Author Topic: Little Black Egg (Read 266893 times)

caseyspizza · « **Reply #1240 on:** July 05, 2011, 01:05:14 PM »

Quote from: trujillostm on June 30, 2011, 02:47:44 PM

Hi.
I have solved the problem of the gas connector in Spain !!
The burner works perfectly with my spanish propane gas tank (GLP).
This weekend, I will do several tests of my own naepolitan pizzas...

so what was the solution with the adaptor?

trujillostm · « **Reply #1241 on:** July 07, 2011, 01:25:44 PM »

I have used a piece of high pressure tube with the hight pressure connector (with a black regulator, from 0 to 2 bar).
In my first error, the low pressure was 30 mbar = 0,030 bar of pressure... (in Spain we use , instead of . for 1000).
2 bar = 2000 mbar; 100 mbar = 0,100 bar

Spanish tags: bombona gas butano propano adaptador americano español conector alcachofa boquilla horno gas artesano artesanal ladrillo barbacoa

tomtbone · « **Reply #1242 on:** July 07, 2011, 07:15:34 PM »

Thanks to all for the different ideas/methods in this thread! I've made my own LBE and bee trying out different doughs as well. My latest that I really like tonight is the Reinhart Neo-Neapolitan. I made his recipe with 70% hydration, 50/50mix of 00 and KA Bread flour, and instead of honey, I used 1 Tbl of Barley malt syrup, I really dig the taste!

I am using an Airbake round aluminum pan with tiny little holes in it for my deflector that is bolted to the lid, seems to work great. The deflector is always 20-50 degrees hotter than the old pizza stone.

Tonight the stone was around 750 when I put the pie in. I rotated it a couple of times and it came out just after 2 minutes. Alright, time for some pics of tonight's white sauce pizza with mozz. and prosciutto.

Ronzo · « **Reply #1243 on:** July 07, 2011, 08:01:56 PM »

Excellent job, tomtbone! I'd hit it.

Villa Roma · « **Reply #1244 on:** July 08, 2011, 02:12:45 AM »

Very nice! Are you using two stones?

lennyk · « **Reply #1245 on:** July 08, 2011, 05:31:41 AM »

nice,
what's the main ingredients of a white sauce for pizza ?

Ronzo · « **Reply #1246 on:** July 08, 2011, 09:12:03 PM »

Finally got around to my own blog post about making an LBE... I got recruited to help a friend of mine make his.

http://steakchopsnhops.com/2011/07/08/lbe1/ Here's part 1

mzimm · « **Reply #1247 on:** July 09, 2011, 11:50:44 AM »

I finally have some time to start building my LBE. I will be using a 22" weber and a Brinkman burner (I believe its around 170,000 btu) so hopefully that won't be too much of an overkill but I can just throttle it down so it doesn't get too hot.

A few basic build questions:

1. For inside cover did most find the aluminum ash catcher mounted to a outside of an aluminum disk (or pizza pan) to provide good results or is going with a 13" pizza stone a better choice?

2. I plan on fabricating a 1/4" steel shelf with vents cut into it for my shelf and then set a 19" kiln shelf on the top of that. If I go this route will I still need to use two stones on top of each other?

3. Do I need any other type of flame buffer between the burner and the steel shelf that the stone is set on? I've seen some use the lower coal grate and put something like a stone or steel plate on top of that.

I will post some pics when some progress is made.

Thanks

Mike

skyno · « **Reply #1248 on:** July 09, 2011, 01:58:46 PM »

Mike

Your burner definitely won't be overkill - I believe the Bayou is even more powerful than that, and as you said, you simply don't turn it up full blast

You are definitely asking the right questions - I think that the internal construction of the lid (oven ceiling) and the heat buffering are the 2 keys to getting great results w/ the LBE because you need to balance the top heat w/ the bottom heat and this can take some tweaking

I never did try the stone in the lid, mostly because of the extra weight so I don't have a comparison, but I started w/ just the ash-catcher and found that it worked ok but that I wanted more heat directed to the top surface of my pies so I constructed what several have called a "vortex generator" - basically a way to direct the heat flow back down toward the top of the pie instead of just rushing straight over it and out the side vent - this feature was definitely an improvement - you can search this forum for the different ways that people have done this - mine was basically just a thin perforated piece of metal that I bent to direct the airflow in different directions

It also makes a big difference how much oven space you have between the cooking stone and the ceiling of your oven - since heat rises, this will drastically vary the temp. that the top of your pies get exposed to

I think the steel shelf w/ vents is a good way to go if you have access to the tools to make it - I would actually be interested to hear how you will make it, since most people have said they have had metal shops make them- I use a piece of scrap metal that more-or-less fits the shape since I don't have tools to cut thick metal

I don't think you will need any other stones or buffers besides this plate - I have been using a 5/8" kiln shelf for a while now - it is indestructible and it really absorbs heat much more than a typical pizza stone - it does need some buffering, but if you buffer it too much, it takes forever for it to heat up - I tried only a thin cheapo store-bought stone underneath the kiln shelf - no metal shelf or other buffers, and I got impatient waiting for it to heat up - it buffered too much

Having said all of this, since the LBE is a DIY project, there are multiple variables that makes everybody's project a little different and everybody's techniques and desired results are different, so at the end of the day you just experiment a bit until you find your ideal setup - it's what makes it fun!

Good Luck!

LJ

mzimm · « **Reply #1249 on:** July 09, 2011, 02:49:54 PM »

Thanks for the reply Skyno.

I'm also planning to cut a side vent in the cover about 1.5-2 inches wide and 12" long. This won't be large enough to load pies but was wondering if any of the other LBE builders have made the side vent large enough to load pies or if most have found it better to keep this vent on the smaller side as mentioned above?

I have a few old aluminum pans and a serving tray I'm thinking of using the 18" serving tray across the inside the lid then a 15" alum deep dish pan and then a 12" alum cutter pan to step the space down inside the cover. My question is approximately about how close to the pie do I want the bottom of the cover to be?

For the bottom I'm going to cut a 12" circle in the bottom of the grill and just set it on the burner. Is there enough weight and stability to not need to use mounting hardware to the burner?

Just a but more research and trips to the hardware store for ideas and I should be ready to start.

skyno · « **Reply #1250 on:** July 09, 2011, 04:20:41 PM »

Assuming your burner looks similar in size & shape to the Bayou, if you make your bottom cut flat & parallel to the ground, it is very stable resting on the burner - no hardware needed - 12 x 1.5 " seems about right for the side vent - I have not tried it, but my guess would be that making a vent large enough to load pies w/ this type of design, you will lose heat quickly and have a hard time maintaining internal temps - it seems that others have done this successfully w/ different designs & approaches though

LJ

Villa Roma · « **Reply #1251 on:** July 13, 2011, 09:24:41 AM »

Check out my latest attempt to improve the lid of the LBE. I call it the squangle lid. I set the aluminum disk at an angle to allow more heated air to circulate over the pizza. Then as the air moves toward the vent the air is compressed by the smaller space (can you say compressional heating?) then forced down and turbulated by the deflector. In theory this should translate into more heat on the top center of the pizza. I may have to crank up a batch of pizza this weekend to test fire the new lid.

You'll flip your lid.....Villa Roma

Tampa · « **Reply #1252 on:** July 13, 2011, 02:05:00 PM »

Villa Roma,

I love the design. Pls let us know how it works out.

My guess would be that the hot air would be forced downward on the pie near the center. Given the "jetstream" involved, it seems that the difference should be noticeable, quickly cooking the cheese (or whatever is underneath). On the other hand, this deflector could cause a high pressure region and either back up the flow (a little) or divert it toward the sides before exiting the front. Sometimes I'm really bad at predicting the results, which is why I'd love to know how it works.

Dave

Villa Roma · « **Reply #1253 on:** July 13, 2011, 02:44:03 PM »

Dave,

There's no way to predict how this mod will turn out. You just have to experiment and see what happens, that's half the fun.
I'll probably move the deflector closer to the side vent but I'll wait and see how it goes. The center bolt was an easy place to mount it for now. I've got a rye starter ready to go this weekend.

Villa Roma

shuboyje · « **Reply #1254 on:** July 13, 2011, 07:18:34 PM »

I'm a bit of an odd duck, and as a bit of a hobby I like to run CFD(computation fluid dynamics) studies that can simulate fluid flow. I don't know how much air is moving through these ovens or the velocity of said air, but I could model one up and try and show you what the air is gonna do. LEt me know if anyone is interested. Working with airflow for a living I've got some ideas I would also try if the goal is to get the hot air closer to the pizza. I'm a pretty staunch WFO guy, but I think the eggs are really cool and love the way you guys are always modding them to make em better.

Tampa · « **Reply #1255 on:** July 13, 2011, 08:10:11 PM »

Jeff - I'd love to see what your simulation predicts. I'm also interested in improving airflow, but I don't have the modeling tools or simulation background, so I've just run a bunch of different tests with strange metal contraptions measuring stone temperature.

I really like what Villa has done with the slanted lid and deflector. I saw one WFO post where an owner put a thermocouple the underside of a firebrick (drilled a hole almost to the pizza surface) then used the output to control a convection fan. That seems like good fun to me.

Dave

Villa Roma · « **Reply #1256 on:** July 14, 2011, 02:25:00 PM »

It's hot here in Oklahoma but I've got some bad news for you sunshine, it's going to get a lot hotter. That's because of this hot new mod. I took out the 8" bottom stone and placed the 12" stone that was my previous hearth stone in it's place and cut a new 13" stone to fit as the hearth stone.

The heat is on....Villa Roma

Tampa · « **Reply #1257 on:** July 14, 2011, 03:57:46 PM »

Villa - nice job with that custom cut on the cordierite stone.

Villa Roma · « **Reply #1258 on:** July 17, 2011, 06:18:26 PM »

Thanks Tampa,

I took my born again LBE or should I say hatched again LBE on it's maiden voyage and I was very pleased with the results. I used a lean dough with GM Better for Bread flour and some added rye flour. These were 3 minute pizzas. Next time I'll use all purpose flour.

Villa Roma

Ronzo · « **Reply #1259 on:** July 17, 2011, 07:52:29 PM »

VR, yer KILLIN ME!!!