Just Finished My FrankenWeber Pizza Kettle

Moose

Moose

somebody shut me the fark up.

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I will post lots more pics and instructions when I take this for a trial run later this week, but here she is, ready to go:

IMG_0873.jpg




I had reconsidered using this particular kettle for the pizza oven because of its color and vintage, but upon closer inspection, it had SO many dings and chips in it, it wasn't really a restoration candidate...

If you want to see one of these in action, you can check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtXTMufUMh0

With these mods, you can get the stone and oven in the 700-800 temp range, which takes pizza making to a whole new level.
 
Looking forward to the results, I have an old kettle waiting for the same transformation!
 
I am with Saiko, I been watching the Pizza Hacker and his Frankenweber for over a year, can't wait to hear how it goes.
 
Moose said:
I will post lots more pics and instructions when I take this for a trial run later this week, but here she is, ready to go:

IMG_0873.jpg




I had reconsidered using this particular kettle for the pizza oven because of its color and vintage, but upon closer inspection, it had SO many dings and chips in it, it wasn't really a restoration candidate...

If you want to see one of these in action, you can check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtXTMufUMh0

With these mods, you can get the stone and oven in the 700-800 temp range, which takes pizza making to a whole new level.
Click to expand...

Nicely done! In your research on building, have you come across anyone who has made the opening large enough to load and unload without opening the lid? Or is that too large/too much heat escapes?

Thanks for posting. Can't wait to see the food!
 
Good question. Yes, too large an opening allows way too much heat to escape, so I made mine a bit smaller on purpose. The purpose of the opening is to create a pathway for the heat to flow OVER the pizza, which helps the top of the pie to cook as evenly as the bottom.

The Pizza Hacker's (Google it) kettle has a larger opening so he can keep the lid on, but his build is different and he's also using wood as his fuel source. In principal, both kettles work similarly, but I prefer a simpler approach.

bob80001 said:
Nicely done! In your research on building, have you come across anyone who has made the opening large enough to load and unload without opening the lid? Or is that too large/too much heat escapes?

Thanks for posting. Can't wait to see the food!
Click to expand...
 
Moose said:
The Pizza Hacker's (Google it) kettle has a larger opening so he can keep the lid on, but his build is different and he's also using wood as his fuel source. In principal, both kettles work similarly, but I prefer a simpler approach.
Click to expand...

Seeing the Pizza Hacker's setup is what made me ask the question in the first place. But of course, his rig is a much different build than the LBE's. I'd really love to just build an oven, but since that's not happening, I am probably going to follow in your footsteps and do a similar build. I have an 18.5" and a 22.5" available as donors. It looks like you have used the larger, is that right?
 
bob80001 said:
I am probably going to follow in your footsteps and do a similar build. I have an 18.5" and a 22.5" available as donors. It looks like you have used the larger, is that right?
Click to expand...

Yes, mine is a 22.5 inch. Most of the builds I have seen have been for 18.5 inch Webers, which has me a bit concerned in that the larger kettle might not get hot enough, but I'll find out soon enough how well it works. My rationale for using the larger kettle was simply motivated by the need to cook larger pizzas.

Also, there is the issue of heat deflection - I know some have used these over the burner, but not sure I will go that route as I am using a 3/4 inch thick granite stone as my cooking surface...

IMG_0874.jpg
 
Do you have a link to any build instructions? Looks like a nice setup. Is it just the cut lid and the propane on the bottom?
 
Outstanding. Looking forward to seeing results.
 
My initial take was, what the Fark?
But after seeing the video and the heat source, A-Ha!
I know regret passing on my 22.5 CL Weber's now orphaned 18" brother!
Can't wait to see it in action.
Was the granite stone a cooking stone?
 
I sort of had the same reaction as you initially; seemed like a crime to butcher a Weber kettle like that, but when I saw the kinds of temps these were getting as well as finished product, I was sold. The biggest problem using a grill to make pizzas is the top invariably doesn't cook as well as the bottom. I don't feel like shelling out a few grand for a wood fired pizza oven when these seem to produce as good as a result.

The granite stone I got from a guy on CL who makes them specifically for baking. Given the thickness, I'm thinking it should stand up to the high heat just fine. I actually used it last night in the oven and was really impressed with the results. I'll post pics of that cook shortly.

speedrcer1 said:
My initial take was, what the Fark?
But after seeing the video and the heat source, A-Ha!
I know regret passing on my 22.5 CL Weber's now orphaned 18" brother!
Can't wait to see it in action.
Was the granite stone a cooking stone?
Click to expand...
 
Looks good Moose!! Very interested to see how this works for you. Have an extra 22.5" (or two) lying around. May have to attempt this myself.

Looking forward to some action shots!! Thanks for sharing.
 
Moose, what if you got another kettle lid, cut out a much larger opening but with the same size cut out from THAT, and weld some hinges and a handle to it. This could be used over your existing lid, allowing access without having to remove the entire top.
 
Hmmm....interesting idea. Never thought of that. So basically the top lid would act as a "sleeve" of sorts, with the inside cover stationary with a much larger opening to slide the pies in and out of while the top cover was pulled back with the hinges holding it in place?

This might work if I were using an 18.5 kettle, but since mine is 22.5 inches, not sure how I could get the lids to fit together. Thoughts?

deguerre said:
Moose, what if you got another kettle lid, cut out a much larger opening but with the same size cut out from THAT, and weld some hinges and a handle to it. This could be used over your existing lid, allowing access without having to remove the entire top.
Click to expand...
 
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