Any Ooni pizza oven users here?

Ozzie_Isaac

JohnInCarolina said:

Legume said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Legume said:

I did see some mods for the burners a year or so ago when I was looking but honestly they were beyond what I was willing to try.

How much does that insulation raise the stone?

Not a stone or insulation expert, but suspect it is raised by the thickness of the insulation you choose.

I was wondering how much the weight of that stone might compress the 1/2” insulation blanket, but I’m not an engineer.

Well how much would the sales team say it compressed?  Because that’s always what the engineers are asked to produce - whatever sales can sell, you see?

Sales team promises to gain you space, technician says you lose 1/2", analyst says you lose 4".

Elijah

Exactly. There are many options to make it work to your expectations. I didn't try any of them. I don't feel that I should have to either. I'm sure I can make it work, but I wouldn't recommend it 

Legume

I should've provided a spec, my bad.  Let me just as a few questions.

Will the 1/2" insulating blanket compress at least 30% under the weight of the pizza stone? 

Does compression of the insulating blanket cause a loss in R-value? 

Is that loss linear to the amount of compression?

If you've never been in sales, how do you know what sales can sell?

Ozzie_Isaac

Legume said:

I should've provided a spec, my bad.  Let me just as a few questions.

1. Will the 1/2" insulating blanket compress at least 30% under the weight of the pizza stone? 

2. Does compression of the insulating blanket cause a loss in R-value? 

3. Is that loss linear to the amount of compression?

4. If you've never been in sales, how do you know what sales can sell?

1. I do not know, but I am curious now.

2. R-value per inch, or R-value per batt?  R-value per inch increases, but R-value per batt decreases.  So, for your use case, the R-value you are concerned with would decrease.

3. The loss is not linear, and does have its limits.

4. I have had to make sales promises come true.

SaltySam

If you do end up getting an Ooni, I recommend getting two pizza peels.  Build a pie on one while the other one cooks.  If the oven is ripping, it’s about 90 seconds.  If I don’t let the oven get back up to temp, it can be about 4 minutes.  

We also had a dinner party with four other couples. We made a total of 12 pizzas.  Each person got to build their own pizza, and they took turns bringing it out to me at the oven.  Got to chat with everyone, pizzas turned out great, and we all ate within about 30 min.  

I’ve never tried the dual fuel oven, but I could absolutely see the utility in it.  We love the taste of the wood fired pies.  Just go light on toppings and rotate often.  We are big fans

JohnInCarolina

Legume said:

I should've provided a spec, my bad.  Let me just as a few questions.

Will the 1/2" insulating blanket compress at least 30% under the weight of the pizza stone? 

Depends on the weight of the stone and the Young’s modulus of the insulation material.  

Does compression of the insulating blanket cause a loss in R-value? 

Yes

Is that loss linear to the amount of compression?

Only if the loss is less than 1 percent and we’re neglecting radiation transport. 

If you've never been in sales, how do you know what sales can sell?

Because they tell me what they can sell.

Answers in the gray.  

Photo Egg

Legume said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Legume said:

I did see some mods for the burners a year or so ago when I was looking but honestly they were beyond what I was willing to try.

How much does that insulation raise the stone?

Not a stone or insulation expert, but suspect it is raised by the thickness of the insulation you choose.

I was wondering how much the weight of that stone might compress the 1/2” insulation blanket, but I’m not an engineer.

On the Ooni 16, the stone does not sit flat on the floor. Same as my Karu.  It is raised by rivets. Obviously the compression will be almost complete where the stone rests on the rivets, but the insulation will fill the air gap in all other areas. I don’t have a photo showing the rivets and I can’t give you an exact height of the rivets. But the insulation made a noticeable improvement. 

Legume

Thanks, I got it, forgot about the rivets.

cookingdude555

I’m with @Photo Egg, the insulation has a massive impact to the koda 16. I also used a door from the karu12 and I never move the dial off of low. I actually run it using the “secret low” temp which is obtained by pressing in the knob like you’re about to turn the dial to off, but stop short with the flame barely lit. With the insulation and door it runs at 650-750 this way pie after pie. Which is the perfect temp for ny style crispy crust pizza we like at our house. Some pics of the setup

Awesome, some pics upside down and out of order . I gave the koda 16 to my brother last month for his bday, but it’s a pizza beast in this setup. 

caliking

If compression of the insulating material is a concern, I recall (from researching materials for my tandoor build) that Kaowool makes insulating boards. There are probably other brands available too. 

littlerascal56

You are all spending a LOT of money, time, and frustration on making a pizza.
Drive to your local Papa Murphy’s.  Have them assemble the pizza with all the toppings you love.  Pay the cashier. $12 on Tuesdays, $15 other days.
Take the pizza home.  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Insert pizza, and in 12-15 minutes you can enjoy the best pie ever!  

No mess, no sweat, no gas or wood, and no burnt crust or overdone toppings.  This is not rocket science. The oven in your kitchen is the best pizza oven ever made.  Your BGE or Ooni can’t compete.  They will always lose the battle. They just can’t maintain the constant temp that is required for a perfect pizza.  It’s a marketing thing to sell all these pizza ovens…after you buy one and get frustrated with the results, you quit using it.  And sell it on Craigslist really cheap.

cookingdude555

littlerascal56 said:

You are all spending a LOT of money, time, and frustration on making a pizza.
Drive to your local Papa Murphy’s.  Have them assemble the pizza with all the toppings you love.  Pay the cashier. $12 on Tuesdays, $15 other days.
Take the pizza home.  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Insert pizza, and in 12-15 minutes you can enjoy the best pie ever!  

No mess, no sweat, no gas or wood, and no burnt crust or overdone toppings.  This is not rocket science. The oven in your kitchen is the best pizza oven ever made.  Your BGE or Ooni can’t compete.  They will always lose the battle. They just can’t maintain the constant temp that is required for a perfect pizza.  It’s a marketing thing to sell all these pizza ovens…after you buy one and get frustrated with the results, you quit using it.  And sell it on Craigslist really cheap.

No offense papa Murphys is gross. I guess we all get opinions tho my brother. 

littlerascal56

So Papa Murphy’s is gross?  I know the owner of a local franchise, and she goes in every morning to make fresh dough for the crusts.  And cut up all the onions, green peppers, mushrooms, olives, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, etc toppings.   And grate the 4 cheeses.  The franchise is not allowed to have a freezer on site.  So every pizza is fresh dough and toppings. Everyday. And you take it home fresh, and bake it in your oven.
What part of that is “gross”?  It’s better than you buying all those prepared ingredients at the grocery store (for a lot higher price), and throwing them on a crust! And calling it a “great” homemade pizza on my $400 Ooni oven that just burned thru $6 of propane gas to make a pizza.

HeavyG

You are all spending a LOT of money, time, and frustration on making a bbq brisket. Drive to your local grocer.  Head down to the frozen foods section.

You just can't beat this stuff...

 Toss a few in your cart. Pay the cashier (try to buy them when on sale!).
Take the brisket home.  Set your microwave for 8 minutes at 50% power.  Insert brisket, and in 10 minutes (let it rest for 2 minutes after the ding) you can enjoy the best brisket ever!  

No mess, no sweat, no gas or wood, and no burnt or dried out meat.  This is not rocket science. The microwave oven in your kitchen is the best brisket oven ever made.  Your BGE or Ooni can’t compete.  They will always lose the battle. They just can’t maintain the constant temp that is required for a perfect brisket.  It’s a marketing thing to sell all these bbq ovens…after you buy one and get frustrated with the results, you quit using it.  And sell it on Craigslist really cheap.

littlerascal56

Finally someone has come to his senses, and realized that you can drive down to the local “Billy Simms” BBQ and buy a delicious brisket sandwich and not spend the night babysitting a piece of meat.  Good for you HeavyG. Many of us considered you an idiot and a JIC fanboy, but now we know how smart you really are. Won’t be long and you will be the sheep leader and overtake Johns position here.

Photo Egg

caliking said:

If compression of the insulating material is a concern, I recall (from researching materials for my tandoor build) that Kaowool makes insulating boards. There are probably other brands available too. 

I thought about the boards but I did’t want to raise the height of my stove. So far this soft insulation has worked very well. It also cuts down the heat under my Ooni.
Not to mention cutting and install only took a few minutes with zero mess and only scissors to cut.

Ozzie_Isaac

No hate on PPM, but have you ever instrumented your oven?  I doubt you have, because if you knew the truth about a residential grade oven, no way would you say it maintains a consistent temperature.  It has a decent average temperature, but has large temp swings due to the control logic and heating method.

dstearn

CPARKTX2 said:

Love cooking pizza on my BGE, but seriously considering an Ooni for speed and ability to take camping. Curious how other users like it, and which model do you have?  Gas or wood? Pros/cons? Thanks!

My issue with the Ooni and similar models is that you sacrifice quality for speed. The crust ends up getting burnt in spots as you are using very high temps. My favorite local pizza spots do not cook pies at 900 degrees.

I cook at 400-425 and it takes around 14 minutes per pie but I am just cooking for two. 

Photo Egg

dstearn said:

CPARKTX2 said:

Love cooking pizza on my BGE, but seriously considering an Ooni for speed and ability to take camping. Curious how other users like it, and which model do you have?  Gas or wood? Pros/cons? Thanks!

My issue with the Ooni and similar models is that you sacrifice quality for speed. The crust ends up getting burnt in spots as you are using very high temps. My favorite local pizza spots do not cook pies at 900 degrees.

I cook at 400-425 and it takes around 14 minutes per pie but I am just cooking for two. 

I think the issue is with the cook not the Ooni. You don’t have to fire the Ooni or other smaller pizza ovens up to 900 degrees. At least the 2 models I have owned will cook at lower temps that give you more time to turn and adjust pizza as needed. But you also need to use the proper dough formula to get the best results for the cooking temp you choose to run.  

HeavyG

dstearn said:

CPARKTX2 said:

Love cooking pizza on my BGE, but seriously considering an Ooni for speed and ability to take camping. Curious how other users like it, and which model do you have?  Gas or wood? Pros/cons? Thanks!

My issue with the Ooni and similar models is that you sacrifice quality for speed. The crust ends up getting burnt in spots as you are using very high temps. My favorite local pizza spots do not cook pies at 900 degrees.

I cook at 400-425 and it takes around 14 minutes per pie but I am just cooking for two. 

Not all pizza styles are the same - some need to cook lower for longer while some need hot and fast. If your preferred pie is essentially a NY style then you won't need 900°F and to yank it out in 90 seconds. Conversely, if you like Neapolitan you're not going to get a proper pie if it is cooked at 425°F for 14 minutes.

Different pie styles require different doughs, different temps, different times, etc.

Like @Photo Egg said - it's not the oven, it's the user and their techniques.

Nice looking pie by the way!

DialSquare

Ooni benefits from people doing zero product research. The Roccbox is a superior product by every metric. 

dstearn

HeavyG said:

dstearn said:

CPARKTX2 said:

Love cooking pizza on my BGE, but seriously considering an Ooni for speed and ability to take camping. Curious how other users like it, and which model do you have?  Gas or wood? Pros/cons? Thanks!

My issue with the Ooni and similar models is that you sacrifice quality for speed. The crust ends up getting burnt in spots as you are using very high temps. My favorite local pizza spots do not cook pies at 900 degrees.

I cook at 400-425 and it takes around 14 minutes per pie but I am just cooking for two. 

Not all pizza styles are the same - some need to cook lower for longer while some need hot and fast. If your preferred pie is essentially a NY style then you won't need 900°F and to yank it out in 90 seconds. Conversely, if you like Neapolitan you're not going to get a proper pie if it is cooked at 425°F for 14 minutes.

Different pie styles require different doughs, different temps, different times, etc.

Like @Photo Egg said - it's not the oven, it's the user and their techniques.

Nice looking pie by the way!

Thanks, my style is Chicago thin crust party cut pizza. Also known as bar style pizza. 

caliking

littlerascal56 said:

Finally someone has come to his senses, and realized that you can drive down to the local “Billy Simms” BBQ and buy a delicious brisket sandwich and not spend the night babysitting a piece of meat.  Good for you HeavyG. Many of us considered you an idiot and a JIC fanboy, but now we know how smart you really are. Won’t be long and you will be the sheep leader and overtake Johns position here.

dmchicago

littlerascal56 said:

You are all spending a LOT of money, time, and frustration on making a pizza.
Drive to your local Papa Murphy’s.  Have them assemble the pizza with all the toppings you love.  Pay the cashier. $12 on Tuesdays, $15 other days.
Take the pizza home.  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Insert pizza, and in 12-15 minutes you can enjoy the best pie ever!  

No mess, no sweat, no gas or wood, and no burnt crust or overdone toppings.  This is not rocket science. The oven in your kitchen is the best pizza oven ever made.  Your BGE or Ooni can’t compete.  They will always lose the battle. They just can’t maintain the constant temp that is required for a perfect pizza.  It’s a marketing thing to sell all these pizza ovens…after you buy one and get frustrated with the results, you quit using it.  And sell it on Craigslist really cheap.

JohnInCarolina

I mean, c’mon guys, it really doesn’t get much better than that.  

Photo Egg

dstearn said:

HeavyG said:

dstearn said:

CPARKTX2 said:

Love cooking pizza on my BGE, but seriously considering an Ooni for speed and ability to take camping. Curious how other users like it, and which model do you have?  Gas or wood? Pros/cons? Thanks!

My issue with the Ooni and similar models is that you sacrifice quality for speed. The crust ends up getting burnt in spots as you are using very high temps. My favorite local pizza spots do not cook pies at 900 degrees.

I cook at 400-425 and it takes around 14 minutes per pie but I am just cooking for two. 

Not all pizza styles are the same - some need to cook lower for longer while some need hot and fast. If your preferred pie is essentially a NY style then you won't need 900°F and to yank it out in 90 seconds. Conversely, if you like Neapolitan you're not going to get a proper pie if it is cooked at 425°F for 14 minutes.

Different pie styles require different doughs, different temps, different times, etc.

Like @Photo Egg said - it's not the oven, it's the user and their techniques.

Nice looking pie by the way!

Thanks, my style is Chicago thin crust party cut pizza. Also known as bar style pizza. 

You’re right
The smaller Ooni style ovens are not the right match for all styles of pizzas.
I definitely like a bar style pizza at happy hour.

littlerascal56

Love all the toppings on the Papa’s Favorite.  Fully loaded!

Ozzie_Isaac

dmchicago said:

littlerascal56 said:

You are all spending a LOT of money, time, and frustration on making a pizza.
Drive to your local Papa Murphy’s.  Have them assemble the pizza with all the toppings you love.  Pay the cashier. $12 on Tuesdays, $15 other days.
Take the pizza home.  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Insert pizza, and in 12-15 minutes you can enjoy the best pie ever!  

No mess, no sweat, no gas or wood, and no burnt crust or overdone toppings.  This is not rocket science. The oven in your kitchen is the best pizza oven ever made.  Your BGE or Ooni can’t compete.  They will always lose the battle. They just can’t maintain the constant temp that is required for a perfect pizza.  It’s a marketing thing to sell all these pizza ovens…after you buy one and get frustrated with the results, you quit using it.  And sell it on Craigslist really cheap.

My theorem is one step closer to becoming a law.

JohnInCarolina

Mock Papa Murphy’s all you want, but that cardboard-like crust is the key to holding it all together.  Most of us haven’t had crust like that since our elementary-school cafeteria days!

Ozzie_Isaac

JohnInCarolina said:

Mock Papa Murphy’s all you want, but that cardboard-like crust is the key to holding it all together.  Most of us haven’t had crust like that since our elementary-school cafeteria days!

We parked near a Peter Piper Pizza (Basically Chucke E. Cheese) and I had a nostalgic urge to go get one of their pizzas.  Loved the fact that the cardboard flavor and scents permiate the pizza.  That is super hard to replicate at home.