Advice: buying a wood burning pizza oven

[Johnny D.]

Hi Everyone.

I am in the market for a wood burning pizza oven for outdoor use in the NY area.   I am a first time buyer which means I have lots of questions!!

What are your recommendations for commercial outdoor use? Ive spent 10 hours researching the Fornobravo, Earthstone, Fogazzo, Mugnaini, and Wildwood ovens.  Honestly, I would rather go with a product that I know people have used offhand.

My only requirements for the oven (besides making great pizza which I am sure these all will do) is that I want to (1) spend less than 3K and (2) not have it crack or break during the harsh NY winters.

I dont know enough about pizza ovens to know the difference between the various models.  Hoping that I can get some advice.

[laurence Russo]

Not sure your budget is going to provide you a commercial unit.  Your list is a great one though...I would love to know what you went with?

As for the Medio 110 by Mugnanini.... I purchased their unit that comes on a stand. This configuration allows for the oven to get to full heat retention sooner than one built on a deep concrete slab. It takes my almond wood about 1hr if I monitor the fire process and about 1.5 hr if I walk away quite a bit. For us, this quick startup is a blessing. My father has a larger commercial version (Mugnanini) and they don't much use it past grape harvest time because he complains it takes forever to come up to temp and he burns through a ton of wood. It is a big unit.

I am pretty sure Italy has similar cold climate winters so thats as far as I could comment living here on the West Coast. I do know I had to water proof the oven so that I would not cause a thermal shock to the unit during our winter use. I contacted a water proofing supply company that only deals with supplying water proofing materials to waterproofing contractors. These guys had so much more knowledge and resources on the correct material to use. The oven was important to me so I was happy I was not trying to obtain waterproofing from Home Depot.

I'll be looking for you choice but no matter the unit, I am sure you will love the journey of cooking in it!

[Bill/SFNM]

There have been past discussions on this forum you may find useful. I can add one comment specifically about the cold-tolerance of the Earthstone ovens. Mine operates year-round outdoors in a residential setting. In the winter, nighttime temps often drop into the single digits (last night it was 16F). Never had the slightest problem with firing up to 1000F on cold mornings. No cracks. 

[Johnny D.]

Guys ~ Thanks for the feedback.

I havent purchased an oven yet.  Ive only been researching this space for 2 weeks now and I dont want to pull the trigger until I get more comfortable.