chimney

[APOCALYPTO]

I am building a brick oven in my backyard I am almost finished but I was wondering is a chimney necessary

[Neil2]

It is actually a vent set just outside the oven dome at the same height as the top of the door opening.

An pizza oven will work just fine without this vent, but the vent will help to reduce the smoke and hot gasses in your face as you work the oven.

[dmun]

Not strictly necessary, a lot of South American hornos have no chimney, but having one makes cooking a lot more agreeable. The hot gasses coming out of your oven are not necessarily something you want blasting in your face.

[james]

Originally Posted by Neil2

An pizza oven will work just fine without this vent, but the vent will help to reduce the smoke and hot gasses in your face as you work the oven.

I think "fine" can be a relative concept. :-)

There is a lot of wiggle room with brick oven design and building, but I don't think I would consider building an oven without a vent and chimney. If you are going to the effort and cost of building an oven, I would do the vent and chimney. The oven draw, heat movement, and the way smoke leaves the oven are so much better.

James

[Neil2]

"I think "fine" can be a relative concept. :-)"

The oven itself will work fine. The chef may not