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Niche request - I help manage a community pub. They want to run an event outside with a pizza oven (propane fueled, electric ignition/control). They've just read the manual which is explicit in saying "do not use in the open air". It doesn't require any kind of special air intake and the exhaust comes out of the top at the back. It doesn't say *why* they don't want you to do this.
What's the thinking behind this? Worst I can foresee is that a gust of wind blows out the burners but my understanding is that anything on LPG has to fail safe anyway in these circumstances.
They've already got all the ingredients. It'll be sheltered under a gazebo and protected from gusts of wind by a brick wall behind. Admittedly Saturday is not a good day to be doing anything outside looking at the forecast...
so the safety instructions from the manufacturer say 'don't do it' - are you asking one of us to say 'yeah just do it' for you? 🙂
In the event of a claim what will your public liability insurers say?
It'll be sheltered under a gazebo
Is it an asbestos gazebo?
I would have thought it would be the other way around (I know I am not *meant* to use my gas-fired pizza oven indoors), but I just cook under the extractor fan.
I use my propane pizza oven outside and neither myself or the oven have come to any harm, in fact I've used it in the confines of my garage when it was really shitty weather thats how much I live life on the edge.
Have people lost the ability to make self decissions now?
so the safety instructions from the manufacturer say 'don't do it' - are you asking one of us to say 'yeah just do it' for you?
In the event of a claim what will your public liability insurers say?
If we ignore Alan Partridge above, I'm trying to find the technical reason for this. When does something become an open space? Is a garage an open space? What about when the kitchen door is open?
Now if someone said "the air intake is in the side and when the wind blows in a certain direction half the burners go out while propane gas fills the other of the oven, which then goes off with a bang", we'd be getting somewhere.
Does it say it specifically in the health and safety bit or in the user guide.
Its possibly just a bit shit in windy conditions if the latter.
The former might be risk of incomplete burning and CO or a build up of gas if the flame is burnt out. ( Mich i would argue are mitigated by the girt big wind that caused the issue in the first place
Is that actually what it says or is the wording along the lines of "this commercial pizza oven is intended for indoors installation"? Which might just be about the materials and and seals etc not intended to have prolonged exposed to the elements. edit - or its a bit crap in a breeze and not very good at being an oven.
I like the idea of a community pub - is this an ex commercial local pub that was saved from closure by a community buyout or a pop up number in the village hall?
At a guess, manufacturer is covering themselves from any liability if something does go wrong...
gust of wind blows out the burners
Probably this.
When I was toying with the idea of starting a little pizza business with a Roccbox or two, I found that they supply a commercial burner with a mechanism to turn the gas off if the flame goes out. Can't remember if that was necessary to get the required gas safety certificate.
https://help.gozney.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4463446216209-Can-I-use-Roccbox-as-a-commercial-oven
Maybe ask the manufacturer if they do something similar? Might not be worth it for one event though.
I also spent a bit of time on a Facebook group called Pizza Businesses UK or something like that, which had lots of helpful folk on it. Worth asking on there.