Just Finished My FrankenWeber Pizza Kettle

[deguerre]

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?

Actually I was placing the hinges on the opening without having the "sleeve" effect (But I do like that mod because of the extra insulation).
Larger cutout underneath, smaller cutout hinged "door" that would either expose or partially cover the larger opening depending on if open or shut.

 

[bob80001]

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.

I am reading this over and over, but I cannot wrap my head around it at all. What am I missing here? Why can't I picture this? Is it the same size kettle lid?

At first I thought you were saying cut a larger hole, and reattach with a hinge to make a door - have the original hole in this, then you can have one big enough to slide the pie in and out. Maybe that would work too, but it does not seem to be the same as what you are suggesting. Sorry for my failure to comprehend...

 

[bob80001]

Larger cutout underneath, smaller cutout hinged "door" that would either expose or partially cover the larger opening depending on if open or shut.

Now I understand...thanks for the clarity!

 

[deguerre]

Now I understand...thanks for the clarity!

I know - the first post had very flawed syntax. :icon_blush:

 

[KnucklHed BBQ]

I'm diggin it!! Now I need another kettle to make it!

I made pizza on my kettle the other night... Used briqs as I was outta lump, it did alright for the first 2 pizzas, but couldn't keep the temps up high enough for the third... Planned on using lump the next time, but this looks pretty sweet!

 

[chambersuac]

cool looking pizza kettle - anxiously awaiting pizza pron.

 

[Sledneck]

does anybody know how much propane this thing would burn lets just per hour?

 

[Moose]

OK, here's an update:

I test fired it up today, and got the stone up to about 400 degrees F. Took about 20 mins and I gradually increased the gas flow slightly every 5 mins to increase the temp gradually. So far, so good! I would have attempted to get it closer to 700, but had to get back to work.

A few observations:

The temp of the stone closest to the vent was the coolest, but the rest of the stone was evenly heated. Glad I didn't try and make the vent bigger. I know this is why the pizzas will require a few turns while cooking so they are done evenly.

It should be plainly obvious that this is a potentially dangerous cooking method if you're not careful; that said, if you've never used one of these propane burners, be sure to follow manufacturer instructions carefully.

Next run will be with an actual pizza - stay tuned!

 

[deguerre]

Got your Nomex suit yet?

 

[shdybrady]

Well to help with heat escape, maybe you could enlarge the hole but make a closing slide that will block off the bigger hole. But you could open it to take the pizza in and out

 

[gtsum]

you are going to want to block off the sides and front (near the vent) with something to force the air from the rear over the pie, out the front vent. I built a 22 1/2 LBE awhile back and have tried several different setups, with varying degrees of success. Right now, my setup is a SS bowl filled with about 1 inch of sand on the bottom charcoal grate for a diffuser, then firebrick as my hearth. I have the FB pulled up front as far as I can making the gap in the rear bigger. I have foil blocking the front gaps and side gaps as well. This has increased my dome temp to about 800 degrees and am getting much better leoparding and crust browning then before. Not sure what kind of pies you are making (flour type??), but I have been using Sams Bread Flour and the max hearth temp it seems it can take is about 625 - cooks in 3 1/2 - 4 minutes and they turn out good, but any hotter hearth temp and they are toast (need Caputo or AP flour for higher temps). I did not have any luck with normal pizza stones in there, so maybe your granite slab will do ya right?? Good luck!

 

[gnwes]

that is awesome! i have an 18.5 ots and a propane jet cooker :clap2: i am definitely doing this!

 

[Moose]

DO you have pics of your set up? Based on what you are saying, do you think this stone would accomplish the same thing you are doing?

http://grilledpizzastone.com/

It says it can withstand temps of up to 2300 degrees, and I happen to have one!

I used a small inverted colander with a bunch of 1/2 inch holes as a diffuser for mine....how big is your stainless bowl?

you are going to want to block off the sides and front (near the vent) with something to force the air from the rear over the pie, out the front vent. I built a 22 1/2 LBE awhile back and have tried several different setups, with varying degrees of success. Right now, my setup is a SS bowl filled with about 1 inch of sand on the bottom charcoal grate for a diffuser, then firebrick as my hearth. I have the FB pulled up front as far as I can making the gap in the rear bigger. I have foil blocking the front gaps and side gaps as well. This has increased my dome temp to about 800 degrees and am getting much better leoparding and crust browning then before. Not sure what kind of pies you are making (flour type??), but I have been using Sams Bread Flour and the max hearth temp it seems it can take is about 625 - cooks in 3 1/2 - 4 minutes and they turn out good, but any hotter hearth temp and they are toast (need Caputo or AP flour for higher temps). I did not have any luck with normal pizza stones in there, so maybe your granite slab will do ya right?? Good luck!

 

[Hell Fire Grill]

In my opinion you could fix the uneven heat problem by making several 3/4" holes in the lid, in a big circle, all the way around the top of the lid.

 

[Saiko]

you are going to want to block off the sides and front (near the vent) with something to force the air from the rear over the pie, out the front vent.

I was thunking the same thing. If you just used a circular stone, not all of the hot air would be forced over the top of the pizza, you need some way of forcing all the hot air behind the pizza and then over the top and out.
I'm glad you guys are all working this out so it will make my build easier!! :becky:

 

[gtsum]

DO you have pics of your set up? Based on what you are saying, do you think this stone would accomplish the same thing you are doing?

http://grilledpizzastone.com/

It says it can withstand temps of up to 2300 degrees, and I happen to have one!

I used a small inverted colander with a bunch of 1/2 inch holes as a diffuser for mine....how big is your stainless bowl?

You know I have wondered about those stones as I saw them somewhere else..I have no experience with them, but it should work out fine. I have found out that there is a big difference in hearth material as far as it conducting heat...for instance, I used to use my Primo D plates, and then my Primo pizza stone, and I could not cook my pies at 600 plus - they were toast in a minute on the bottom...I went to firebrick (which is a lower conductive material) and I can now cook at 625 for 4 minutes with no issues (with my bread flour). I guess what I am saying is 600 degrees on stone "A" is not the same as 600 degrees on stone "B". For instance, Soapstone can be used in the oven at 550 degrees and the results will be like cooking at 700 degrees on a normal pizza stone (ie you can do a 4-5 minute bake on the Soapstone at the lower temps and get the same result as a higher temp pie on another stone). The folks over at pizzamaking.com brought this to my attention and I thought they were nuts, but so far, has been proven correct in my limited experiments.

Here is my current setup, but I have since added foil on the sides to block the air and also filled in the gaps up front with foil..I have quite a bit more heat on top now..about 800 degrees and get better color on the rim..I rotate about every 45 seconds...it also decreased my heat up time a bit doing this. I am going to try it without the SS bowl and sand as it takes about 30 minutes to get the hearth to 600 degrees like this...I had tried using lava rocks in the SS bowl, but that did not work as well (this was not with firebrick, but with other pizza stones). I would like to be ready to cook in about 15 minutes, because taking 30 minutes to heat up and then cooking a few pies, I am looking at about 5 cooks on a tank of LP - that ain't good!

 

[Hell Fire Grill]

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.

I use a granite counter top remenant that measures 22" X 41" X 1 1/8" as a pizza stone in one of my cookers. It works great and has not fractured from opening the cooker (near 500*) yet, but its heated slowly indirectly by the fire box.

Some of the stone countertop outfits sell their remenants and sink cutouts for cheap. You can make your own pizza stone, any shape or size you want, with a masonry cutting disk on a grinder.

 

[gtsum]

forgot pics:


I have an 18 inch alum pizza pan in the lid to decrease the air volume up there and to lower the ceiling. I dont have any foil now because my foil was melting after a couple cooks so I took it off

 

[bob80001]

Anyone tried these before?
http://www.bakingstone.com/order.php
They are thick - 3/4" and I have seen positive reviews on a bread baking forum, but that was for in the oven, this type of application. I see that they also have "Barbecue Grill Stones" which include a metal pan underneath for protection, but if there is another layer of protection built into this anyway, that shouldn't be an issue, right?

 

[gnwes]

Anyone tried these before?
http://www.bakingstone.com/order.php
They are thick - 3/4" and I have seen positive reviews on a bread baking forum, but that was for in the oven, this type of application. I see that they also have "Barbecue Grill Stones" which include a metal pan underneath for protection, but if there is another layer of protection built into this anyway, that shouldn't be an issue, right?

they come recommended by some at pizzamaking.com and they seem to do well at the higher temps but generally speaking most quality baking stones will do fine in the LBE...