Difference #1. The Show.  Deck ovens are closed chambered ovens with a door and with no open flame.  The baking happens behind the door.  There is no show for the customer and no visual keys for the chef.  Wood Stone Fire Deck ovens are designed to operate without a door and they have an open flame. They're show stoppers.  Not only do they cook a superior pizza, but your customers can’t get enough of watching the cooking process happen right before their eyes.  The restaurant business is about turning out consistently great food, but it is also about entertaining your customers.  With a Fire Deck you can do both. 

Difference #2: Consistency of Bake.  Average cook times for a thin to medium crust pizza are 3-5 minutes in a Wood Stone.  Deck ovens typically range at least 6-8 minutes in the best of conditions and can get noticeably longer during peak periods of production. (for more details on this point visit For more about this please see our Detailed Production Comparison.)

Wood Stone Fire Deck ovens maintain floor temperature better and therefore provide more consistent baking.  Why are Fire Decks more consistent?  Consider...
--Floor Construction: The floor of a Wood Stone is a single piece of high temperature refractory cast to a 4” thickness.  This provides a tremendous thermal mass to hold the heat during periods of peak production where pizza after pizza are placed on the same location on the floor.  The more stone there is the more heat storage capacity and therefore the longer you can cook a consistent pizza.  Most deck ovens use a tile floor that is 2” thick or less. 

--Underfloor Burner Options.  Wood Stone Fire Deck ovens can come with an underfloor infra-red burner that will guarantee floor temperatures around the clock.  As cold pizzas impact the floor temperature, floor heat can be replaced from below with the IR.

--Open Doorway:  Wood Stone Fire Deck ovens are designed to operate with an open doorway at all times.  The curve of the dome and the mass of the stone assure that ample heat will be retained inside the ovens.  Traditional deck ovens are designed to work with a closed door.  This creates a difficult problem.  As cook times begin to get longer, the chef can no longer time when to take out the pizza so he must open the door and look inside.  The moment he opens the door he radically impacts the cooking environment.  Inconsistent cook times lead to even more inconsistent cook times as the chef is compelled to open the door just to see if the pizza is done.  It's a Catch 22 you don't want to catch on a busy Friday night.  This one reason why most deck ovens are offered with stacking options – you need the extra decks to do the same production during the height of an extended rush that you do at the beginning.

Difference #3:  Ease of Operation.  Wood Stone ovens are easer to operate than traditional deck ovens. With no door there is no barrier between the chef and the product.  There is no door for the chef to open and close and there is nothing blocking the chef's view.  He can tell at any time what's happening in the oven.  Greater visibility and more consistent floor temperatures mean the oven is easier to operate.

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