Is the Gozney Arc XL Worth It? Comprehensive Review & Analysis

Gozney is releasing their all-new Arc and Arc XL pizza ovens on March 6, and all the backyard pizza makers are abuzz over this new product offering.

In this comprehensive review, we're going to share our experience working with the Gozney Arc XL over the past couple of weeks so you can decide for yourself if this new outdoor pizza oven is the right choice for you.

We'll tell you how big of a pizza you can actually fit inside, how long it takes for the oven to come back to temperature between pizzas, whether the stone comes out of this oven for cleaning and a whole bunch more, so if you like making pizza at home, we've got the answers to your questions about the Arc XL.

Gozney Arc Features

Lateral Gas Burner

The lateral gas burner couldn't be any easier to adjust with the temperature control right at the front of the oven. There are loads of other pizza ovens where the flame control is at the back of the oven, and it's just a pain to have to walk around the oven multiple times per pizza to control the flame. The Arc solves this with the flame control right on the front panel.

The flame is mesmerizing to watch, but the propane flame brings incredible consistency to each cook.

Insulation

The Arc has a double layer of insulation that helps the oven stay hotter longer.

Pizza Stone

The 20mm thick pizza stone measures 16.8" wide by 20.3" deep and can be removed if needed.

Exhaust vent

Most ovens either have a smokestack that vents the exhaust above the oven or they just let the smoke roll out the front of the door. The Arc XL takes a different approach in putting a vent in the top of the oven just before the door. It makes sure the exhaust isn't hitting you directly in the face as you watch your pizza cook.

Digital Thermometer

The all-new digital thermometer is one of the nicer ones that we've seen, and it has an auto shut-off feature to save battery life. I love that it saves battery life, but sometimes I also wish it stayed on longer.

In our experience testing pizza ovens, the provided thermometers are usually not that helpful. However, this one is probably the closest we've gotten to being able to forgo the infrared thermometer to check stone temperature. 

This is a calibrated stone floor thermometer so it indicates stone saturation temperature. Infrared guns only measure the very surface of the floor and not the heat retained in it.

While heating up, the top of the stone tends to read warmer with a infrared gun as the top of the stone will heat up first. The oven’s thermometer will heat up a bit slower as it is accounting for the stone in its totality.

Gozney Arc vs. Arc XL: Is the extra cooking space worth the additional cost?

The Gozney Arc and the Arc XL are identical pizza ovens with identical features. The only difference is in the oven internal dimensions and weight.

If you think you might want to cook large pizzas up to 16", the Arc XL is a no-brainer decision. However, if you tend to only make smaller 10-14" pizzas, the Arc makes a lot of sense. For that matter, if you're planning on small pizza anyway, you could save even more by sizing down to the Gozney Roccbox.

To be honest, the pizzas we make are usually around 12". However, having the ability to move the pizza around the stone and give a little more distance between the burner and the pizza is helpful.

What accessories does the Gozney Arc include?

The only accessory that is included in the box of the Gozney Arc and Arc XL is a stone adjustment tool, and that hardly qualifies as an accessory. There is no placement peel or turning peel included in your purchase and those tools will have to be purchased separately.

How long does the Gozney Arc XL take to preheat?

Our Gozney Arc XL took about 30 minutes to reach a stone temperature of around 800° for cooking Neapolitan pizzas. Of course, if you're cooking a different style of pizza or searing steaks you wouldn't be aiming for such a high temperature and could therefore be ready to cook sooner.

In my opinion, cooking pizza in an outdoor oven isn't a spontaneous decision. There is preparation that goes into either making the dough or purchasing it. There's preparation required when it comes to the sauce and toppings. As long as I know how much time I need to preheat to my target temperature and work that into my pizza night routine, I'm never sitting around just waiting for the oven to get hot enough.

How big of a pizza can I cook in the Gozney Arc XL?

The door size of the Gozney Arc XL is 16.8" wide, which means that there is plenty of cooking space inside to fit up to a 16" pizza in this oven. However, please understand that your pizza of that size will be right up to the lateral gas burner and will need to be rotated more often.

On that note, it is more challenging to rotate a 16" pizza in this space and the best way to do it is to pull the pizza out on the peel and manually rotate it with your hands before launching it back into the oven.

How long does the Gozney Arc XL stone temperature take to recover after a pizza cook?

We were quite pleased with the recovery time on the Gozney Arc XL. We tested recovery time while cooking Neapolitan pizzas in the 800° range. During a 90-second pizza cook, the stone temperature saw a decrease of about 75°.

In the time it took us to stretch, top, and launch the next pizza, the stone was above 800 degrees every time, meaning that the recovery time for us with Neapolitan pizzas was less than 2 minutes.

If you had pizzas ready to launch back to back, I wouldn't hesitate to launch them after just a 30 to 45-second recovery time based on the performance we saw in our testing.

We find the recovery time of the Gozney Arc XL to be far superior than traditional wood-fired ovens.

Our Gozney Arc Review

Recommended Accessories

If you do purchase a Gozney pizza oven, be sure to register your product so that you'll be protected by the extended warranty.