Thinking about this setup for Weber propane grill - your thoughts?

[bfguilford]

With summer approaching, thoughts of turning the oven on in the kitchen make me go yuck. So I started to look at posts where people use their gas grills to bake their pizzas. Lots of different setups, and advice to use stones, etc to lower the top of the grill. I also looked at the LBE, and while it appeals to the mad scientist in me... not yet.

I have a Weber Genesis propane grill. I have a 12x20 5/8 inch thick kiln shelf that I've been using in the electric oven. It would give me around 1 inch clearance on each side, and around 3 inches front and back. The height between the grate and the top of the grill is 9-10 inches inches.

I'm wondering if this might work. My idea is to raise the level of the bottom stone by 5-ish inches to get it closer to the top. I'm looking at some 2 inch square kiln posts (probably 5 inches high), and setting them at the corners of the kiln shelf to raise the shelf to around 4-ish inches from the top of the grill. A couple of issues that I can think of. One is that the grill hood is sloped a bit in the front, so I'm thinking that I would push the kiln shelf almost to the back, leaving 1 inch clearance at the back. The second is that I'm wondering about heat loss if the shelf is 5 inches off the grate.

BTW, I'm the guy you see wandering around Home Depot, muttering, "Why doesn't someone make one of these widgets? Oh well, if I screw this into that, and buy this and cut it that way, I think that'll do it."

OK... over to you. Thanks.

[SnuffGear]

I have a Genesis and have tried 4 pies on it so far. I sat my stone on the grates, and let her rip. Had the usual problems most complain about. Bottom cooks faster than the top. Trying again this evening. I'm going to remove the two outer flavor bars to try and get more heat into the top and I'll reduce the temp slightly on the middle burner. Others have suggested slipping a screen under the pie after the first few minutes. I have one ordered but it hasn't arrived.

I'm SERIOUSLY considering a 2stone, (hey Willard, how about a 20% off coupon!), but I want to try a few more pies before I commit.
Tom

[bfguilford]

Had the usual problems most complain about. Bottom cooks faster than the top.

Thanks, Tom. Those are the problems I'm hoping to address with a modified setup.

[scott123]

Barry, before you invest in kiln shelf supports, cut a long 5" wide strip of thick cardboard, bend it into a zigzag and use that to rest the stone on in the grill, checking the ceiling clearance.

Heat rises, so you're really not talking about heat loss if the shelf is closer to the ceiling.

What concerns me most with your setup is that, in an ideal grill scenario, you want the ceiling to be no more than 3" from the stone.  4" wouldn't be the end of the world IF the ceiling were flat and the 4" gap was uniform.

In a grill, I really think, rather than raising the stone to the ceiling, it's better to lower the ceiling with a second, larger stone.

[bfguilford]

Thanks for the feedback, Scott. I guess I'm looking for a lazy man's way to bake on the grill during the summer. I'm not yet good enough at launching to be confident that I can get it between two stones that are 3 inches apart. I think I'll practice some more in my oven (put one of the grates around 3 inches from the stone and pray that the pizza doesn't end up on the oven door) until I get it right. I may also borrow some kiln posts from a ceramic artist friend to try the other setup out, just to feed my inner mad scientist. 

Barry