Pizza ovens are great for your homemade pizza recipes. This Round Grove Kiva fireplace and pizza oven combo review are about something more than just a pizza oven in your backyard.
Many pizza ovens are being sold on the market nowadays and most of them are portable.
They do not need much assembly and you can bring them anywhere to cook with.
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While they are convenient and easy to use, something is lacking especially if you want the real authentic experience of making pizzas as they did during the old days.
This pizza oven and fireplace combo is a great appliance for you to bring your creative side out.
You will build some parts of this pizza oven and fireplace to get you working a little bit.
The company also gives you enough creative freedom to make sure that you can add the right types of tiles to match the fireplace and pizza oven combo with your house’s exterior.
So with this review, we will be looking at the features, materials, and performance of this amazing appliance.
Read on as we take into detail how well this pizza oven/fireplace functions.
Setting Up And Assembly
Although simple, setting up this pizza oven and fireplace is a tedious job.
You will need heavy weight lifting equipment and some help from other people to install it properly.
This pizza oven and fireplace comes in two parts so it fits in a shipping truck.
With that, it is pretty obvious that you will need to install the pizza oven and fireplace once they arrive.
The first part comprises the main fireplace and pizza oven while the other part has the 15-inch portion of the stack that you will also need to assemble later on when they arrive.
You, as the buyer, must have a forklift ready before the packages arrive to lift the heavy parts out of the truck and onto the final location for installment.
The company will not do this part for you.
That is why they will also call you ahead of time and schedule a delivery to get everything ready so you can set the fireplace and pizza oven up once they arrive at your house.
Once all parts arrive at your house, there will be a guide to help you install them properly.
I recommend getting help from an expert if you are new to this kind of installation.
The company provides a scratch coat that makes the fireplace and pizza oven perfect for modification.
You can place the tiles over the coating so you can match it with the background.
This also allows you to make sure that the pizza oven and fireplace get the right color to match your house.
Be creative and use the tile that you think will fit best with your house.
Build Quality And Materials
Since this pizza oven/fireplace comes in with heavy-duty equipment needed for lifting and setting it up, you can be sure that it is only made with the best materials and build quality.
It is made with heavy-duty materials only so you can be sure that it will always be perfect for long-term use.
There are many things you can cook with this kind of build and materials used.
The main material for making this fireplace/pizza oven is 18-gauge galvanized steel.
This is a strong material that can withstand the forces of nature and will stay sturdy through time.
Since it will be set up and finished in your backyard, the company made sure to only use materials that will not have any issues with weather and long exposures to natural elements.
The other parts are also made with different materials so we will be separating them here in this category.
That way, you will know what you get and how they can help you with pizzas.
The Fireplace
The bottom part of this ready-to-finish fireplace is the actual fireplace itself.
It has the same outer part of galvanized steel but has a more powerful interior for heating up.
Instead of following the outer part material, the fireplace is all fire bricks great at retaining heat.
They also help in making sure that the fireplace does not spend too much fuel.
The fire bricks surround the fireplace’s whole interior, making it great at producing a lot of heat and retaining it for a long time.
It also does not spend too much wood when it heats up.
It is also pretty large at about 29 inches in depth, which means that you can load it up with a lot of wood to continue burning for a long time without refuting it while cooking.
With the firebricks preinstalled, you can easily install the other parts and start the fire right away.
This is the perfect companion for making the best warming place during the cold winter months.
The Brick Oven
Right above the fireplace is the brick oven where you can cook your pizzas in the most authentic way possible. This part is all firebricks and it keeps the interior perfect.
You can cook as many pizzas as you want in this pizza oven without using too much fuel.
The refractory capabilities of the firebricks help in cooking pizzas for long periods of time.
It also has wool insulation which means that it does not gather too much heat or cold air from the outside.
It also helps in keeping the heat inside the cooking chamber for the entire cooking process.
With this amazing insulation and refractory materials, the pizza oven is sure to cook pizzas at high temperatures even if the weather outside is cold or if it is windy around it.
This pizza oven is 18 inches wide and 24 inches deep which means that you can cook up to two pizzas simultaneously.
That way, you can cook faster and more for large groups of people.
The pizza oven door is all cast iron, which also helps absorb heat and retain it, making sure there are no cold spots inside the pizza oven.
You have other options for the pizza oven door such as a stainless steel door or a black powder-coated door.
I still prefer the cast iron door as it is more durable and retains more heat.
Cooking In The Pizza Oven
I was first hesitant to use this pizza oven since I did not have the best experience with cooking pizzas in a fireplace.
However, this one was very different and the results are pretty amazing.
The fire started pretty quickly and there is a great flue system that helps produce the right temperature for cooking the pizzas.
This helps in better temperature control.
Because of the firebricks, the crust of the pizza cooked to perfection.
It was crispy on the bottom and soft on the inside which tasted perfect with the mixed pizza toppings.
The toppings cooked evenly which meant that the interior of the pizza heated properly and had great heat retention.
You do not need a lot to work with the pizza as it cooks within a few minutes.
There is no need to turn the pizza around frequently unless you would go with the maximum temperature.
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Managing the pizza was also not a hard task because of the large opening or door.
This pizza oven also came with its pizza peel which meant that I did not have to modify my pizza peel as the one included fits perfectly into the pizza oven for manageable work.
The pizza oven also has a separate flue system which means that it does not get unnecessary smoke or heat from the fireplace.
The flue of the fireplace does connect to the same chimney.
That means that the fireplace’s flue and the pizza oven both converge on the same chimney and it was great as it did not mess with the heat inside the pizza oven while I was cooking.
Cleaning And Maintenance
There is not a lot to clean with this fireplace/pizza oven because it can gather soot in the long run. So aside from deep cleaning, you do need to clean the pizza oven after every use.
Cleaning is pretty easy as the pizza oven can get up to high temperatures.
You can just let the pizza oven burn for at least an hour and ensure that the food residuals burn all the way.
From there, you need to allow the pizza oven to cool down for an hour or so.
Then, you can use a soft-bristled brush to sweep away the food residuals from the pizza toppings and dough.
You do not need water to clean this pizza oven as it will only damage the firebricks.
The fireplace needs to be cleaned now and then from ashes to make sure it functions perfectly.
Soot gathers on top of the pizza oven after a while but you can remove it easily by brushing it off.
You can also use soap and water as long as you only use them on the outer part of the oven.
Conclusion
If you want something that you can use all year round to cook pizzas with or keep your backyard warm during the winter months, then this is the fireplace/pizza oven you need.
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It is a powerful fireplace that will surely give a trendy and warm vibe to your backyard while also having a great pizza oven that can cook your meals while you drink your favorite beverages.
The Round Grove Kiva Fireplace and Pizza Oven Combo is a great appliance if you want to build your brick oven and cook the best authentic pizzas in your backyard.
If you are looking for something portable and affordable then check out the Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven that will blow your mind!
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