Introducing Mighty Pizza Oven

[scott123]

It’s not that cut and dried. It’s all about the claims and how they are written - and more specifically, the claims allowed by the examiner. You are probably correct, but without reviewing the application and ultimately the granted patent (if granted), it is impossible to make such a blanket statement. It can also be surprisingly easy to get around patent claims. For example, simply enclosing the top stone in the unit with another sheet of stainless may be enough – maybe stick some ceramic insulation in there with it (5% royalty for me if you use that idea).  I don’t know if this would work, but you get the idea. I’ve seen patents circumvented with much much less.

Craig, I think the emissivity of the stainless would make a pretty poor ceiling and you also might have heat transfer concerns between the (most likely) not perfectly flat steel sheet and top stone, but, as far as getting around claims being easier than I might have thought, I'll defer to your greater experience in these matters.

[MightyPizzaOven]

Scott, Hopefully I won't give you or any one else any reason to be a vocall oponent.

How close do you need to be the ratio? does it have to 1 or .75 is acceptable??

I will try to take more measurments, it is a bit hard to take picures and measure a the same time.

For the bottom stone, I have two different 15" stones, I think one is 3/8 and the other is 5/8 thick.

When the inside oven was 700 the top stone was higher, the bottom stone higher in back and lower in the front..., I start by heating the top stone first than slide the bottom stone under... I need to buy another IR thermometer, I am not how accurate the one I have.

[pizzaneer]

Hey Bert, what's your location?  Maybe one of the "experts" on this forum live close enough to test drive your device in person.

[MightyPizzaOven]

Brian, I am in Houston, TX ...

[scott123]

Hey Bert, what's your location?  Maybe one of the "experts" on this forum live close enough to test drive your device in person.

Good point, Brian.

Bert, one of the strengths of the 2stone is that you can put it on the grill, turn the grill on, wait for it to pre-heat, come back, and it will be ready to make pizza- and it will, based up the thermal mass of the fibrament (3/4" I believe) and the heat going into the stone during the bake, produce a pretty healthy number of consistent pizzas in succession. I've never seen the 2stone insert put through it's paces, but I'm relatively comfortable, with the right heat setting and consistent timing between bakes, it can do 4 pies without an issue.

The added labor of adding the bottom stone after the top has pre-heated for a while isn't the end of the world, but, as you bake a pizza and time passes, the top to bottom heat ratio will change, and the bottom stone, as you feed it from below, will get progressively hotter.

Pre-heating the bottom stone after the top will only give you optimal conditions for one or two pies. It's not like you can remove the hot hearth and give the ceiling another burst of energy, as handling a hot hearth produces a safety issue.

At this point in time, the forum hasn't hammered out the ideal top stone temp and bottom stone in a two stone scenario. Generally speaking, the hotter the dome in comparison to the hearth, the better.  I've never heard of anyone complaining about two much top heat in these kind of scenarios.

[scott123]

Brian, I am in Houston, TX ...

I think I might know someone that can help confirm/refute your WFO claims. 

[MightyPizzaOven]

That will be great...

how hot does 2stone grill reach on the grill?

MO top stone once it is heated, there is a minimal contact with side to lose any heat, especially with the constant hot fast flow air. I couldn't measure the air flow out of the chimney, I tried use an air speed gauges, the hot air out of the chimney melted the guage blades instantaneously.

I have used MO on multiple occasions for family gathering where i cooked 8+ pizzas. But since I was doing everything myself, the bottom stone had time recover between each pizza, I never noticed any inconsistency.

[Chicago Bob]

I think I might know someone that can help confirm/refute your WFO claims. 

I believe the consultant you're referring to resides in the Big D.....but he gets around that's for sure...

[buceriasdon]

Perhaps an elaboration to my reply 47 is in order. My thinking is to have someone like Kenji or Adam at Slice test the unit, yes to see if it performs as you say but also when you both are satisfied a good write up out of the gate would be a good marketing tool should you decide to proceed. Also, not that it applies to your grill accessory as it is stainless, but he first generation KettlePizza units were highly criticized for the paint popping off the carbon steel insert. The maker then went to stainless steel. Now I call that poor R&D before going to market.
Don

[SinoChef]

If this takes off for you, and you get to the point where you are ready to sell in large quantity. I can make some introductions for you here in China. You can spec out any quality level you want. They are able to make more then cheap plastic Wal Mart junk here. You just need someone here to make sure they are not cutting corners.

[MightyPizzaOven]

Don,

I wanted to go with Aluminum first, but I decided not to due to it low melting point. It would have been cheaper and easier to work with. I use now 304 SS, 1.2mm in all materials used on the oven including the handles and even the screws… I am trying to prevent any rust. The only issue I have with 304 SS that it will discolor when exposed to high temperature.

I have only experimented making pizza pies with MPO temperature of 600 deg f, just by simply placing the oven on the grill for half an hour. I usually heat top stone for 15 minutes than I insert the bottom stone, the oven still perform the same even I don’t do that.

I want my design to challenged, and this forum has been great in doing that.

I am not looking to redesign the oven, it is what is...

My claim that my design is unique, and if I can proof that my oven can do something that other similar insert can’t do, that should support my claim.

I am not ready to discuss my oven outside this forum yet. Maybe later when testing does support my claim…

I do appreciate your input and others too.

[MightyPizzaOven]

SinoChef, I am allready working with someone in Chain.  Originally I tried to do it in the US, but there was no way for me to even afford making a prototype. The prototype quality is great... I still have minor issues to resolve.

[MightyPizzaOven]

Hopefully this weekend I will find a replacement for my gas grill... and buy Members Mark Charcol Grill, I like to see how MPO will perform using charcoal.

[pizzaneer]

SinoChef, I am allready working with someone in Chain.  Originally I tried to do it in the US, but there was no way for me to even afford making a prototype. The prototype quality is great... I still have minor issues to resolve.

So how long did the design process take and how did you get in touch with the "prototyper"/ manufacturer in China?  What deal did you make with them?  Free prototype in return for manufacturing rights?

[Bill/SFNM]

I like the name "Mighty Pizza Oven". You should jump on the trademark, urls, social networking names, etc.

[MightyPizzaOven]

Finding a manufacturer has not been easy... I have paid for the prototype sample only..


I have the URL for "Mighty Pizza Oven" and facebook, I still need to do it for the trademark, I need figure it out how online to save on cost.

[MightyPizzaOven]

I just used legalzoom to file for a trademark, it was simpler than I thought.  Thanks for reminding me Bill...

[scott123]

That will be great...

how hot does 2stone grill reach on the grill?

MO top stone once it is heated, there is a minimal contact with side to lose any heat, especially with the constant hot fast flow air. I couldn't measure the air flow out of the chimney, I tried use an air speed gauges, the hot air out of the chimney melted the guage blades instantaneously.

I have used MO on multiple occasions for family gathering where i cooked 8+ pizzas. But since I was doing everything myself, the bottom stone had time recover between each pizza, I never noticed any inconsistency.

Bert, does your device allow the lid of the grill to be closed? If if doesn't, I think that could be an advantage for the 2stone, because it allows all the heat that the grill is putting out to collect in the lid and preheat the insert.  Covering the outside areas of the grill with foil will achieve something similar (or selling a cover that creates the same effect), but being able to close the lid of the grill makes pre-heating a bit simpler.  I think expecting your customers to break out the aluminum foil is a bit much.

The odds that this insert will give you less than 90 second Neapolitan pizza bake times are, imo, pretty much non existent, so you should be developing/marketing this device for NY pizza.  When I refer to top/bottom heat issues, it's within the context of the ideal NY pizza bake time- 4 minutes.  As you extend the bake time, any top/bottom heat disparity tends to disappear.  But trust me, you don't want to extend the bake time.  Longer bakes produce inferior pizza.

How long were the 8+ pizza party pizzas baked for?  More than 7 minutes each, right?

[MightyPizzaOven]

I wouldn't be wasting any body time if my oven was taking that long to bake a pizza, it takes 3 to 4 minutes each... no foil covering ... no lid closed.... in half an hour I can start backing...I have to rotate each pizza during the 4 minutes, otherwise it will be black overcooked on one side..

The front oven handle prevent the the grill lid from closing all the way down... I closed the grill lid (up to the handle) couple of time when it was windy...

I forgot to mention, there is an 1/2" to 1.25" gap between the top stone and the oven ceiling depending on the location of the top stone (in this prototype I have setting 3/4" apart).... This gap acts as an insulator for top stone, the lower the stone the thicker the insulation is...  the air in this gap  is sitting still getting hotter and hotter and not being circulated, acting as a hot insulator (just theory, no data to confirm) ....  in addition to the direct heat from the flames around the the bottom stone and the hot air that flow fast constantly hitting the upper stone, the upper stone gets hotter and hotter with time... I don't have data how much hotter it gets after time or how fast..

I got the charcoal grill from sam's, there are a zillion part... I will try to put it together, with my little helpers (3y & 4y kids) it may take me a while...

I never pushed the oven to the extreme side... the oven is built to handle extreme temperature, I need to find out how hot I can get it using an average grill (propane or charcoal) and if this hot temperature is usable for baking Neapolitan pizza...

[ThatsAmore]

I got the charcoal grill from sam's, there are a zillion part... I will try to put it together, with my little helpers (3y & 4y kids) it may take me a while...

If you are not familiar, lump charcoal burns much hotter than briquettes.  Also, please buy an electric charcoal lighter. Using a solvent to ignite your coal is an element you really don't want to add as a negative, IMO.

If you already know this .... Never Mind