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Care and safe use guidelines
LIGHTING AND CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE:
• Place untreated wood or charcoal centrally into the fuel area. Do not initially use more than 3kg charcoal or 2
or 3 small logs. Fully open the flue damper.
• Place rolled up newspaper and kindling in with the fuel and light carefully. Leave the door off.
• Allow the fuel to catch alight and burn very hot for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.
• Do not overload the oven with fuel only a couple of small logs or 3kg charcoal is sufficient.
• When the fire starts to catch there may be an excess of smoke coming from the unit. This is the sap in the
wood burning. Wait for the smoke to lessen and for the wood to burn on its own before cooking food.
• Once the fuel starts to ash over, use a fire shovel to push the fuel and all embers to the back of the oven.
• Always use heat resistant gloves during the handling process and when refuelling.
• Three things interact to control the oven temperature:
• The amount of fuel. Always start with less fuel than you expect necessary, and add small amounts more if
necessary. If there is too much or too little fuel, the other two temperature controls simply will not work.
• The door adjustable vent controls the airflow to the fire. More open = more air = a hotter fire. Less open = less
air = less fire. If there is a lot of fuel in the firebox, close the adjustable vent a little to allow better control over
the temperature. As the fuel runs low, opening the adjustable vent a little allows better control over the
temperature.
• The flue damper can be used to restrict the exhaust flow from the chimney. If the door adjustable vent is set
appropriately for the current fire level, then the flue damper will give you fine tuning control over
the temperature.
As a rough guide based on 2 or 3 hardwood logs, setting should be:
For lighting:
Flue damper fully open, adjustable door removed.
For Roasting and Baking:
Flue damper ½ open, adjustable door vent fully open, adjust flue damper to target 200C (400F).
For Pizza:
Flue damper ½ open, door removed, adjust flue damper to target 300C (600F).
• You will be able to manage the temperature of your oven using the flue damper and the adjustable door vent.
You can experiment with this until you have found the ideal cooking temperature for you.
• When ready to cook, remove the door. It is best to use a pizza peel to push the burning fuel to the back of the
oven. Use the peel to scrape any embers and ash towards the back of the oven as well.
• When cooking pizza, traditionally its placed directly onto the firebricks, though it is OK to use an additional
pizza stone or pizza tray if you prefer. When cooking meat, place the meat on a baking tray or rack before
placing the tray into the oven.
NOTE:
There is no exact science to the amount of logs to use to reach the perfect temperature, since each type
of log varies in size, dryness and maximum temperature capacity. Generally speaking, 2 large Redgum logs
should cause the oven to reach around 200 to 300 degrees Celsius (400 to 600F), while other logs such as olive
or almond wood may require more logs and more time to reach similar temperatures. Experiment with blending
starting with 2 logs and then adding a 3rd later on if it becomes necessary to get the oven to around 300C (600F).
If the temperature begins to reach above 350C (650F), you should close the flue vent and the door to allow the
fire to slow down and the temperature to drop.
NOTE: DO NOT
overload the oven. Do not initially use more than 3kg charcoal or 2 or 3 small logs.
