The Carbon pizza oven is the only portable pizza oven with two burners that cook your pizza from above AND from below.
The new Carbon portable outdoor pizza oven has several unique features that make it a serious contender for best pizza oven for 14 inch pizzas. You will be proud to have it on display in your backyard, and yes, your friends will be jealous – and we encourage that type of behavior!
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One of my favorite features is that it is the only brand that I know of that is designed and assembled in the USA.
While the oven is relatively new at the time this article was written, it appears to be made by Proluxe – a company that has been making commercial pizza ovens for over 37 years (according to their website).
I love the innovation, and the way it cooks. And because I am almost always cooking with friends and family, I love that it is designed to maintain stone temperature when you cook 10+ pizzas.
Design
The Carbon Pizza Oven is available in a powder-coated black or stainless steel. The block shape is capped by an arched top that helps distribute the flames.
I love that Carbon doesn’t just engrave or print their name on their oven – or the included pizza peel. They stamp their logo right through the metal, which is pretty sweet looking and functional because you can see the under-the-stone flame through the logo to make sure it is lit and to see how high it is turned up.
But, let’s be honest – you are reading this article and considering purchasing the Carbon pizza oven because of the dual burner design. There are many little things that differentiate the Carbon pizza oven from the flock of other ovens on the market. The biggest thing that sets the Carbon apart from the competition is the dual burners, one of which is below the stone. Does having a burner under the stone really help with pre-heating the oven faster, cooking the bottom more evenly, and reducing the reheat time between pizzas? Well, you can certainly jump to the end (it’s ok, this is a no judgement zone!), or just keep reading straight through.
Dimensions and Weight
Box Dimensions
UPS listed the shipping weight of the package as 60.80 lbs, and I measured the box dimensions as 27″L x 23″W x 20″H.
Oven Dimensions
Carbon gives the external dimensions of 23.2”L x 18.38” W x 14.4”H
I measured the oven myself and these are the measurements I got:
Length: 22.4″ – However I did not measure the metal piece that holds in the stone or the knobs that come out the back.
Width: 18.5″ (close enough)
Height: 14.75″H from the table to the highest part of the arched top – with the legs extended.
Leg Height: The legs lifted the oven 4″ off the table.
Weight
Carbon’s website lists the weight at 60 lbs, but I weight it at 50.8 lbs – which makes more sense since UPS listed the weight at 60.8 lbs.
Interior Dimensions
Oven Entry: 15″W x 3.4″H
Stone: 15″ x 15″ with a half inch covered by the metal that holds the stone firm in the oven. It is 5/8″ or 6.25″ thick compared to other ovens with stones that range from 0.4″ to 0.6″ thick.
Under the Stone Burner
I measured the burner under the stone at just about 8 inches long underneath a heat distribution plate that was 11.25″ long and about 4″ wide.
Other Features
The Carbon pizza oven only works with propane right now, although on their website and on a comment I found on YouTube, they claimed to possibly come out with an oven that works with Natural Gas.
Most portable pizza ovens come with a cordierite stone. The Carbon pizza oven uses a firebrick that is 5/8″ thick which helps distribute the heat consistently across the stone and into your pizza. I’ve asked Carbon for more details on the stone and how it compares to other stones and I’ll update my article once they respond.
The legs fold up tight only adding a half inch to the oven height when the legs are tucked up and under the oven. They easily fold down to lift the oven 4 inches off the table.
Accessories
The oven comes with a solid aluminum peel, and there is a perforated peel option available for additional purchase.
Other accessories that you can buy separately on the Carbon website are a stand and cover that are made specifically for their oven. You can also get an oven brush that has bristles on head similar to a push broom.
It also comes with a 5ft long propane gas line with a straight propane adapter that stretches it into a 5.5 ft length.
Safety
On the Carbon website, they recommend only cooking on wood or metal tables – not plastic or glass. They are not kidding! You should never use a pizza oven on a glass table as it could heat and shatter. I’ve used plastic tables with other brands of ovens, but the bottom burner got my plastic table hot enough to melt it – so…don’t be a Tim and use a metal or wood table. Other than that there are no special safety features on the Carbon pizza oven.
Setting Up
While it technically is a portable pizza oven, it is just over 50 pounds, so you really don’t want to move it if you don’t have to. And even then it’s best to move it on a (metal or wood) cart with wheels.
I recommend buying the oven cover so you can feel good about keeping it outside under a covered structure with the oven cover on as well. The cover has a cinch strap that you can tighten down. It does a good enough job covering he pizza oven with the legs down, but it would do a better job covering it with the legs folded up.
Folding the legs up and down is pretty easy as long as lifting up half of the 50 pound oven isn’t too much for you. There are four legs on the oven, which makes it even a little easier to not have to balance it awkwardly.
The pizza stone is a big part of what makes this pizza oven great. To install it, you will need to put on the cover piece which locks the pizza stone in place. It’s as easy as sliding it over the stone and screwing in a couple of screws.
You will have to connect and hand tighten the propane line one time. After that, is recommended to test the connection by spraying the area where the line is connected to the oven and the propane bottle and then turning on the propane to see if there are any bubbles indicating a gas leak.
Starting the Carbon oven is easy. There are two dials on the back of the oven that are clearly marked as Upper and Lower. Simply press in the dial and turn counter-clockwise until it stops at the max position – then let go and keep it there for pre-heating. I typically start with the lower burner and then turn on the upper burner. Not that it matters, but that is what I do – but that may just be that I’m so excited about that unique feature.
Cooking the Pizza
Once you’ve set up your oven and have the burners turned on it’s time to start cooking…almost. Make sure the oven gets to 900 degrees F. Since the Carbon pizza oven has two burners, the stone gets to temperature at a scorching speed of 10 minutes.
Cooking Tip: As soon as the oven gets to temperature, I like to turn the bottom burner down to the lowest setting. If you keep the burner on high the stone may get too hot and burn the pizza crust. If the stone starts to cool off you can crank the burner back up again.
At first, I was worried about cooking a 14″ pizza because the pizza would be so close to the heat source, but after cooking my first pizza I realized this is not an issue because the flame is pushed up and over the pizza so there is less risk of the crust burning from being too close to the fire.
Other pizza ovens have significant stone temperature loss when multiple pizzas are cooked. That’s because the source of the heat for the stone is coming from above and colder pizza dough is absorbing that heat. Without taking a break from cooking pizzas and allowing the stone to heat back up, the stone gets too cool and the pizza is cooked faster on top than it is on bottom creating a burned top of the pizza with an undercooked crust. The Carbon Pizza Oven solves this problem by putting a heat source directly below the stone to keep the stone at the proper temperature. On top of this they use a thicker, higher quality oven brick stone.
The mouth and stone of the oven are big enough to comfortably cook a 14” pizza which is the traditional size of a large pizza at your local pizza place. Like most portable pizza ovens, you will want to rotate the pizza a quarter turn every 20-30 seconds.
Product Support
The company behind the Carbon Pizza Oven appears to be committed to quality and customer service. I reached out to the company regarding an issue with starting the pizza oven and they responded without hesitation and were very helpful. They have come out with very useful accessories like an oven stand and an oven cleaning brush that has the bristles perpendicular to the handle instead of inline with the handle. Carbon is also possibly coming out with a new oven that is compatible with natural gas.
Price
The Carbon Pizza Oven is in the lower mid-ranged priced pizza ovens (in the $500 to $1,000 range). Prices can fluctuate so click the link below to get the current price.
FAQ
Can I use natural gas to fuel the Carbon pizza Oven?
No. At the moment Carbon only makes a pizza oven that works on Propane
Is the Carbon insulated?
Yes, it has 1” thick insulation to help maintain the inside temperature of the oven.
Can you use wood as fuel to cook pizza in the Carbon?
No. The only fuel that can be used is propane.
Can I use the Carbon indoors?
No. Like all other portable gas pizza ovens, you must use the Carbon outdoors.
What kind of surface can I use the Carbon on?
Use a surface with high heat resistance like metal, wood, or concrete. Do not cook on glass or plastic surfaces or anything else that may have adverse affects with high heat.
Pros and Cons
What I liked:
- Made in the USA
- Excellent heat retention for the oven and stone
- Easy to use
- Quality of construction
- Thicker, higher quality stone
- Reasonably priced
- Customer Support
What I didn’t like:
- Not super portable (It’s portable but better handled with 2 people)
- Must use a metal table to cook on (don’t even think about using a plastic table)
Summary
Overall the Carbon Pizza Oven is one of the best portable pizza ovens on the market. The dual burners are a game changer and allow you to cook pizza after pizza without slowing down. The high quality stone is also a bonus that helps retain heat and cook a high quality pizza. At 50 pounds it’s a little much for one person to carry, but not impossible.
Still in the market for a pizza oven? New to using a pizza oven? Check out some of our other articles below:
- Pizza Oven Buying Guide: Comparing Portable, Countertop, and Built-in Pizza Ovens
- Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Cooking with a Pizza Oven
- List of Top 8 Propane Pizza Oven Outdoor Models
- How to Clean a Pizza Oven Correctly: Step by Step
Hey there, I’m Greg Palmer, and I’m thrilled to share my story with you. Together with my brother Tim, I run the website GoodLifePizzaOvens.com, and it’s been quite the journey!
Our roots run deep in a beautiful countryside where we spent our childhood surrounded by nature’s wonders. Those were the days of horseback rides, fixing fences, rounding up cattle, and the never-ending quest to catch chipmunks raiding the grain barrel. But among all the adventures, that one special summer stands out, etched in our hearts forever—a time we both cherish dearly.
