this post was submitted on 11 May 2025
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Are you just using slate?
You could throw a 3/8ths sheet of steel in there for much better heat transfer and reliability.
Yeah, 2" piece of bluestone. My concern now isn't just stability. If there's water in any of the brick or other stones, the same thing could happen.
Yeah so you gotta do a very long, slow heat up. Then if it gets rained on, cooked again.
The other issue with stone that I've experienced is that it takes a very long time to reheat/ heat transfer. You end up loosing a lot of heat capacity each pizza you cook. Then it takes a very long time for it to get back up to heat. First pie is often a throw away because its so hot it burns instantly (metal grill grate can help with this), the second pizza is great, and by the third and fourth the stone has lost so much energy its not cooking well.
If you are insistent on stone/ wood fire, look at the italian designs. Instead of the fire being below the stone and relying on convection, they put the fire on top. They use a volcanic clay to form their surface and has lower heat transfer, but it doesn't have the scorching issue some modern synthetics have.
I've tried all of these and I just use steel any more. Way more reliable. Way more durable. Way faster to get started. Way faster to shut down. I do have to adjust my burn a bit in terms of style because I do lose energy between pies, but I can kick out a pizza about ever 10 minutes from my oven.
Could you post the plans you use?
https://lemmy.world/post/29504105/16995944
See above.