Question for the experts

[jensen&sons]

I was referred to the forum to seek out information from oven owners on the subject of using a natural gas burner as a secondary source of heat for your oven. I am considering fitting my Casa2G80 pizza oven with a natural gas burner and would be interested in any feed-back from those of you who may have tried this configuration. Any advise? Pros? Cons? Do you like this option and do you use the natural gas frequently? I would also appreciate comments on food taste or other considerations. Thanks and look forward to your thoughts.

Jensen

[tusr18a]

Re: Question for the experts

A moderator will chime in shortly to let you know that Forno Bravo does not promote or condone the use of natural gas with a pompeii oven or its equivalent. Any discussion on this topic is asked to move off-line. As I understand it, the risk of gas build up within the oven is too great.

[dmun]

Re: Question for the experts

Forno Bravo doesn't offer a gas option for the Casa2G or any other home oven. Safety is important: an oven isn't like a barbeque where any gas accumulation dissipates as soon as you open the lid to start it.

Besides, if you've ever been to one of those fake "brick oven" pizzerias where they use the commercial gas burners, one bite of the pizza will show you why we're wood enthusiasts here.

[HeidiL2011]

Re: Question for the experts

Hi,

We do not recommend gas fired ovens for homeowners for three reasons. First, there are some serious safety issues. Pizza ovens are small and enclosed, and even a small leak can leave enough gas in an oven to be unsafe and capable of exploding. Our commercial gas-fired ovens have very sophisticated burners, controls and shut-offs that minimize risk, but they cost $4,000 by themselves. The scope of the safety problem is very large, with the possibility of a life-threatening explosion.



Second, commercial gas-fired ovens are operated in a commercial setting by professionals. We have concerns about a potentially dangerous gas-fired oven being operated by friends, neighbors or even children. Even if a problem were to never occur, the stress of worrying about oven safety would detract from the enjoyment of owning a pizza oven.



Third, a gas fire has much less potential energy than a wood fire, so gas-fired ovens take a long time to heat up from scratch. Gas does a good job of holding a commercial oven at cooking temperature because those ovens never fully cool down. Still, it can take hours for a gas burner to heat up an oven from a cold start -- which is what homeowners do with their ovens. The Forno Bravo wood-fired ovens heat up in 20 to 45 minutes, which is why they are so popular.

[jensen&sons]

Re: Question for the experts

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I appreciate the insight and recommendations.