MANCHESTER ELITE
PIZZA OVEN
INSTALLATION GUIDE
AND OWNER’S MANUAL
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
COMPONENTS .................................................3
OVERALL DIMENSIONS........................................ 4
CONCRETE PAD PREPARATION ................................5
INSTALLING BOTTOM SECTION .................................5
INSTALLING TOP SECTION .................................... 6
FILLER BLOCKS............................................... 6
SAFETY .......................................................7
BUILDING A FIRE
SELECTION OF WOOD .........................................................7
STARTING AND KEEPING A FIRE ...............................................7
COOKING .....................................................................8
CLEANING, INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE .................. 9
WARRANTY .................................................. 9
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GENERAL INFORMATION
PLEASE SAVE THIS OWNER’S MANUAL FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
Carefully read the information in this manual before installing and using the pizza
oven. Improper installation, operation and maintenance can result in serious
injury, fire and/or damages not covered by the warranty.
IMPORTANT
Check with your municipality for regulations on the installation and use of an outdoor
Pizza Oven. We also recommend that you contact your home insurance company and
advise them of the acquisition of your new Techo-Bloc Pizza Oven.
This Pizza Oven is for OUTDOOR USE ONLY. Check with your municipality for
minimum clearance distances. Make sure that there is nothing directly above the
pizza oven area that can be a potential fire and/or injury hazard.
COMPONENTS
Place a piece of material (e.g. plywood) between the forks and the Pizza Oven sections
to prevent chipping of the concrete blocks. Remove the forks protecting material before
the filler blocks are installed.
Top Section
Bottom Section
Fork holes
Filler
block
(x4)
FRONT ELEVATION RIGHT SIDE ELEVATION
OVERALL DIMENSIONS
Below are the overall dimensions of the pizza oven. The height shown is the total height
(including buried portion). The pizza oven should be buried 4" below finished grade.
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CONCRETE PAD PREPARATION
The following drawings are NOT ENGINEERED DRAWINGS. They are provided as
a general guidance for the consideration of the installer. Concrete pillars extending
to frost line may be required as per local code. Check your local building codes
before installing.
Determine the desired location and excavate as necessary to accommodate a minimum
of 6" of 3⁄4" clean stone, 6" of reinforced concrete pad (see drawing below for steel rod
placement) and 4” of the pizza oven bottom section below finished grade.
(a) #4 rebar (1⁄2") / (Metric size: 15 M)
(b) 6" concrete slab (4000 psi)
INSTALLING BOTTOM SECTION
Carefully insert the forklift forks in the openings of the bottom section. Lift the bottom
section and place it centered on the concrete pad.
56"
48"
18"
15"
50"
42"
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INSTALLING TOP SECTION
Carefully insert the forklift forks in the openings of the top section. Lift the top section
onto the bottom section.
FILLER BLOCKS
Place the filler blocks into the fork holes. Should you want to move the Pizza Oven in
the future, do not glue the filler blocks.
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SAFETY
Working around an oven that can generate up to 800°F can be dangerous if proper
clothing and tools are not used. Also, combustible materials in the vicinity of the oven
may be at risk.
WARNING: When working around a pizza oven, make sure that proper clothing is
worn and proper tools are used. Make sure that combustible materials not necessary
to baking pizza are kept away from the oven.
• It is advisable that long-sleeved shirts be worn when inserting and removing pizzas into/
from the oven.
• Use a non-combustible oven mitt when stoking and adding wood to the fire.
• Use the non-combustible mitt when inserting and removing or turning pizzas.
• Use long-handled paddle, when inserting and removing or turning pizzas.
BUILDING A FIRE
The first three fires should be small to gently season and break in the oven.
WARNING: Do not start a fire in a unit that has been exposed to excessive moisture.
To protect from moisture, keep the oven door in place and cover the chimney when the
oven is not in use.
SELECTION OF WOOD
Any cured wood that is suitable for smoking meats can be used in pizza ovens. Hickory,
pecan and mesquite wood are good. Oak is good for heating ovens and generating
a bed of coals. Flavored wood such as apple and cherry fruitwoods, soaked in water,
can be used for smoking when the cooking starts.
Charcoal and natural lump charcoal are also an option for cooking along with
fruitwood chips for flavor.
Avoid use of green uncured wood as it will have much stronger smoke flavor which
can be overbearing, and will produce more soot and oils.
WARNING: Do not use paper, trash, synthetic logs, or wood treated with petroleum
or other chemicals.
STARTING AND KEEPING A FIRE
It takes time and experience to learn the nature of a wood-fired oven. There are a lot of
variables affecting cooking such as type and quantity of wood, ambient temperature,
size of oven and the dish being cooked.
The recommended length of wood sticks is 6-12 inches. Stores selling BBQ supplies
will have smoking wood in chunks or cut smaller for smokers and wood fired ovens.
Just like the oven inside your home or an outdoor gas cooking appliance, a wood fired
oven will require a certain amount of cleaning and maintenance after usage.
By design, the chimney flue of wood fired ovens is undersized for maximum heat
retention. This will cause smoke spillage out of the front of the oven opening and
leave soot, creosote or smoke stains on the face of the ovens exterior. This spillage
and staining is common on all brands of wood fired ovens without power vented
chimneys. The degree of staining will vary depending the type of wood used for
cooking, how cured the wood is, amount and length of usage, wind direction and
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speed along with several other factors that will vary with each application. This adds
character and gives an authentic old world appearance to your oven but the staining
can easily be removed with a wire brush and water or by using a masonry cleaning
solution for soot and smoke than can be purchased at most hardware stores, specialty
fireplace retailers or on the internet.
The sequence for building a fire is as follows:
• Build a fire in the center of the oven floor and develop a good bed of coals. The size
will depend on what is to be cooked and the quantity.
• Heat the oven to 350° to 600°F. This may take as much as two hours. Heating above
800°F is not recommended.
• When desired temperature is reached, push the fire and coals to the rear and sides of
the oven. Sweep fine ashes to the sides and back of the oven using a wire ash brush.
• Insert pizzas and cook directly on the oven floor.
• Add wood as necessary to maintain desired temperature. If cooking several pizzas,
it may be necessary to pull the fire back to the middle to reheat the floor and repeat
the process.
COOKING
If the oven has been exposed to moisture 48 hours prior to use, build a small fire
and heat the oven to 250-300°F for two hours before increasing the heat to cooking
temperature. An easy solution is to burn an 8-10 pound bag of charcoal (Match Light
®
type) and to let it burn completely This will slowly dry out the moisture that the oven
has absorbed.
As stated, we recommend cooking in a temperature range of 350° to 600°F. Time of
cooking will depend on the temperature and the item being cooked. The floor is the
heat source that will do most of the cooking. An infra-red temperature gauge can be
used to measure temperature at any location in and around the oven.
Cooking pizza in a wood-fired oven is somewhat like grilling or smoking meats in that
there are many variables such as the type of wood use, ambient temperature and
humidity, oven temperature and thickness of crust and toppings, which affect the
outcome. Be prepared to spend a few times testing recipes and techniques. Practice
and experimentation will show how to best cook your favorite style of pizza.
• A traditional Italian pizza with a thick crust and a thin layer of toppings should cook at
600°F or hotter for 3-6 minutes.
• For thicker pizzas with heavier toppings, lower temperatures are required to
thoroughly cook without burning.
• A medium pizza with heavy toppings may cook best at 400-500°F and will require a
longer cooking times, perhaps 15-25 minutes.
Cook the pizza directly on the floor of the oven. Place it in the oven using a longhandled paddle called a peel, using hot mitts or hot pads. Slide the pizza from the
preparation surface to the peel, and then onto the cooking surface using a slight
jerking technique.
WARNING: Be mindful of the hot surfaces of your pizza oven. Because of the high
temperatures, extra caution should be used when cooking with a wood-fired oven.
Use proper, long-handled tools and protective mitts when working around the
opening or reaching into the hot oven.
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CLEANING, INSPECTION
AND MAINTENANCE
As is the case with most other equipment, cleanliness is the best maintenance practice
and will contribute many hours of use.
WARNING: Do not clean the oven when it is hot.
Let the fire and coals completely burn out and cool before cleaning. It is best to wait until
the next day before removing ashes. Ashes should be placed in metal container with
a tight-fitting lid, and removed from all combustible materials, pending final disposal.
If the ashes are disposed of by burial in soil or otherwise locally dispersed, they should
be retained in the closed container until all cinders have thoroughly cooled.
Spot check the refractory bricks and mortar for small cracks. It will expand slightly with
the heat, and then contract as it cools. Replace the refractory bricks when the cracks
open more than
1
⁄4"; or when pits become extensive and deeper than 3⁄16" when oven
is at ambient temperature and not in use; or when any piece of refractory larger than
2 inches in diameter becomes dislodged.
If creosote has accumulated, it should be removed to reduce the risk of fire. Remove
creosote using a wire brush and/or a creosote liquid detergent designed for this
purpose. Also, there are manufactured logs available that are designed for the removal
of creosote. These products will be available at most local hardware stores, specialty
fireplace retailers or on the internet.
Keep the door in place and a cap on the chimney when not in use to protect the interior
cooking chamber of the oven from exposure to moisture.
WARRANTY
For warranty details and exclusions on TECHO-BLOC PRODUCTS, please visit our
website at: https://www.techo-bloc.com/contact-us/about-us/
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CANADA 5255, Albert-Millichamp street, St-Hubert, Québec J3Y 8Z8
USA. 852 Pennsylvania ave, Pen Argyl, PA 18072
Toll free: 1-877-832-4625 | Fax : 450-656-1120 | www.techo-bloc.com
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