2012 2Stone Grill review and 1st pizza

[mkevenson]

Received my new 2Stone grill last week. Cooked my 1st pizza on the oven yesterday. Here is my review.

Construction and delivery: The oven was well packaged and arrived in tack. Minimal assembly needed. Tempering of the top stone was accomplished by removing it from the top housing with 2 screws. Top stone tempering is not needed according to Willard .

The unit is solid, the welds are substantial, but not finished, ie smooth.

Performance: I am using a 2 burner 30K BTU/HR per burner. I achieved 640 degrees stone temp with one burner after 45 min pre heat. Same at 1 hr. I plan on installing a 60K BTU/HR burner, parts ordered.
My 14" pie cooked in 7 min. Top and bottom temps were similar and bottom got a bit burned due to too much peel flour. My peel is 14" side to side and made the launch unimpressive. Wider peels or pies would not work as well even though the stone is almost 16".

Pie: The dough recipe I used has been good for me in my 550 degree home oven. I think an adjustment is in order for higher stone temps. Overall the pizza came out good, the crust a bit softer than we like and the top color a bit light. I have ideas for this.

Overall impression and customer service: As has been reported in years past, Willard is excellent in providing help in any way that he can to assure you are happy with his stove. We have talked on the phone prior to purchase and after delivery. He continues to be eager to help in any way possible.
I am happy so far after one cook with both the product and the pie. Obviously I need to improve my dough making technique.

Mark

[Chicago Bob]

Mark,
That burner you have looks to be what is called a "banjo" burner and it is capable of putting out some serious heat 100,000 btu's plus. You may want to check into this less expensive alternative than replacing your burner and possibly end up with the same problem. http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/7850_propane_regulator.htm

Bob

[2stone]

Mark,

If not propane, you are in possession of this:

<a href="http://youtu.be/MkAlbJSwaFo" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtu.be/MkAlbJSwaFo</a>

<a href="http://youtu.be/L8xkxwaSuHE" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtu.be/L8xkxwaSuHE</a>

Instructions for DIY brick bottom coming soon.

Willard

[mkevenson]

Mark,
That burner you have looks to be what is called a "banjo" burner and it is capable of putting out some serious heat 100,000 btu's plus. You may want to check into this less expensive alternative than replacing your burner and possibly end up with the same problem. http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/7850_propane_regulator.htm

Bob

Bob, the cost of the upgrade is about $75. This unfortunately includes not only the HP burner but also a regulator, manifold, etc. here is a parts list minus 2 parts that were not added on our 1st conversation.

The process of replacing the burners is just a simple unbolt and bolt process
The part numbers are as follows:
0809 - HP Burner
0827- HP Air Vent
0981- HP Spring
EX4 - HP Valve
EX3 - HP Manifold
330090 - HP Hose & Regulator

The company does sell a combo unit of one 30k and one 60 k BTU burner for $185 plus shipping. Not avail in my area.

Thanks for you're input.

Mark

[mkevenson]

Mark,

If not propane, you are in possession of this:

http://youtu.be/MkAlbJSwaFo

http://youtu.be/L8xkxwaSuHE

Instructions for DIY brick bottom coming soon.

Willard

Willard, thanks, yes I do have a kettle and could line with brick, the advantage is questionable. I am happy so far with my outdoor kitchen.
Be Well!

Mark

[2stone]

Mark, The burner you are getting should give you all the BTU you need. -wg

[islandguy]

Hello everyone
I cannot find the same oven Mark shows in the above photo on 2Stones web site. They have one that sets on a BBQ grill but it looks slightly different.  The site says nothing about setting it on a Bayou burner.

I travel in a Motorhome in the Summer and looking for a small portable pizza oven that will reach 600-700 degrees

Does anyone know of such an oven?
Thanks
Glenn

[mkevenson]

Hello everyone
I cannot find the same oven Mark shows in the above photo on 2Stones web site. They have one that sets on a BBQ grill but it looks slightly different.  The site says nothing about setting it on a Bayou burner.

I travel in a Motorhome in the Summer and looking for a small portable pizza oven that will reach 600-700 degrees

Does anyone know of such an oven?
Thanks
Glenn

Glenn, Willard has not added the SS oven to his store yet. You can see it here:
www.2stoneblog.com click on OVENS

Call Willard for any other details such as price etc.

Mark

[islandguy]

Mark
What's the distance between the two stones?

Could you bake several loaves of bread after the Pizza?

Thanks

Glenn

[mkevenson]

Mark
What's the distance between the two stones?

Could you bake several loaves of bread after the Pizza?

Thanks

Glenn

Glenn, I have not measured the distance but from the 2Stone site," The 2stone pizza grill feature a dual stone chamber where the pizza is baked between two stones spaced 3" apart." This is the older 13 inch unit but I bet the spacing is the same or about the same.  I will measure when I get home. The stone will stay at max temp as long as you supply heat. After the heat , propane in my case, is turned off the stone stays hot for some time. I have not measured. I generally cook one pizza at a time so I don't know the stone recovery time, but I imagine that also would be dependent on the heat source and the BTUs.
Call Willard, he uses these ovens every day.

Mark

[mkevenson]

Mark
What's the distance between the two stones?

Could you bake several loaves of bread after the Pizza?

Thanks

Glenn

Glenn, measured the distance and this version of the oven has a 3.5" space between the bottom and top stone. Hard to do a loaf of bread in that space. Good for tortillas!

Mark

[mkevenson]

Well I've been at this a while. Tonight I think I took a step forward in my pizza baking with the 2 Stone.
In a previous thread, Bill from NM asked about current pies cooked on the 2stone. Sorry I can't find the thread but the mods can merge this post in needed.

Bottom line is I turned the bottom stone frequently and the pie came out pretty good.

Mark

[Chicago Bob]

Bottom line is I turned the bottom stone frequently and the pie came out pretty good.

Mark

Mark,
What exactly do you do in this technique..thanks.
Bob

[mkevenson]

Bob, I have my propane burner at the back of the stone tray, per Willards instruction. This allows the heat of the flame to rise over the pizza and also to heat the top stone. The one draw back I find is that the bottom stone heats more in the back than the front or sides, hence the steel plate that the stone sits on turns, in my case manually. I had been experiencing hot spots, burned areas, on the bottom, which I now believe to be because I was not turning the bottom stone frequently enough. I pie could also be turned on the stone but that does not keep the stone temp even.

Mark

[Chicago Bob]

Gotcha...thanks.