Why choose our oven?

According to our customers they are not only the best value, they work exceptionally well too. Just look at our feedback page with the testimonials from our happy clients. They like them so much they send us photos of them. And their dogs! Our ovens are not a cheap import that crack and don't retain their heat.

Our large Family oven is really 1000mm by 1200mm going by the way others measure their ovens.  We only measure the actual cooking area which is 1000mm round.  Some manufacturers call their smaller oven a "Family" oven when they are quite a lot smaller than our Family oven.

What is the difference between a brick oven and a refractory oven?

The basic difference is a brick oven can take several hours to heat up, but retains the heat longer.  A refractory oven  takes from 20 minutes to heat up but the heat needs to maintained by adding firewood occasionally.   Generally, we have usually finished cooking in our refractory oven in less time than it took to just heat up our previous brick oven.

Why 1000mm round?

We think the one metre internal cooking area is the ideal size for several reasons.  You can cook several pizzas at once, or 3 roasting dishes, which is ideal if you want to cook your entrees or pizzas while the roast and vegies are cooking.  The larger size also allows for a bigger fire and faster heat up.   We use the 1000mm round oven even if there is just the two of us.

Why a dome shape?

A dome shape allows the heat to circulate more efficiently.  It also provides a wide cooking face. With a long or narrow oven, you have to constantly reach over the front dishes to get to the back dishes.

Why is the flue at the front?

The flue is at the front so the heat circulates within the cooking chamber and must pass over the food to escape.  If the flue is inside the cooking chamber, the heat will just escape up the flue.

Why a stainless steel flue?

Tin or galvanised flues will rust and deteriorate quickly from the extreme heat and the reaction to the render.

Do you need a temperature gauge?

No, you can tell the temp several ways quite easily ( it's in our user guide), but after a few times, you  just get a feel for the temp. 

How many pizzas can I cook at a time?

The large Family oven can fit 5 or 6 pizzas, but that amount is difficult to manage unless you are a professional.  We cook a maximim of three at a time and since they cook in less than three minutes, that's about 60 pizzas in an hour!  How many pizzas can you make or eat in an hour? (Teenagers excepted)

Can I cook pizzas straight on the floor ?

Yes, we always cook our pizzas on the floor!  Our fire bricks have a non hazardous insulating blanket underneath to trap and rebound the heat.  Our ovens are also designed with a low ceiling to force the heat onto the floor.  Ovens with a high ceiling take longer to heat, longer to cook and use more firewood.

How heavy are your ovens?

The large Family oven kit weighs approx 350 kilos.  Allow about 200 kilos for the render weight and a concrete slab can weigh about 200 kilos.  Weight does not define efficiency, it's the quality of thermal materials and the design that makes an oven work.

Are they easy to assemble?

Yes, our clients are always commenting on how easy they are to put together.  Allow about two hours to assemble and about 3 hours to render.  A CD with step by step photos is included, plus you can call us anytime, 7 days, if you have a query.

How often do you have to remove the ashes?

Because the ovens burn so efficiently and we recommend a hardwood for the fire, there is very little ash left.  You may need to remove the ashes about once a year.  We have not needed to remove any ashes from our oven for several years.

How often do you use the door?

Our oven doesn't need the door on to keep the heat in. We mainly use it to keep the weather out when we are not using the oven, plus we use it at the end of the evening when we throw the camp oven in overnight for slow cooked roasts, casseroles, curries etc.  Temperature gauges on doors only give an approximate guide to the temp near the front of the oven.  It is easy to tell the temp of the oven after awhile.

What utensils do I need?

We supply an aluminium pizza peel, a wooden fire rake and a wooden/coconut fibre hearth brush.  You can purchase expensive metal tools, but they can chip  the oven and get too hot to handle.  But they do look good hanging on the wall behind the oven! 

Is the render supplied?

No, it is not practical to ship half a trailer load of sand and cement.  You only need to allow about $40.00 for brickies sand and cement.  No other additives are required in the render.