Modifying a Deni 2100 (Pics)

[Villa Roma]

I received my Deni Pizza Bella today and took it apart to perform the thermostat mod. It's pretty straight forward, just follow the pics and put it back together. I don't recommend that anyone do this mod as it will render the PB unsafe.

    Villa Roma

[MTPIZZA]

Thats it Ron, now you rotate the thermostat knob past the stop and get those real high temps... be careful..it goes past 800......

[murky]

I played with mine today.  Surprisingly, it could get over 700 degrees before the mod.  Hot enough to burn the bottom crust before the top cooked.  I decided to modify it anyway because the top element would go off during cooking.  I figure if I could turn it up to "11" after putting the pizza in, I could keep the top element on and not have to finish the pizza under the broiler of my conventional oven.

Unfortunately I ran into a couple of snags.  In the process I've removed and replaced pretty much every screw except the one that retains the thermostat knob.

I'm currently at an impasse until I can figure out what to do.

The dial under the control knob is reverse threaded.  While trying to reassemble the machine after bending the tab, I inadvertantly completely unthreaded the dial until it fell out.  (I'm calling the copper colored piece that the tab is attached to the dial).  Out of it fell a ceramic pin (which I found) and I think I glimpsed some sort of tiny cylindrical black part, but I couldn't fine it afterwards.  I'm guessing it is some kind of spacer or retaining feature for the ceramic pin.  You can see the bottom half of the ceramic pin in Villa Roma's last picture.  Its what "connects" the dial to the bimetallic strip contact.

So I don't know if I'm missing a part.   When I try to reassemble the machine the knob doesn't engage the dial unless I unscrew the dial to the point that it is floppy.  If the ceramic pin were longer, or there were some type of spacer in there I think it would solve the problem.

The other problem I have is that in the process the nut that was brazed onto the lid (for the screw shown in the 2nd picture) broke off.  I can't believe how tenuously it was originally attached!  I think I can get around that just by drilling a hole in the lid, getting a longer screw, and just putting the nut on from the outside.  I never said it would be pretty.

Finally, the insulating sleeve on the wire to the "on" light floats and leaves bare wire exposed.  I don't know if electrical tape is safe inside there with the temperatures it will be experiencing.

[Verace]

Hello, Murky.  Sorry to hear about your difficulties with the Deni mod.

Others here may be better suited to help you than me, since mine is a Deni clone ... but, in any case, some photos of your situation would be very useful in identifying the various pieces that you refer to and in suggesting a fix.


Verace

[murky]

I got it back together and working.  I did drill the hole in the top and used a longer screw and a nut on the outside.

Its working fine.  I don't think there was another missing piece.  It was probably a piece of carbon or something that fell out.

My problem with the dial was that I hadn't reinstalled all of the other screws so the whole dial was sitting lower down than it otherwise would.

If anybody can follow my messages and actually understand what I'm saying I'll be very impressed.

I hope I haven't discouraged people from trying, because the mod is really quite straightforward.

I did notice a difference between mine and the one pictured.  Mine has a metal strap that is screwed to the upper pan and to the thermostat.  Presumably it conducts heat from the pan to the thermostat for better temperature control.

[Anton]

Performed mod with no problems.  Now getting 800 +. Thank you

[jlpicard]

I am searching for two of these pizza cookers, does anyone have one that is collecting dust, even if they are broken?  I would be willing to purchase them please, thanks.

[Mmmph]

I am searching for two of these pizza cookers, does anyone have one that is collecting dust, even if they are broken?  I would be willing to purchase them please, thanks.

They show up on eBay with regularity.

[Koimum]

Villa Roma, thank you for posting the easy to follow modification! We received the Deni and immediately performed minor surgery on it. It really does get HOT! Since I am learning to work with 00 flour, I needed higher heat than my oven would provide and this worked perfectly for a small pizza. It was much easier than firing up the gas grill in the rain    . The highest reading I tried was 846° which burned the bottom in a few spots but it will be interesting to play around with this.

For anyone interested in a Deni, two are on Ebay right now and one is the deep dish version which Villa Roma has. The other is a stainless steel version.

JoAnn

[jonesyb]

I want one. Can you get them in the UK?

[PaulsPizza]

Jonesyb, you can get something very similar I think. I was offered one a while ago..I will try and dig out a link for you.

Paul

[jlpicard]

These are nice cookers, I have had mine since I found this thread in 2008.  It looks like it's been thru the war.  I installed the temp control mod as described easily.  I also installed a lit rocker switch in line with the bottom element so I can turn it on and off when I need to.  One problem is that when you open up the top much of the heat escapes if not all of it, so by modulating the bottom element, you can allow the top to come back up to temp without burning the bottom.  I use mine almost weekly.

[Koimum]

These are nice cookers, I have had mine since I found this thread in 2008.  It looks like it's been thru the war.  I installed the temp control mod as described easily.  I also installed a lit rocker switch in line with the bottom element so I can turn it on and off when I need to.  One problem is that when you open up the top much of the heat escapes if not all of it, so by modulating the bottom element, you can allow the top to come back up to temp without burning the bottom.  I use mine almost weekly.

It is good to know yours is still working. I wondered if "modifying" the Deni would shorten the unit's life span. I originally wanted the G3 Ferrari as it goes to a very high temperature on it's own but shipping to the US was quite high.

A lit rocker switch sounds intriguing! Hmmm, I wonder if I could persuade hubby to install one. Pizza bribe maybe. 

[Mmmph]

It is good to know yours is still working. I wondered if "modifying" the Deni would shorten the unit's life span.

Don't have to mod it...Just aim a small fan at the temperature controller. The unit will keep running without cycling, and it'll get as hot as with the modification shown above..

[jonesyb]

Jonesyb, you can get something very similar I think. I was offered one a while ago..I will try and dig out a link for you.

Paul

Thank you.

[jlpicard]

It is good to know yours is still working. I wondered if "modifying" the Deni would shorten the unit's life span. I originally wanted the G3 Ferrari as it goes to a very high temperature on it's own but shipping to the US was quite high.

A lit rocker switch sounds intriguing! Hmmm, I wonder if I could persuade hubby to install one. Pizza bribe maybe. 

Make sure to tell him to use wire with non-burning insulation.  I went to the local Goodwill and bought a toaster oven there, cannibalized parts.  I used the fiberglass type insulated wires from that with spade plugs installed and the self-lite on/off rocker switch.  The temp control mod is also very easy to do, just follow the directions.  I have my tab bent just enough to let the temp control move past it, but touches it so I can feel when I pass it.  Also don't lose the little ceramic spacer components that are shown on the pics as I did.  I found a similar temp control on a broken heating appliance and used the ceramic spacer from it to fix mine. 

[Koimum]

Make sure to tell him to use wire with non-burning insulation.  I went to the local Goodwill and bought a toaster oven there, cannibalized parts.  I used the fiberglass type insulated wires from that with spade plugs installed and the self-lite on/off rocker switch. 

Ahh, non-burning insulation. Thank you, good to know. Cannibalized parts - even better! We were undecided whether to bend the tab as to be able to "feel" the resistance on the temperature knob but we bent it more than that. Should have gone with that idea but I am happy it works.

Today I am making mini pizzas in it using  00 dough I had left over. Just a few ounces of dough but topped and baked so we can throw them in the freezer for times the grandkids come over and tell us they are famished in the middle of the afternoon. I can cook two or three of the mini pizzas at a time and probably even reheat them on the Deni when they come out of the freezer using a piece of aluminum foil underneath the crust. This little Deni sure has possibilities.

JoAnn

[Morgan]

Just made the thermostat mod, but didnt replace any wiring. Is this setup safe to go ? Im only making 1 or 2 pies at one time, should i replace
or insulate some of the wires ? Do i crank it up all the way to the 0 or how much over number 3 setting ?

Obh pizza oven:

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,23257.0.html