Review Of The Ooni Koda 16 – Introduction
Hope you all enjoy my Review of the Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven., I purchased this pizza oven myself and I will advise you guys of my personal and hands-on experience with this oven.
Hopefully, this will help you as there are a lot of ovens out there.
Watch out for my full video review coming soon!
What is the Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven
The Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven is a portable, midrange pizza oven intended for outdoor use. This pre-built oven is ready to use right out of the box. It’s powered by propane gas and can reach temperatures up to 900°F / 500°C.
The Ooni Koda 16 is the big brother to the smaller Koda 12.
It has a 16-inch cooking floor, while the smaller version is 12 inches. So if you are in the market for a large, no-fuss oven, my review is for you!
In this review, I’ll discuss my experience with the Ooni Koda 16, its main features and setting it up, and if I would recommend this product.
Features
There are a ton of neat features packed inside this pizza oven. Here are a few I’d like to highlight.
Koda 16 Size
First, I should talk about the size of this oven. The oven bed is about 16 inches by 16 inches – which is much larger than most other portable pizza ovens available to buy today.
This makes maneuvering and rotating pizzas as you’re cooking very easy – and allows you to cook bigger pies!
While we’re talking about its size, I should mention that the Ooni Koda 16 is the “big brother” to the smaller Ooni Koda 12. As the name implies, the Ooni Koda 12 has a smaller, 12-inch cooking bed. For that reason, it’s also a bit cheaper – that may be something to consider when buying!
Koda 16 Fuel Type
Getting back to the Koda’s features, the oven is powered by gas – most propane tanks will work just fine.
The Ooni Koda 16 has a built-in hose that screws onto your tank. Having a gas-powered oven is super convenient, and it uses the gas efficiently.
Gas also burns much cleaner than wood or charcoal, so there’s not much residue to clean up after cooking!
The Koda 16 is very efficient for its size. Ooni estimates that it burns about 1lb of propane for every 10 pizzas. So if you have a 20lb tank, that’s 200 pizzas!
Koda 16 Pizza Stone
The Ooni Koda 16 comes with a custom 15-millimeter thick cordierite cooking stone, perfect for cooking classic brick-oven style pizzas. In addition, the cooking stone is replaceable, which is unusual for a pizza oven this size!
If it cracks or breaks for whatever reason, Ooni sells replacements on their website.
Koda 16 Gas Burner
The Ooni Koda 16 has a unique L-shaped flame pattern. The burners curve around the left and back of the oven, cooking your food from multiple sides. This shape allows for more even cooking. And since the pizza is being cooked on numerous sides, food can be cooked very quickly.
The easy-click ignition knob allows you to safely and reliably turn on your pizza oven without a hassle. The flame is adjustable to lock in the perfect temperature to cook.
How Hot Can The Koda 16 Get?
Ooni boasts on their product page that this oven can reach temperatures up to 950ºF / 500ºC. This is perfect for cooking Neapolitan-style pizzas, which must be cooked at very high temperatures.
Though you don’t need to cook everything that hot! In fact, I recommend you stay around 750ºF / 400ºC.
Thanks to its insulating shell, all this heat that Ooni Koda 16 produces is trapped inside. So it helps retain and redirect heat back to the food inside. However, the outside of the oven can still get really hot, so it’s still unsafe to touch.
Finally, the Ooni Koda 16 stands on three legs in a tripod pattern. The bottom of each leg is covered in non-slip rubber.
So the whole oven feels very sturdy – I’ve never been worried about accidentally knocking it over.
In addition, the legs are collapsible, making it easy to transport and store.
Unboxing And What’s Included
Ooni kindly provides the dimensions of their shipping box on their website: 29.5 inches by 16.1 inches by 27.6 inches.
When you open up the box, this is what you’ll find:
- Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Oven
- Cordierite 16-inch Cooking Stone
- Gas Hose and Regulator (comes attached)
- Extendable Match holder.
When you open the box, you’ll find a quick-start booklet and information about the product’s warranty.
You’ll also find information about Ooni’s new app, which functions as an excellent pizza dough calculator, so you can make that perfect pizza dough every time. A must download!
The app also offers pizza videos and recipes, and it’s available on the App Store and Google Play.
Watch this space for pizza videos!
Underneath all this, you’ll find the 16-inch pizza stone. It’s packaged in very thick bubble wrap – so I wasn’t worried about it breaking during shipping! It’s pretty hefty for how thin it is!
The safety instructions are packaged alongside the stone. You’ll want to hold onto this! It has troubleshooting information and also instructions for cleaning and maintenance.
Inside a protective layer of padding is the Ooni Koda 16 itself.
The oven is easy to handle and comes with the gas hose already attached. Because it’s a pre-built oven, there are no other parts to connect or assemble!
Finally, you’ll find the extendable match holder. This is helpful in case the burners won’t light.
Just place a lit match next to the burner to ignite.
In my opinion, the Ooni Koda 16 comes with most things you need to get started!
The oven is very well made, and I’m happy with how it was shipped!
I’ve enjoyed using the app to find recipes and perfect my own.
I really like the removable cordierite stone – it makes cleaning a lot easier.
And the match holder is a nice touch!
Specs and Warranties
Koda 16 Specs
| Oven Size (inches) | 25 x 23.2 x 14.7 |
| Cooking Floor Dimensions (inches) | 16 x 16 |
| Max Temperature | 950ºF / 500ºC |
| Weight | 40.1 lbs |
| Fuel Type | Gas |
| Gas Hose Length | 47 inches |
| Propane Attachment | Screw-on and push-on style inlets |
| Outer Material | Insulated, powder-coated carbon steel |
| Cooking Stone Material | Cordierite stone |
Ooni Koda 16 Warranties
Every Ooni Koda 16 comes with a one-year warranty right out of the box.
But if you purchase directly from Ooni’s website you will have 3 years warranty!
Their warranty covers the usual things you would expect. In addition, they promise that their product should function as advertised during this period without any material or workmanship defects.
So if something is defective, Ooni will fix it! And if the entire oven needs to be replaced, they’ll do that too.
In some instances, they may ask you to send them the oven so they can diagnose the problem.
However, Ooni seems to be very confident in their product – they believe you won’t need to use their warranty.
That makes sense to me – I’ve never had a problem with my oven. So far so good!
There are some exceptions to the warranty. For example, water damage, discoloration, or surface rust is not covered.
Of course, user error and weather damage are not covered either! However, this is all pretty reasonable to me.
One final thing you should know about the warranty is that it’s not covered everywhere. Ooni’s warranty is limited to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
Check out their warranty page for more details about Ooni’s warranty policy.
Setting-Up Your Koda
Set up is simple with the Ooni Koda 16!
Like I said earlier, this pizza oven is pre-built. Well, almost!
Let’s talk about it.
After you get the oven out of the box, you’ll want to just quickly check that all your parts are there. Ooni asks that you contact customer service at this point if you are missing pieces.
You can unfold the three legs and place the oven on a stable surface. Ooni recommends the oven sit at least 3 feet away from any building and that it is sheltered from the wind.
The oven’s placement surface should be made of something solid that won’t tip over: wood, stone, or stainless steel are great.
This is when there is a bit of assembly required! But it’s simple. You need to slide the cooking stone into the oven – it should fit like a glove! It’s actually pretty easy to take in and out.
If you need to take it out in the future, there’s a small hole near the front of the oven that you can use to lift the stone out – watch your fingers!
Next, you should attach the gas hose to the Ooni and a gas source. A standard propane tank for a grill works just fine!
Ooni recommends doing a leak test to ensure the hose and its connections are functioning correctly.
Turn on the gas but make sure the oven is off. Then, with a mixture of one part soap and one part water, you should spray both hose ends. If there are any leaks, you will see them start to bubble!
Finally, do not miss this step!
Ooni recommends that you “season” your Koda 16 before cooking in it for the first time. First, turn on the flame and run the empty oven at its highest temperature for 30 minutes. This “seasoning” process will burn off any unwanted residue leftover from the manufacturing process.
After seasoning, allow the oven to cool down completely. This should take about 2 hours. After that, wipe down the inside with a dry paper towel to remove any remaining residue.
Now you are ready to use your oven and cook to your heart’s desire!
How To Use
After setting up and the seasoning process complete, the Ooni Koda 16 is ready to use.
Press the ignition knob down with the gas on and slowly turn it counterclockwise. You should hear a click. Then the burners will ignite. Keep holding the knob down for a few more seconds before releasing.
If you are having trouble getting the burner to light, you should use the included match holder.
Wait several minutes for any excess gas to dissipate from the inside of the oven before inserting a lit match.
Using the extendable holder, place the lit match above the burner and turn the ignition knob to light it.
Now it’s time to preheat the oven. Adjust the flame with the ignition knob to your desire with the oven on.
Unfortunately, no temperature gauge is attached to the oven, so it’s hard to monitor. However, there are accessories available that mitigate this, and I’ll talk about them in a later section.
Ooni claims that their preheating time is only 20 minutes! And from my experience, it usually takes that long to reach my recommended cooking temperature of 750ºF.
But you should know that things like ambient temperature and other weather conditions may affect your results.
Note: Plan ahead as it takes about an hour to reach max temperatures.
Once the Ooni has finished preheating, you can start making your pizza!
Any size up to 16 inches will cook perfectly in this oven! but I recommend 12″ max.
You’ll need some kind of pizza peel to slide your pizza in and out. Unfortunately, a pizza peel isn’t included with the Koda 16, so you must buy your own.
Ooni sells them on their website, but any peel that is 16 inches or smaller should work fine.
Some beginners may have trouble “launching” their pizzas into the oven. It’s a skill that takes some practice!
Using a little flour on the surface of your pizza peel can help reduce sticking.
Everyone has a different technique that works for them – find out what works for you!
Now the pizza is in the oven.
Even though the Ooni’s burners can cook pizza from multiple sides, you will occasionally need to rotate the pizza.
Pizzas can cook in 60-90 seconds – so you should try to turn them halfway through!
Use the pizza peel – or whatever you have! – to remove the pizza from the oven.
Ta-da! Pizza is served.
At this point, you can repeat this process as many times as you like.
Give the oven a few minutes to heat up again, as cooking removes some floor heat.
You can take that short preheat time to prep another pizza!
Finally, there’s the easy process of cleaning up.
Simply crank the heat up to burn off any excess food, and scrape the soot away with a metal grill brush.
Let the oven cool for at least a few hours before handling it.
Fold up the legs for easy storage!
Temperature Time And Recovery
Before purchasing a pizza oven, one crucial aspect is its preheating time and recovery time. These two determine how quickly you can begin cooking and how long you need to wait before cooking again.
As I mentioned earlier, this oven has a shortish preheating time! This is a nice feature and makes the Ooni Koda 16 very convenient.
Learn more about the optimal pizza oven temperature here!
The recovery time is also relatively short! I’ve been able to cook another pizza after only three minutes of recovery time.
More pizzas in less time is a win in my book!
Cleaning And Maintenance
Pizza ovens usually take quite a bit of time and care to clean. This is especially true for wood-burning ovens as they tend to build up a lot of soot and ash over time. While this doesn’t damage the oven, it won’t look great!
That’s why I really love the Ooni Koda 16. Because it’s gas-powered, there isn’t as much soot to clean compared to a wood fire.
However, you should still clean it regularly!
Here are some tips on cleaning this oven.
Supplies
You will likely have all the supplies you need to clean the Ooni Koda 16 already in your house!
- Paper towels
- Soap
- Metal bristle brush
- Bucket
- Warm water
You might think that this oven needs to be cleaned with a disinfectant like most other kitchen tools, but you’d be wrong!
The extreme temperatures that this oven can cook at are more than enough to kill any harmful bacteria or germs inside.
It’s better to keep those harsh chemicals away from your food anyway!
How To Clean The Outside Of The Ooni Koda 16
The powder-coated steel shell is straightforward to clean. If you have just used the oven, wait until it is completely cool. Avoid using anything abrasive, as that may scratch the surface.
Using a mixture of warm water and soap, spray the outside of the oven and use a paper towel or rag to wipe it down. Make sure you wipe all the soapy solution off, then allow it to dry completely before its subsequent use.
How To Clean The Inside Of The Ooni Koda 16
You do not want to use any cleaning solutions on the inside of the oven! – as stated earlier, it’s not really necessary!
Instead, Ooni recommends running the Koda 16 at its highest temperature for 30 minutes to burn off any excess food or residue.
Then allow the oven to cool completely – this could take about an hour. After cooling, take a dry paper towel and wipe down the insides.
You can also use a metal bristle brush to scrape at any soot buildup.
If you want to do a thorough cleaning, you can take out the cooking stone to reach more areas around the inside and bottom.
While it’s unnecessary, you could also use a vacuum to suck up any unwanted material.
How To Clean The Cooking Stone Of The Ooni Koda 16
Wetting your cooking stone is one of the worst things you can do! Do Not Do This!
This material needs to stay as dry as possible – so no cleaning sprays or soapy water is needed here.
Instead, you’ll want to follow the same process as cleaning the inside of the oven. First, burn off excess residue and allow it to cool. Then, take out the stone slab for cleaning.
You can use a bristle brush and paper towels to scrub off soot and stains. Doing this will remove most of the grime. Afterward, you can flip the cooking stone upside down before putting it back inside.
Ooni states that the bottom will clean itself as you continue to use the oven.
Available Accessories
There are a few accessories to the Ooni Koda 16 that you should know about.
One of the first things you’ll need to pick up is a pizza peel. These allow you to launch and retrieve the pizzas from the oven. Unfortunately, the Ooni doesn’t include one! You can pick one up from their website, but find them in most online stores.
Another must-have with this oven is a thermometer. You’ll need to pick up an infrared thermometer – which can accurately measure the temperature of any surface. Use this to know exactly when your oven and pizza stone are ready to use!
Finally, if you plan to keep your Koda 16 outside, you should consider picking up an oven cover. Ooni sells their own protective covers for the Koda 16 made of waterproof polyester and is slightly elastic.
What I Like About The Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven
The Ooni Koda 16 is a great bang-for-your-buck pizza oven. Ooni made using the Koda 16 a breeze from set up to first use.
I consistently get great pizzas from this oven. I especially like how big it is! I can, if I wish, cook bigger pizzas in here than most other pizza ovens I’ve used. In addition, the L-shaped burners provide even heat and a lot of light. So it’s easy to watch my pizza and know precisely when it’s done.
The Ooni Koda 16 has one of the shortest preheating times out of every pizza oven I’ve tried. This makes using the oven quick and convenient.
It also retains heat, so I don’t have to wait long between pizzas.
Finally, cleaning the oven is a simple process. I like this because I’m usually able to get away with using it a few times before scrubbing it down. And because it’s gas-powered, there’s not much soot buildup.
What I Don’t Like About The Gozney RoccBox Pizza Oven
I do have some gripes with this oven, though!
But these have less to do with what is included and more to do with what isn’t included!
I would have liked for the Ooni Koda 16 to include a pizza peel, as it’s tough to use this oven properly without one. They aren’t hard to find, but it does mean that you can’t start cooking pizzas right out of the box – which is a bummer.
I wish the oven came with a built-in thermometer! There are cheaper ovens that already have this feature, and it’s convenient. Cooking without one can feel like shooting in the dark, and you’ll probably have trouble getting consistent pizzas without it.
Competitors to Consider
Ooni has some competitors that offer similar products to the Koda 16.
One example is Gozney RoccBox. This oven is slightly cheaper but smaller, but it can reach the same temperatures as the Koda 16. It also has a built-in thermometer and comes with an included pizza peel- excellent!
My Verdict: Is The Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza OvenFor You?
The Ooni Koda 16 brings the joy and delight of authentic oven-baked pizzas to your home. At this price, it’s perfect for serious home cooks and pizza-lovers alike!
Because of its size, I wouldn’t say that this pizza oven is for everyone. However, if you are looking for something super portable and easy to transport, I suggest you look at the Koda 12 as an option.
This oven is meant to sit in your backyard for year-round use!
I happily give the Ooni Koda 16 a big thumbs up for the quality of pizzas I’ve gotten and its ease of use!
Pros; Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Lots of space to cook: 16 x 16-inch cooking surface | At over 60 lbs, this oven is heavy! |
| Portable | No built-in thermometer |
| Pre-built | No pizza peel or additional cooking accessories |
| Fast preheating time | Can’t burn charcoal or wood |
| The removable and replaceable cooking stone | |
| L-shaped burner for even cooking |
Final Breakdown
If you are looking for an affordable pizza oven that is easy to use, easy to clean, and produces great-tasting pizzas, look no further than the Ooni Koda 16!
I’ve been thrilled with this product and its results. I wholeheartedly recommend this product!
So bookmark my blog for future tips, tricks, and video recipes!
Disclaimer: I purchased this oven myself – This is my honest review/informational buyers guide.
I am an affiliate of ooni. If you do decide to purchase from one of my links I will receive a small commission, for which, I thank you very much!
Carlos – review disclaimer
Regards Carlos x
