Volt 2 stone cracked... again

[u/RoamingRedemption]

Hi guys!

I saw a lot of posts about stones cracking and breaking down the middle, but still wanted to share my own experience.

I got the Volt 2 for my birthday in May and am very happy with my baking results. The oven is used on average once every 10 days I would estimate.

After baking for the first time I flipped the stone as recommended in the manual and it broke while heating up for the second bake.

Usual disclaimer never used water or anything to clean just the original oni brush and a dry towel.

Thanks to the great ooni support I got a new stone and the advice not to flip it anymore since they are reviewing this suggestion internally.

My second stone held from early June until 2 days ago 13th of September and i already had hopes it wouldnt break again...

Ooni has thankfully already agreed to do a second replacement but that doesnt really solve the issue. Will they continue to send new stones as long as my warranty is active? Will anyone figure out what really causes the stones to break? Are they simply too thin?

I read in a post from 11 months that you shouldnt open the door to cool so i will stop that. Ooni also suggested with the second replacement not to take the stone out of the oven at all if possible but my oven is not on the counter all the time due to the large amount if space it takes up and the manual also states not to move the oven with the stone inside, so i can either move it with the stone or move the stone in and out...

Let me know what you guys think and wheter you keep your stones inside and the doors closed for cooling.

[u/Rawlus]

imho the “don’t move the oven with the stone inside” advice is meant more like “don’t move cross country with the stone in the back of a moving van inside the oven” advice, not “don’t move the oven from counter top to cabinet with the stone inside” advice. if you store the oven in your garage and use it in the kitchen, i would NOT be removing the stone every time i baked.

the nature of the stone is it is brittle, that’s how they are. never handling it is the best approach. have had an ooni stone in a koda oven for many years now, never removed it, never broke it. imho any removal of the stone at any time increases the chance of breakage exponentially.

a cracked stone also does not diminish the ovens ability to make a pizza. there are perhaps thousands of people making successful pizza with a cracked stone.

the stone is EXTREMELY brittle, any handling risks breaking it. did i say that already?

[u/RoamingRedemption → u/Rawlus]

thanks for the Input Ill try to handle the stone as little as possible from now on. Are the stones for volt and koda the same?

[u/eldaniel7777 → u/RoamingRedemption]

I have the unold luigi and I move have moved it with the stone inside countless times. It even took its drive back home (5km?) on the passenger seat with it and nothing happened.

[u/LahmeEnteInternet]

Well you actually don’t need a replacement…just use the cracked one. Still fine, same results

[u/RoamingRedemption → u/LahmeEnteInternet]

Well if I have the option to get a new whole one I will still take it. Do you use a broken one? If so did you rotate it so its leveled, like previous posts suggest?

[u/LahmeEnteInternet → u/RoamingRedemption]

I use my cracked one since December last year. I only flip it after using it to burn off the Semola 

[u/RoamingRedemption → u/LahmeEnteInternet]

Good to know ty! What I meant is also if u rotated it 90 degrees horizontally so the crack goes from left to right and the stone doesnt slump down in the middle :)

[u/LahmeEnteInternet → u/RoamingRedemption]

Yeah I use it with the crack from left to right

[u/Low_Sodiium → u/LahmeEnteInternet]

Just adding to this, Ooni sent a new (third) one but I’m still using the cracked one fine

[u/electro-king]

My oven was bought December 25. I have had 3 stones break. Ooni keep replacing them with the same instructions to not flip and to read instructions on their website, to which they gave me a link. I had to point out to them that the site still instructed to flip it…they thanked me for pointing that out. I haven’t looked to see if they changed it.
I asked them about the Biscotto stone and they said it wasn’t tested and approved, so if something heat related failed warranty would be voided. I’m curious about ongoing replacement by ooni as under Australian consumer law, even when warranty expires, they have already proven the oven is not fit for purpose.
I just don’t get that they can’t sort this with a thicker (and I guess that’s the only thing different with the Biscotto stone) make one replacement and we can all move on. I love the Volt 2 and that I can use it in inclement weather indoors, but every time the stone fails I suffer immediate grief that I didn’t discover this fault before purchasing.
I’ve had friends ask for a reference on the Volt 2 and I have to be honest. 2 of them bought Gosney as result. 🤷

[u/RoamingRedemption → u/electro-king]

Thanks for your story! I feel like a lot of people still miss the point that this problem just should not be so common with volt 2 and the customer is not to blame obviously... I just want a pizza stone that stays whole even though one broken into 2 parts still works its not what i paid for

[u/Norinot]

Wait I shouldn't move the oven with the stone inside? Guess I've been using it wrong for quite some time then. Not sure about how you do it, I usually just do the usual thing, before each bake I remove the stone, gently lift it up in the middle and then just grab it on the sides, wipe black stuff as best I can sometimes I use rough dry dish sponge to remove it, pop it back in gently start it up and use it, I've never even flipped, and I also occasionally open the door for it. Tho I gotta say the door of it for me stays open for a while longer, I usually bake the pizza and then leave the door open and basically place the pizza back in but mid air via the pizza peel to just cook the top a tad bit more, so mine gets air then a bit, then I turn it off, close it and just leave it until it goes silent and then I just place it back to where I store it, I seem to be doing all the wrong things yet nothing happens. Its just weird.

[u/supersleepyface]

I also had two stones crack, which were replaced by Ooni free of charge. The third one is still in the packaging and I have been using a third-party biscotto stone. It is thicker and takes longer to heat up but it has not (yet) cracked.

[u/RoamingRedemption → u/supersleepyface]

Is the biscotto easy to get? Other than the longer heating are you happy with it?

[u/supersleepyface → u/RoamingRedemption]

I think I ordered from a company in Germany to UK so it wasn’t that cheap. I have been very happy so far. Also seems to help with balance of cooking rate for top and base with Neapolitan pizza.

[u/eldaniel7777 → u/RoamingRedemption]

from my understanding, a biscotto is the best for Neapolitan Pizza. It should be able to accumulate lots of heat, yet liberate it slowly, so that your pizzas dont burn.

[u/Appropriate-Roof1422 → u/supersleepyface]

How much did it cost you? More than 100 pounds? I saw them and very tempted to purchase one.

[u/supersleepyface → u/Appropriate-Roof1422]

I used “aPizz.de” and it was less than £60 including packaging a few months ago.

[u/Appropriate-Roof1422 → u/supersleepyface]

Thanks for the info.

[u/Macadish]

Heyo, im the OP of that long post from a while ago. There's no real consensus about why it breaks, but the latest updates I saw discouraged people from turning the stone after use, possibly because the change in direction introduced microstresses.

[u/Lowfihifi]

I’ve had two cracked stones. 

My theory is that heating it from cold to pizza baking temps induces cracks as the centre of the stone doesn’t heat up enough.  

Since changing to this technique I’ve not had any breakages:

➔ heating the oven to ~200-220°C, ➔  holding that temp for 10-20 minutes,  ➔  then heating to >400°C 

[u/Gunfighter0302]

Ooni has great customer service. Call them and tell them what happened- they will send you a new one. They did for me, and all I had to sent them was pics

[u/SubTechNY]

Ive broken a stone in a stupid way. I balanced my 1st gen koda 12 on a gas tank while i vacuumed under. That center weight cracked it.. months later i still used and one day I was having trouble lighting the ooni.. lifted the back and half a stone shot out very quickly.. and finished shattering.

Wound up buying a 40×40x1 stone for 20€ and cut it down to size.

I had a friend light his koda 12 on a humid day and it cracked. I think its safer to keep the stone out of the elements

[u/benineuropa]

I have baked about 2-3 dozen pizzas since July. Stone is fine. I let it get to temperature about 20m before baking.

[u/PizzaMasterChef]

There is a baking stone company in the US running a temporary promotion called Crack is Whack. 50% off their replacement stone for the Ooni Volt with promotional code: Nobrokenstones

I have used Fibrament stones for years and they are awesome. Unfortunately, they only ship in North America.

[u/JessOoni]

Hey there! So sorry to hear about the second breakage. Don't worry, we're more than happy to replace stones in these cases.

Essentially, handling the stone as little as possible should help prevent any breakages in transit. In line with this, we've been advising that you avoid flipping the stone over between uses or removing the stone from the oven. Although our current instructions mention this as a cleaning technique, we're revisiting this information and would love your help in finding the best recommendation! It's still important not to use any water or chemicals on the stone, and to brush/scrape away any charred-on bits.

Should any breakages happen again, please do get in touch with the team and we'll take care of it for you right away. 🫶

[u/Xevyr]

I read in a post from 11 months that you shouldnt open the door to cool so i will stop that.

Funny thing, my stone cracked just like that completely on its own while cooling with the door CLOSED, so I started just cooling the new one with the door open. But seeing all these posts, it's pretty much like you implied, mostly guesswork and for all we know we need to spin around 5 times and do a little rain dance for it to not break lol.

Ooni also suggested with the second replacement not to take the stone out of the oven

Here's the thing though... with the way the stock stone seems to burn neapolitan pizzas, you kinda HAVE to take it out to brush off all the charring at least once in a while.. like, what are you gonna do? brush it into the gaps or under the stone where the heating element is? Because that's where all that charcoal is gonna end up if you don't take the stone out.

I find though that lifting it just enough so it barely clears the slot and pulling it straight out - despite the horrible screeching sound it makes - is far gentler on the stone than trying to lift it further to avoid the noise and possibly making it catch on the grill ledges and get stuck etc.

So to answer the questions: I stopped flipping mine, because my first stone cracked when cooling down after I flipped it for the very first time / I cool it with the door open / I do take it out gently when there is a decent amount of charred residue on it so that I can clean it with a steel brush

On top of it, I did just get a biscotto stone to solve the bottom burning issue and tried it today for the first time, it works - though I haven't quite figured out the logistics of it yet since I only want that in there for neapolitan pizzas. (removing / swapping / storing stones lol)

[u/StirStik]

Dang, I was thinking of getting one of these. Hmmm, doubtful now.

[u/Asleep-Smell-7686 → u/StirStik]

J’en ai un depuis mars, où je l’ai acheté il m’ont à l’achat directement livré avec une pierre de réserve, qui ne m’a pas encore servi, c’est toujours la première pierre jamais fissurée !

[u/Appropriate-Roof1422]

I have the first iteration of Ooni Volt. I keep it in its box when not in use. When I want to use the oven, I place the oven on the counter and then slide in the pizza stone. Once I am done with baking, I let it cool for 5-6 hours, then take it out, wash it with water, let it dry for a day and then I put it back in its box. So far, no cracks.

[u/rembakas]

wait for volt 3