My new LBE and pies

[AgPie]

Finally, got the tools to set up LBE
Chau, I could not make out the setup for "air deflector"
as per the pic you posted, it looks as if you have attached the air deflector to to some L shaped metal sheet on one end and onto the lid itself on the other side. am I missing something?

[Jackie Tran]

That is really weird.  I'll take a look again later and post up additional pictures.   As far as I know and can remember, the L shaped air deflector is attached directly to the lid.  I don't know what that additional thing is in the pic and why it would only be on one side.  

Ag, I think it is just a reflection or an illusion.

[AgPie]

this was the reason, I asked you to post some more pics of the lid. as your original setup pic was also showing some weird thing
 

[AgPie]

That is really weird.  I'll take a look again later and post up additional pictures.   As far as I know and can remember, the L shaped air deflector is attached directly to the lid.  I don't know what that additional thing is in the pic and why it would only be on one side.  

Ag, I think it is just a reflection or an illusion.

Chau, you maybe right. looks identical to the reflector

[AgPie]

Here is my setup of MBE, exact copy of Chau's LBE 
did not have second stone to put beneath the baking stone. so had to put ceramic tiles that were lying around.
any negatives of these tiles instead of pizza stone ?
Thanks Chau for the setup.....

[Jackie Tran]

Nice job Ag.  It looks like a really clean job.  It may still require some tweaking to get it to where you want but should work just fine.   Just FYI, the LBE will require a number of bakes before you get the feel for it.  What temps to load the pies, when to turn the pie, how long to bake, what temps, etc.  have fun!

Chau

[AgPie]

first pics of my first pie  
though not even close to a good pizza  

[toddster63]

Excellent start, Ag! You're a fellow bell pepper lover, yes... Chau's air foil/venturi mod is one of the best. And as he said it takes some tweaking and getting to know your LBE, but it can do wondrous things and really help to elevate LBE bakes toward WFO quality. Here is my white pie from lunch, cooked at 650F for 2:00 on my 18.5" LBE...

[AgPie]

Excellent start, Ag! You're a fellow bell pepper lover, yes... Chau's air foil/venturi mod is one of the best. And as he said it takes some tweaking and getting to know your LBE, but it can do wondrous things and really help to elevate LBE bakes toward WFO quality. Here is my white pie from lunch, cooked at 650F for 2:00 on my 18.5" LBE...

Thanks toddster....I've setup a MBE, not LBE  As you can see in the pic, the pie got burnt from the side, heat source coming from the bottom. remaining of the pie was undercooked 
Temp on the stone was not even.....it was almost 50F more at the place where pie got burnt

[toddster63]

Thanks toddster....I've setup a MBE, not LBE   As you can see in the pic, the pie got burnt from the side, heat source coming from the bottom. remaining of the pie was undercooked  
Temp on the stone was not even.....it was almost 50F more at the place where pie got burnt

Yeah, I have the same issues, and my LBE is setup similarly to yours; I think it's a very MBE/LBE thing. Rotation of the pies during baking is crucial with these ovens. I load the pies, leave them alone for as close to a full minute as I can get,  to promote oven spring, but then rotate a lot (every 15 seconds?) to get them as evenly colored as possible (and if you'll notice they mainly brown in the last 30 seconds). I'm getting better at it, but every once in a while a pie comes out like yours—a little darker on one part. But then again, I have seen this same "problem" coming from some of the most acclaimed and elite pizzerias in the country...!

[AgPie]

Yeah, I have the same issues, and my LBE is setup similarly to yours; I think it's a very MBE/LBE thing. Rotation of the pies during baking is crucial with these ovens. I load the pies, leave them alone for as close to a full minute as I can get,  to promote oven spring, but then rotate a lot (every 15 seconds?) to get them as evenly colored as possible (and if you'll notice they mainly brown in the last 30 seconds). I'm getting better at it, but every once in a while a pie comes out like yours—a little darker on one part. But then again, I have seen this same "problem" coming from some of the most acclaimed and elite pizzerias in the country...!

Thats encouraging to hear  what tool do you use to rotate the pies ?

[toddster63]

Thats encouraging to hear   what tool do you use to rotate the pies ?

A GI perforated peel, mmwahhahah!

But I think one of the best tools I have seen for this on our little ovens is HERE.

[canadianbacon]

Hi Jackie,

Really nice looking pies there, really nice indeed.  Thanks for sharing

[AgPie]

A GI perforated peel, mmwahhahah!

But I think one of the best tools I have seen for this on our little ovens is HERE.

Thanks Todd

[Jackie Tran]

Thank you CB, I appreciate it.

Agpie, from your pictures, it looks like you may be getting too much bottom heat and not enough top heat.   These are possible solutions to remedy your situation.   You may try to move the stone a bit closer to the front of the MBE to give you a slightly larger airflow gap in the back.  That might help even the heat a bit more.  Also, I don't have the inline regulator open full blast.  It's about 1/2 open or less maybe, but I'm also using a 180K btu burner.  I'll check again next time I bake.  But you'll have to play around a bit with how much heat to pump in to get an even bake.  I usually load at a floor temp of 650F for a 4min bake.  Go higher for shorter bakes and lower for longer bakes.

Also an important thing to note about the airflow director, as Toddster has figured out, is that you have to figure out where on the stone to place the pizza so that the hot air that is directed down is coming down directly onto the rim of the pizza.  You have to eyeball it a bit and adjust the placement of the pizza with each turn to get that optimum heat exposure to the rim.  This will help you adjust your top heat in the LBE/MBE.  

A 2nd adjustment to consider is the actual angle of the air deflector.  You may have to play around with increasing or decreasing the angle of the deflector to maximize the airflow onto the rim.  Either bend it up or flatten it a bit to control the amount of airflow.  Otherwise your crumb looks great.  

good luck,
Chau

[AgPie]

Thank you CB, I appreciate it.

Agpie, from your pictures, you may try to move the stone a bit closer to the front of the MBE to give you a slightly larger airflow gap in the back.  That might help even the heat a bit more.  Also, I don't have the inline regulator open full blast.  It's about 1/2 open maybe.  I'll check again next time I bake.  But you'll have to play around a bit with how much heat to pump in to get an even bake.  I usually load at a floor temp of 650F for a 4min bake.  Go higher for shorter bakes and lower for longer bakes.

Also an important thing to note about the airflow director, as Toddster has figured out, is that you have to figure out where on the stone to place the pizza so that the hot air that is directed down is coming down directly onto the rim of the pizza.  You have to eyeball it a bit and adjust the placement of the pizza with each turn to get that optimum heat exposure to the rim.  

good luck,
Chau

I did not know that the reflector is for directing the heat toward the rim 
I loaded the pizza at around 650F with 1/4 regulator all the time.

[toddster63]

I did not know that the reflector is for directing the heat toward the rim  
I loaded the pizza at around 650F with 1/4 regulator all the time.

Yeah, Ag, many baking in MBE/LBE's have encountered pale tops to their pies, or a pale inner rim to the cornicione. The air foil/venturi really helps to minimize this by redirecting the hot air over the pie, where we need it.

If you haven't already done it, I recommend reading the entire LBE thread (in the oven forums) all the way through; it's 75 pages, I know, but you can learn a lot about these ovens.

Chau (Jackie Tran) and Mmmph also have individual threads about their bakes (such as this one!) that are of great help as well (particularly for seeing pics of pies that show how great these Weber converted ovens can cook!)