Vent dimensions. Please Help.

[Neil2]

"Technically they are not needed at all."

I agree. I you look at the outdoor ovens in Croatia and Sicily none have vents. In my opinion, the only useful purpose of a vent is to direct fumes away from your face when you are cooking (when the smoke and fumes are quite low).

You can, of course, go to heroic efforts to direct all the flames and smoke from the firing phase up a huge vent. To my mind this will have the sole benefit of minimizing soot on the outside face. And even at that you will get some soot on the outside face.

[fxpose]

Originally Posted by Tscarborough

Technically they are not needed at all. The standard design will work fine exhausting smoke out of the front of the oven.

I also agree with this.

I have a situation where my rear kitchen door and window are less than 4 feet away from the oven. When I used to have my smoker and bbq near that spot in the nook where the oven now occupies we always had a problem with smoke entering the house.
I promised my wife there will be no more smoke.... And perhaps I should use some good smelling wood for the oven. ..
I don't mind soot build up on the face of the oven. I actually think it's cool.

[david s]

having no flue also has the advantage of being able to operate closer to the cooking surface, meaning less reach and being able to use short handled tools.