Author Topic: Little Black Egg (Read 275542 times)

MrP · « **Reply #1860 on:** February 28, 2013, 03:15:55 PM »

Well, I think all the mods helped, but the lazy susan really helps with even baking. As far as temps go, I have not recorded lots. I have gotten it up to over 800° and the top stone (which is a 13") almost as high. As I am warming the oven up I periodically rotate the stone to get an even temp. My next bake (which may be this weekend), I will try to get more temp readings. I also am thinking of replacing the top 13" stone with another 19", which should help as well.

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #1861 on:** February 28, 2013, 03:30:27 PM »

OK sounds good MrP, will look forward to your next bake.
Have you given any thought to replacing the bottom 13 in stone with a larger steel plate?

pizzaneer · « **Reply #1862 on:** February 28, 2013, 03:52:39 PM »

Bob, I don't see any benefit to MrP's particular setup from replacing his bottom stone with steel plate. He's got a nice thing going with the rotating deck, and what ever heat energy is wasted heating up the bottom stone is mitigated by throwing more propane at it. I don't think very high heat would help the lazy susan's bearings, so it's probably a good thing it's on a stone.

The efficiency of this mod is related to turning the cooking deck through the convective zones. Other mods using an air deflector spread out the convective zones to be more even on the top.

I'm just going to throw this idea out there: instead of making the hearth rotate, make the convective zones rotate. Use a radiator fan mounted to the dome to disperse the superheated air. The fan will spin as the blade gets a kick from the hot air gap in the back, basically painting a layer of heat from the center out. Or for some real giggles, mount a small electric motor on top.

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #1863 on:** February 28, 2013, 04:12:06 PM »

I like the way you think Brian.

And yes, I was a bit curious about the bearings...is there a lube available for this high a temp.? Do they even need lubed I wonder?

Brian, what are your thoughts on using a C ring with the bottom stone being an inch or 2 smaller but the ring matches the size of the larger top stone(which will sit on top of the ring)...point the burner straight at the center of the bottom stone...heat then radiates evenly(hopefully)out from under bottom stone up into the chamber that is created by the c ring and larger top stone?
edit: I think this might be a good thing and would bet the burner wouldn't have to run as hard also...?

MrP · « **Reply #1864 on:** February 28, 2013, 06:05:51 PM »

Yeah, I agree too. I don't think replacing the bottom with steel would do much. The bearings in the lazy susan had no lube. I imagine at some point rust may find it's way in, but they are really cheap. The stone and the bricks really force the heat to the back and up. I have only done a few bakes with this new set-up, but it is giving some great results.

landras · « **Reply #1865 on:** March 01, 2013, 06:08:02 PM »

Quote from: MrP on February 28, 2013, 01:00:59 PM

She is so lazy, I'm doing all the work. http://youtu.be/ph7ITylk2zA

Finished pizza shots that I didn't get to put in video: http://youtu.be/fHN9yAN3BWs

where did you got the lazzy susan? thanks

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #1866 on:** March 01, 2013, 06:55:59 PM »

Quote from: landras on March 01, 2013, 06:08:02 PM

where did you got the lazzy susan? thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Capacity-Bearing-Turntable-Bearings-VXB/dp/B0045DV04I

MrP · « **Reply #1867 on:** March 01, 2013, 10:07:01 PM »

That looks just like it, but I can't say for sure. I can't seem to find my info on it. Will post it, if and when I find it.

landras · « **Reply #1868 on:** March 01, 2013, 10:39:30 PM »

Quote from: Chicago Bob on March 01, 2013, 06:55:59 PM

http://www.amazon.com/Capacity-Bearing-Turntable-Bearings-VXB/dp/B0045DV04I

thanks Bob

Chicago Bob · « **Reply #1869 on:** March 01, 2013, 10:49:38 PM »

Quote from: MrP on March 01, 2013, 10:07:01 PM

That looks just like it, but I can't say for sure. I can't seem to find my info on it. Will post it, if and when I find it.

MrP...you're as bad as me....

The link is from none other than you man! I'm the same way dude..."move in too fast for da kid" as Richard Pryor used to say...

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4753.msg240424.html#msg240424

MrP · « **Reply #1870 on:** March 05, 2013, 01:25:55 PM »

Funny! I didn't get a chance this weekend to bake any pies. I ran into a crab feed and a pheasant hunt. Hopefully next weekend.

chaspie · « **Reply #1871 on:** March 20, 2013, 05:52:42 PM »

I came across this fascinating thread upon searching for the term "LBE" after encountering it elsewhere in the forum. After reading a bit and watching Villa Roma's demo videos, I've decided I'm going to make one myself. This seems like just the ticket to get the heat of pizza making out of the kitchen for the upcoming summer, not to mention the primary benefit of having an inexpensive means of producing a neapolitan style pizza without having to build a WFO. At least, that's my perception so far of the benefits of building an LBE.

I certainly don't want to reinvent the wheel, so I am going to read this entire thread before I start. Unless I learn something that would deter me, I'll base my build on a 22 inch Weber grill and a 150,000 BTU natural gas ring burner. I happen to have those items on hand, so it makes sense to use them.

This should be fun.

pizzaneer · « **Reply #1872 on:** March 21, 2013, 06:17:34 PM »

Chas, my build thread, while too wordy in places, summarizes a lot. Plus it's only 3 pages or so.
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,16863.0.html

Some members have had great success with essentially the same setup.
Good luck!
Brian

chaspie · « **Reply #1873 on:** March 22, 2013, 02:52:52 AM »

Brian, I just read this entire thread, all 94 pages of it, and now I'm digesting it. There are sure some gorgeous pizzas displayed in this thread.

My head is swimming. I'll check out your build thread later today too. Thanks for the link and the encouragement. I'm sure I'll have questions as I go.

chaspie · « **Reply #1874 on:** March 22, 2013, 04:06:30 PM »

I was just reviewing some threads about the Mighty Pizza Oven, which is made and sold by a member of this forum. It's a grill insert pizza cooker that shares some basic similarities with an LBE, but some significant differences as well. The two different style of cookers are not targeting exactly the same pizza styles or cooking times (the LBE is potentially a much faster cooker), but both employ conduction, convection, and radiant heat to bake the pizza. On the MPO, the top stone provides radiant heat to the top of the pizza. Some LBEs use a top stone for the same reason, while others omit the stone and forego the radiant aspect and just concentrate on improving convection cooking through air distribution mods.

My understanding is that the development of the various air distribution mods in the lid of the LBE arose due to undercooked top and cornicione relative to the bottom of the pizza. The Mighty Pizza Oven doesn't appear to use any air mixing devices (air foils, vortice inducers, baffles, etc), yet the pizzas produced with it don't exhibit undercooked top or cornicione.

I'm guessing that the MPO relies more on radiant heat, and the LBE on convection heat, to thoroughly bake the top of the pizza. It may be that the longer cooking times on the MPO permit more effective use of radiant heat to cook the top of the pizza than can be realized with the faster-cooking LBE. I'm wondering if anyone has been able to improve the radiant heat capacity of an LBE enough to properly cook the top of the pizza without needing airflow modifications?

R2-Bayou · « **Reply #1875 on:** March 22, 2013, 04:10:36 PM »

These have been out of stock by seemingly all Bayou Classic vendors for years... But someone finally got a shipment of them...

The extension legs for the Bayou Classic sp10....

My order is in..

http://www.bayouclassicstore.com/Replacement_parts/5232.html

Mmmph · « **Reply #1876 on:** March 22, 2013, 04:42:17 PM »

Got mine, too. Been wanting them for a while.

Quote from: R2-Bayou on March 22, 2013, 04:10:36 PM

The extension legs for the Bayou Classic sp10....

My order is in..

http://www.bayouclassicstore.com/Replacement_parts/5232.html

MightyPizzaOven · « **Reply #1877 on:** March 22, 2013, 05:14:12 PM »

Quote from: chaspie on March 22, 2013, 04:06:30 PM

I was just reviewing some threads about the Mighty Pizza Oven, which is made and sold by a member of this forum. It's a grill insert pizza cooker that shares some basic similarities with an LBE, but some significant differences as well. The two different style of cookers are not targeting exactly the same pizza styles or cooking times (the LBE is potentially a much faster cooker), but both employ conduction, convection, and radiant heat to bake the pizza. On the MPO, the top stone provides radiant heat to the top of the pizza. Some LBEs use a top stone for the same reason, while others omit the stone and forego the radiant aspect and just concentrate on improving convection cooking through air distribution mods.

My understanding is that the development of the various air distribution mods in the lid of the LBE arose due to undercooked top and cornicione relative to the bottom of the pizza. The Mighty Pizza Oven doesn't appear to use any air mixing devices (air foils, vortice inducers, baffles, etc), yet the pizzas produced with it don't exhibit undercooked top or cornicione.

I'm guessing that the MPO relies more on radiant heat, and the LBE on convection heat, to thoroughly bake the top of the pizza. It may be that the longer cooking times on the MPO permit more effective use of radiant heat to cook the top of the pizza than can be reavery lized with the faster-cooking LBE. I'm wondering if anyone has been able to improve the radiant heat capacity of an LBE enough to properly cook the top of the pizza without needing airflow modifications?

Just minor correction... I have not sold any MPO yet ... MPO not available for sale yet.

MPO performance is dependent on heat source like any other inserts, but way more efficient, based what I have seen so far.

On my grill, using two tube burners only (25000 btu total), my bake time is less than 4 minutes. On my kitchen stove top, my bake time is 2.5 minute using 4 burners (30,000 to 36,000 Btu).

I adjust MPO vent opening as needed to adjust convection flow. I can really feel MPO convection power when I turn all burners off, hot air (really hot) continue to flow (with noticeable speed) thorough through MPO vent.

I wasn't able to bake with MPO using a burner similar to Bayou CLassic burner. Bottom stone was way much hotter than top stone. MPO works best with burners that distribute heat over wider area. The more direct heat I can get to top stone the faster and higher temperature can bake.

chaspie · « **Reply #1878 on:** March 22, 2013, 05:59:12 PM »

Bert, thank you for clarifying that the MPO isn't on sale yet. I'd read the test thread by Craig (TXCraig1), your original thread, and a couple of others, and I saw your website with a price listed, so I figured they were available now. I must say I was impressed with the videos I saw and with the results of Craig's testing.

If you can get bake times of 2.5 to 4 minutes and have a properly cooked top and cornicione on the pizza, that places you solidly in the LBE performance range. It makes me wonder if LBE performance could be improved by using a lower-output heat source in conjunction with improved top radiant heating. What struck me about your MPO results was the well-baked top that you achieved with (apparently, from what I could see) unmodified convection air flows, and radiant heat.

MightyPizzaOven · « **Reply #1879 on:** March 22, 2013, 06:38:04 PM »

chaspie, In my opinion having a vent and no opening is one of MPO advantages over other designs, using similar philosophy with LBE should eliminate the need to direct air flow, you will need to rotate the pie few times during baking for even top browning.