Has anyone tried a double deck cecilware electric countertop

[bigchiefderek]

Has anyone tried this oven? Cecilware PO44 Double Countertop Pizza Oven 208V.  I was wondering how many pizzas I could put out before letting it warm back up.  I am interested in a countertop for home practice and some catering that I have the opportunity to do.  I do not see how this would not work considering I have used a home oven with 575 temp range before.  I haven't had to deliver more than 15 pizzas at one time.  Would this be good for as many as 50 or 75 pizzas?   

[barryvabeach]

Scott is the expert and will chime in shortly.  When I first looked at the specs,  I saw 7,200 watts and was impressed.  I then saw that was spread over 6 elements, which workouts to 1200 watts per element,  with decks that are 20.25 inches - or 410 square inches.  So you have  approx 2.9 watts per square inch, assuming my math is right, which is a dubious assumption.  According to Scott's chart that is on the weak side, and is nearly the same as the chinese ebay pizza oven that I got recently, which does not have enough energy to keep up with that load.  check reply 12  http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,21242.0.html    Also it is not clear if you have separate controls for the top and bottom elements for each deck, which could lead to not enough top heat.

[bigchiefderek]

Barry
 Thanks for the info on the oven.  Commercial ovens are new to me.  I am thinking of get a single deck used pizza oven to start with.  I would like to go with electric but gas is fine too.  Would you recommend one over the other?

[barryvabeach]

If you can get gas, I would go with that.  Unfortunately, most of the small courntertop single "deck" commercial units I have seen don't even have a stone deck or hearth, and instead have a wire rack and are designed for reheating frozen pizza.   I know absolutely nothing about this oven, other than the specs, and it has 6.25 watts per square inch, and goes to 660, so it looks better, on paper at least than most in this category. though the largest pie it will make is 12 inches http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/equipex/pz-331/p960.aspx?utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Equipex-PZ-331&utm_campaign=Countertop-Pizza-Ovens&source=googleps&gclid=CJ-olYHwwbMCFUKd4AodxjIALA   The high end countetop oven is here http://espresso.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_153&products_id=440  the single stone version is 14.5 inch stove with about 5.7 watts per inch- though the price is pretty high.  I am not sure how long you will be using it in a day, but the Sage contertop has same great specs and at least one member liked it, though they seem to come and go on ebay, I don't see any available now.   I would stay away from 120 volt machines, and try to focus on 240 - be careful if you are buying from overseas or on ebay that you get something that works on single phase current.   Sorry I couldn't be of much help, there are not a lot of offerings in this category. 

[Bobino414]

Derek

The PO44 you are looking at represents a double stack of the PO22 which is what I have. 
Since I usually bake 1-2 pies(most at one sitting 7 pies), I don't have a problem with recovery time however with the supplied almost 1/2 inch Cordierie stones you can't bake pie after pie without reheat.  Plan on a drop of 50-60 degrees(measured by IR on the stone) every time  you open the oven door.  Also this oven is not a set it and forget it.  There are hot spots and cold spots and air flow is uneven front to back so you will have to adjust the position of the pie about 2/3 through the baking cycle.

So if you go this route I would recommend thicker cordierite stones-maybe 3/4 inch thick; plan on a warmup of at least 1 hour.  If you decide to go with a thicker stone, say 1 inch, you will need to have good launching technique as you will have only 2 inches of clearance.

Another consideration is to bake two pies at a time so that while the top compartment can bake 2 pies, the bottom oven is reheating.

The oven I have is great for me (bake temp 680-720, bake time 3.5-4 minutes)-crust is key, first bite must take place within 2 minutes of taking it out of the oven).
 
I do not know what style of pie you plan on baking but if it is along the lines of an American style(edible plate) with a longer bake time but lower baking temp, this would probably work.
If I thought of having a commercial venture for my pies, I would not buy this oven.

Bob

[bigchiefderek]

Bob- Thanks for the info about your oven. I am glad you were able to tell me about  how that specific oven has worked for you. It sounds like it would work good for my home cooking.  A 4 minute bake time is would be awesome.  I like cooking my pies as hot as my oven will allow, unfortunately my new oven is topped out at 500(75 degree drop from my previous). 



Barry-I think I will take your advice on getting a gas stove.  I think for now I will go with a single deck.  Is there a brand that you would recommend used?  Or maybe, a few brands that would be good to get. 

 Thanks for your time
       Big Chief

[perezoso]

My experience with a Cecilware PO-18 was disastrous.  The first pie comes out fast and great, especially with the element right there close on top ... BUT... then the temp starts bouncing way up and way down like the oven is being dribbled by the Harlem Globetrotters.  Put your second, third, fourth pies in there and have no idea how long they'll take, or if they will suddenly burn on the bottom.

Perhaps part of the problem was the inexperienced oven operator (me), but I think a lot of it also had to do with the oven. I don't know what the recovery time on the oven would be in order to get back to that magical perfect state that it starts at, but whatever it is, it's far longer than I was willing to wait.

[barryvabeach]

Big Chief, sorry , I don't have any experience with any of the gas ovens, I just know that gas can put out a tremendous amount of heat.  Another option to consider if you are a tinkerer, and on a budget, is to pick up a used 2 deck stone unit  ( Bakers Pride, Bakers Partner, or similar ) , and upgrade the electrics.  To do that, you would need new heavier gauge high temp wiring, high temp connectors, new elements, new cord, new switch, and new thermostats, and new indicator lights.   Depending on how high you wanted to go on temps, you might be able to do the conversion for under a few hundred dollars.  For example, you can get capillary thermostats for under $15 that go up to 300C - 572F  that handle up to 16 amps http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Oven-50-300-Celsius-N-C-Capillary-Thermostat-Temperature-Controller-/230878479270?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c16e03a6 and you can find elements that would give you a lot more watts per inch than the ovens came with standard,and depending on the size , wattage and shape, the costs aren't that high.  I am in the process of buying the parts to convert an electric pizza oven that I have, though it will take me a few more weeks to sort out the parts and do the wiring, I am shooting for 5.8 watts below the stone, and 7.8 watts per square inch above the stone.  The up side is that if you are pretty good with electrics, you can put a separate thermostat for each element.  Of course, you need to be careful when working with electricity, and you don't want to ever go to a higher temp than the oven was originally designed.