4 (fireclay clay, plain, sand).
A cement mixture is undesirable because it is less resistant to elevated temperatures. Otherwise, cracks form in the tandoor from the barrel after kindling. Brick need to be laid to the very top. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the blowout hole remains unladen. The protruding edges of the brick are carefully cut with a grinder. Judging by the reviews, there are cases that after the masonry, the blowing-off does not close with difficulty or completely. To fix this in the brick, which will be used as a door, it is necessary to cut off the edges at an angle and equip with a wooden handle.
It is easy to do. It is enough to drill a depression in the center of the brick, in which there will be a handle on the clay solution. You can also equip a tandoor from a barrel with a cast-iron door, for which a steel damper is provided. But according to the masters, cast iron is less tight compared to an improvised door made of refractory bricks.
Final stage
At the very end of the tandoor should be equipped with a pallet in which fat will be collected. This pallet is a small pot. It is suspended on a metal bar inside the furnace. To be able to install the crossbar, it is necessary to make special slots under it in the masonry.
Then you need to make a wooden lid for the tandoor. A home craftsman will need several 3 cm thick boards. The lid should have two layers. The bottom will have a diameter half that of the top.
Installation
After the tandoor from the 200-liter barrel is ready, it should be installed. Since this design is stationary, it is better to put it on a foundation basis. It is not necessary that the depth of the foundation be large, 20 cm is sufficient. It is important that its diameter be slightly larger (15 cm) than the diameter of the tandoor. To prepare the foundation, first you need to choose a suitable place on the site. Then they dig a hole, the bottom of which is lined with a pillow of sand. The reinforcing mesh is laid on top. After the formwork is done from the boards. It is advisable that its height be at least 10 cm. Now you can pour ordinary cement mortar into the pit.
Furnace test
Before starting to use the tandoor, experienced craftsmen recommend that it be calcined first. The inside of the structure is carefully lubricated with vegetable oil. Then put paper and some chips in the stove. Primary warming should be done on low heat. If this recommendation is ignored, then most likely the clay layer will noticeably crack. It is necessary to increase the temperature gradually, placing coal or firewood in small portions in the tandoor, controlling the height of the flame. If the firing is performed correctly, then the clay will have the properties of ceramics. The whole process will take at least 6 hours from a home craftsman. After performing these actions, the tandoor is considered ready for operation.
Reviews
According to the owners of such structures, a high temperature regime is achieved within a short period of time inside the furnace. To cook, it will be enough to melt the tandoor to only 400 degrees. In addition, due to the thickness of the walls and high thermal insulation properties of the material, this furnace is considered to be a rather economical design, since a small amount of coal or firewood is required for its kindling and heating of the walls.
Heat treatment takes much less time. Judging by the reviews of the owners, it will take no more than 40 minutes to bake beef in a tandoor. The result is a uniformly heated oven in which you can cook various dishes. This design is used for cooking barbecue, barbecue, grilling, baking vegetables and meat, as well as for cooking soups.