Millar Stainless Steel Pizza Oven

[DarqMan]

I've experienced with various methods of cooking my pizzas over the years.  Regular indoor oven works fine, but gets the house too hot during the summer and it doesn't produce a rustic flavor.  My pellet grill seemed like a good idea, but it just doesn't get hot enough.  Lately, I've been using my Quattro gas grill using the pizza stone insert.  While the Quattro produces the best results I've had so far, I am still in search of an affordable, true wood fired pizza oven for my home.  The problem is most solutions are very expensive, the majority I've found start at three grand and go up. Just on a whim, I decided to check eBay and found an auction for a Millar's Stainless Steel wood fired pizza oven.  1795 + 250 shipping buys the complete unit and that includes their accessory pack and a bundle of hardwood. 

I was wondering if anyone has heard of these ovens or have any comments on them?  It seems like a too good to be true deal considering the competition, so I have to think there's a "gotcha" that I'm not seeing.

 

[Jet_deck]

Let us check it out....

http://www.millarswoodovens.com/

[DarqMan]

Let us check it out....

http://www.millarswoodovens.com/

Thanks for posting the link.  If you watch the video I appears to be a quality oven.  It's interesting how they claim it heats up much faster than a masonry oven since the inside is stainless, which makes sense because the stainless would reflect the heat instead of absorbing it.  I'm still trying to figure out why the price is so low and what the drawbacks are. 

[shuboyje]

First thing I do whenever somebody asks about an oven is look at the pizzas on their website.  I would like to think anybody trying to sell me a pizza oven would know enough about pizza to only advertise with the best possible pizzas their oven can produce.  More times then not this doesn't seem to be the case.

That hint aside it really depends on how picky you are.  That oven has many flaws, but it is far better then a grill.  It lacks thermal mass in the dome, which means it will probably struggle to maintain temperatures for lots of pizza, and will not do retained heat cooking like a brick oven does.  I'm also not so sure it has insulation under the hearth.  The ash pan makes me think it doesn't.  It is also very narrow and deep, which will force you to cook with the fire at the back which is not ideal because you will not be able to see the side of the pie nearest the fire and how it is cooking.

If you look around I think you could find a small cast oven kit in that price range, and you could certainly build an oven for less if you keep the enclosure simple. 

[shuboyje]

Here is an alternative for example:

http://www.fornobravo.com/store/Casa2G80-32-Residential-Pizza-Oven-Kit-p-16342.html

That gets you a 32" oven which will have more usable space then that narrow rectangle for $1850.  If you built a basic cinderblock stand for it and gave it a basic stucco igloo finish you could probably come in close what the other one is gonna cost so you're only real extra expense would be the cost of shipping.

There are others out there even cheaper, that is just one option.

[scott123]

It's such a pretty oven, it's a shame they didn't build it with good pizza in mind- by adding thermal mass to the ceiling, lowering the ceiling and adding width/subtracting depth.

[DarqMan]

First thing I do whenever somebody asks about an oven is look at the pizzas on their website.  I would like to think anybody trying to sell me a pizza oven would know enough about pizza to only advertise with the best possible pizzas their oven can produce.  More times then not this doesn't seem to be the case.

Frankly, the pizza cooked in the demo video was not up to my standards by any means. Point taken.

[DarqMan]

It's such a pretty oven, it's a shame they didn't build it with good pizza in mind- by adding thermal mass to the ceiling, lowering the ceiling and adding width/subtracting depth.

Scott123, please elaborate on your specifications.  Please educate me and explain why a lower ceiling and wider rather than deep oven is beneficial. 

[shuboyje]

A lower ceiling will allow you to cook pizzas at higher temperatures easier by allowing the oven to evenly cook the top and bottom in short bake times.  I already touched on the width.  The fire will have to be at the back.  That can make it tough to turn the pie at the right time leading to an uneven bake.

[DarqMan]

A lower ceiling will allow you to cook pizzas at higher temperatures easier by allowing the oven to evenly cook the top and bottom in short bake times.  I already touched on the width.  The fire will have to be at the back.  That can make it tough to turn the pie at the right time leading to an uneven bake.

I'm certainly glad I stopped by here.  I've been eyeing this Mario Batalihttp://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-676122/?affsrcid=Aff0001&mr:trackingCode=A14A7685-471B-E011-B690-001517384909&mr:referralID=NA&origin=pla&mr:adType=pla oven.  My birthday was today and when I found the stainless model for half of the Mario oven I was getting an itchy trigger finger and almost purchased as a birthday gift for myself :-).  However, the points you made were enough for me to be patient and find a quality oven without the drawbacks mentioned.  I never thought about the drawback of the fire at the rear, you would have to constantly turn the pie and would never know if the crust is getting too dark until it's too late. 

I appreciate the example you provided, but I want a turnkey solution.  The other important factor is that it be on wheels.  My garage is dedicated to cookers instead of cars and I plan on keeping it in the garage and rolling it to the back patio for parties. Other times I might just roll it out to the driveway so casters are a must. 

If you know of any other examples in the two grand to twenty five hundred price range that are turnkey with casters I'd love to check them out.

Thanks for steering me in the right direction!

[DarqMan]

I'm guessing something like this meets your criteria? One of the pics shows the fire on the left side instead of in the back.  

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brick-Wood-Fired-Pizza-Oven-PIZZAIOLI-Stainless-Steel-Pipe-and-Cap-/220979838074?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D150521913083%26ps%3D54#ht_1658wt_1021

Looking around, I think might have to get one of my handy buddies over here to help me assemble.  The only turnkey rigs I'm finding are all the wrong design.

[Bigfoot21075]

What about one of these?

http://www.fornobravo.com/residential_pizza_oven/andiamo.html

[DarqMan]

I think I've decided to go with a RoundBoy with the basic stand.  I contacted Karl via email and he'll add casters to the stand for a small nominal fee and it will only delay shipping a couple days.  I contacted FornoBravo sales via email and am unable to get a simple answer to the total height from ground to top of chimney for the Andiamo. I told them in my email the spec sheet on the website doesn't have all the dimensions included to calculate the total height. They replied by sending me the very spec sheet I was referring to, obviously they didn't take the time to read my question.  When I asked again, they gave me an "about" answer instead of a specific answer. If I were selling a three thousand dollar oven I would make darn sure I could provide dimensions.

[Bigfoot21075]

Funny,

I talked to Karl and Lisa (his wife and Pizza oven chef). They invited me over to see how the Roundboy cooks first hand. I am buying a Roundboy in Grey with the basic stand (I may "build it in" later) with adjustable feet added. No I can't cook more than one pizza at a time easily, no it is not a 44" oven, no I can't sleep in the enclosure at night. I can good great pizza after great pizza at 850 + degrees, I can bake a few loaves of bread (I am not a bakery and would not need to more than one batch of bread at a time).

The Roundboy oven really does exactly what I want it to do for less than 2 grand and an afternoon of assembly time that I can do by myself.

Here is a post on thier blog by the nice lady I talked to;

http://blog.roundboyovens.com/2012/04/what-can-roundboy-oven-do.html


YMMV

[DarqMan]

Bigfoot, I couldn't agree more. I called Karl and ordered my RoundBoy today!  He ordered the casters so it probably won't ship for a week and a half or so.  At first I was concerned it wasn't "round" because I've read some threads on here that claim a round chamber is the only way to go vs. barrel shape.  Then I found this article and decided for what I want to do, cook a few pizzas with friends, the RoundBoy is the perfect tool.  And, it's affordable with the shipping being free. Karl is a super nice man and a pleasure to deal with. 

http://www.traditionaloven.com/building/details/igloooven.shtml

When my oven arrives, I'll take pictures and document the entire process and then post those here.

[Jet_deck]

No I can't cook more than one pizza at a time easily, no it is not a 44" oven, no I can't sleep in the enclosure at night. I can good great pizza after great pizza at 850 + degrees, I can bake a few loaves of bread (I am not a bakery and would not need to more than one batch of bread at a time).

...  At first I was concerned it wasn't "round" because I've read some threads on here that claim a round chamber is the only way to go vs. barrel shape.

What everyone needs to remember is that this forum is the upper 1% of the upper 1%, as far as critique goes.  Ovens, flour, salt, water, yeast, cultures and what not....  Everything pizza is subject to review, with personal opinions expressed.

[Robmarreel]

I have been using a Millars oven for about 4 months now. It's really a great oven. I don't think you can beat the price on this big oven. There are some knock offs out there which are not insulated or of good quality stainless so be sure to get one from an actual millars site.

The pizzas and bread coming out have been great. In fact I am always amazed at the way it retains heat. The top of the oven roof can be 900 degrees and the outside 100 or less.

[Chicago Bob]

I wouldn't trust that Millars contraption with a DiGiorno's rising crust frozen pizza...

[BoTrojan]

I disagree with the harsh assessment of the F3.  I own one, use it all the time and am delighted with it.  I seriously researched at least 20 different non-masonry, portable wood fired ovens and after a lot of conversations with a couple of company representatives and considerable thought, decided to purchase the Millars F3.  It performs extremely well.  It's quick to fire up to proper temperature and coal characteristics and holds its heat well ... even in the dead of the (Western Pennsylvania) winter.  I'm sure there are lots of good ovens out there.  But this is one of them, I can personally attest to that.

[BoTrojan]

One more thing ... the Millars F3 has something that I haven't seen in any other portable wood fired ovens and that is extremely convenient to have ... a grate at the back of the oven and an ash drawer underneath it.  Unless you are going to remove the coals and wash the floor to make bread, you never have to pull the coals out of the front of the oven.  You just brush them into the grate, pull out the drawer and your coals are gone!!!  It's very convenient ... especially if you're using good, dry wood (no more than 18% moisture) which burns down to almost nothing eventually.