tips for maximizing heat output of your grill

[Lloyd Lande]

I've tried taking out the stainless steel flavor bars and one of the 2 grill grates on my weber to try and maximize the heat output. I also use tin foil to block heat from escaping out the sides when the grill lid is proped open. Anybody have any other tips, thoughts or suggestions?

[Jeffrey Zacharias]

I had success tonight! I did a couple of changes, but the conditions in SF were the same. I created a bit a shelter from cardboard to cut down the wind. I then rolled up some tin foil and put it at the back behind the 2stone, and a created a tin foil flap at the front as well. See the photos. This time the grill acted different. I pre-heated with the lid down (for 1 hour just to be sure), and the grill thermometer never got above 420F. I was some what dismayed at this point, but I took the temperature of the top and bottom stone. Bottom....895F!!! The top was around 790F. I put in the pizza and it cooked in exact 2 minutes. I had the lid open about 2 inches for cooking. It didn't puff up as much as I would have like, but I know I messed up the dough. I was proofing it in the fridge for a couple of days with plastic rap, and it partially came off:( However, the flavor was incredible. Even though it was flat, it had some soft texture to it. Next time I think I will open up the front flap to get the top stone to heat up a little more, about half way through.

[Lloyd Lande]

what hydration % is your dough? Higher the heat, wetter the dough!

[Jeffrey Zacharias]

65% It's the Forno Bravo recipe, but it was in the fridge for 2 days, and it accidentally got uncovered, so it dried out:( By the time I formed the pizza it was not very wet. It basically became a dough with a much lower percentage of water.

[Jeffrey Zacharias]

I did some more experimentation with getting the highest heat, and I wanted to post it because it is different than what other people are saying. It probably is related to the weather I have to deal with, but here it is.

Weather:
Temperature: low 40s F
Windy: 10-15 knots
100% humidity
misty and foggy

With grill skirts, no tin foil, and lid closed: 640 F surface temp on the stones.
With grill skirts, tin foil in the front and back, and lid closed: around 900 F on the stones.
With grill skirts, tin foil in the front and back and lid open about 3 inches: around 750 F on the stones.
With grill skirts, no tin foil, and lid open about 3 inches: around 590-650 F on the stones.

That is not what I intuitively expect. Having the lid open, and no extra foil should increase the rate of the flow of hot air/gas coming off the burners, and it should make the stones hotter. I can only guess that the wind has a very large effect. I did the experiment with the hottest temperature first (foil and lid closed), then I made my pizza, and ate it (yum!), then I tried the other permutations with at least 15min of time to stabilize each setup.

My previous flat dough problems went away after correctly proofing the dough.

[Willard]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the input and contributions. The 2stone PG will only get as hot as the grill, so it's a fitting topic that is perplexing at best when some of us with the same grills (Weber Genesis) are getting way higher temps in much less time than others
I've gotten a chance to better understand what makes a flame hot (or not) in working with the different burners for propane and natural gas. 1. is the PSI of the gas, 2. is the orifice size, (the final passageway where the gas is released into the burner for air mixture) 3. is the amount of air supply for the mixture, 4. is the actual hole size of the burner where the flame is, 5. and last (but certainly there are more points) is the burner configuration.

The PSI is pretty much set, as is the burner configuration, but points 2,3,4 are not since some are adjustable and others become less efficient due to blockage of many types.

You can remove the burners easily....first they must be pushed in to separate from the brass supply and then they can be pulled out from the side.

I would pressure wash the whole burner and especially the little screen where the air adjustment can be made. Also make sure your air adjustment is set as high as it will go, by loosening the screw and turning the little slotted tube.

At your Home Depot or welding supply house you can get a tip cleaner that has small wires of different sizes that can be inserted and pushed and pulled to open up the orifice (the little brass tip that goes into the end of the burner tube) if it is clogged or corroded.

Hopefully this will improve things, as I can see mine are definitely corroded, especially the screens look like they are due for a good cleaning. The points (1-5) are what make the grill burn hotter.... so improving any of them should help and maybe get your grill on parity with the ones that are burning hot...... as mine does. -willard

by the way....nice looking pie :-))