StoneAge amerigo User manual

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Installation and Operation Instructions
Stone Age Amerigo™ and Mezzo™ Pizza Ovens
1.0 Introduction
The following provides instructions for the instal-
lation, operation and care of Stone Age Mezzo™
and Amerigo™ Pizza Ovens, manufactured y
Stone Age Manufacturing, Collinsville, Oklahoma.
Three generations of wood- urning oven
knowledge and experience have gone into the de-
sign, construction and use of these pizza ovens. A
completed Amerigo oven, finished in rock and in-
stalled a ove a triple Amerigo ca inet unit, is
shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Amerigo™ Pizza Oven
The only difference etween the Amerigo and
Mezzo ovens is size. Ta le 1 shows the compo-
nents and dimensions of the two.
Table 1
Amerigo Mezzo Dimensions
Size (In.) Amerigo Mezzo
Width 48 36
Depth 42 33
Height 31 24
Door opening 25.5x12.5 15.5x8
This manual also provides instructions for the in-
stallation of the pizza oven ase ca inet, an option-
al unit.
If installing the oven on something other than the
ase ca inet, make sure that it will support the
weight of the oven.
2.0 Pizza Oven Components
Components for the Amerigo and Mezzo Pizza
Ovens are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Pizza Oven Components
Components and part num ers are identified in
Ta le 2. Item num ers in Ta le 2 correspond with
the item num ers in Figure 2.
3.0 Safety
Working around an oven that can generate up to
800°F can e dangerous if proper clothing and
tools are not used. Also, com usti le materials in
the vicinity of the oven may e at risk.
WARNING: When working around a pizza
oven, make sure that proper
clothing is worn and proper tools
are used. Make sure that com-
bustible materials not necessary
to baking pizza are kept away
from the oven.
2
4
5
1
3
6

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Table 2
Pizza Oven Components
Amerigo™ Pizza Oven Mezzo ™ Pizza Oven
Description Part No. Qty Part No. Qty.
Base Plate (1) APO 1 1 MPO 1 1
Roof (2) APO 2 1 MPO 2 1
Front Wall (3) APO 3 1 MPO 3 1
Rear Wall (4) APO 4 1 MPO 4 1
Chimney (5) SAFLAPO 1 SAFLAPO 1
Door (Not shown) SA-APOD-
ML
1 SA-MPOD-ML 1
Fire Brick (6) SA-1006 50 SA-1006 30
3.1 Clothing
A. It is advisa le that long-sleeved shirts e
worn when inserting and removing pizzas in-
to/from the oven.
B. Use a non-com usti le oven mitt when stok-
ing and adding wood to the fire.
C. Use the non-com usti le mitt when inserting
and removing or turning pizzas.
3.2 Tools
Special tools are availa le for the management of
oven fires and inserting and removing pizzas.
These tools can e o tained from Stone Age Manu-
facturing and are shown later in this manual.
4.0 Installation
The pizza ovens and associated ase ca inets are
not specifically designed as a “do it yourself” pro-
ject. This is primarily ecause of component
weight and the care required when applying mor-
tar. However, it can e done if one has the neces-
sary weight lifting equipment, and can use a
mortaring trowel. We recommend that you contract
with a professional mason or landscape contractor
to install and finish your installation.
Although not included with the oven package, an
optional ase ca inet, used primarily for storage, is
availa le from Stone Age Manufacturing. This
manual includes procedures for installing oth the
oven and its ase ca inet.
4.1 Installing the Base Cabinet
Like the pizza oven, the ase ca inet is delivered
as a kit, as shown in Figure 3. Each of the two piz-
za ovens has its own ca inet. Except for size, they
are identical.
Tools required for this installation include a mallet
or dead low hammer, mason’s or rock hammer,
masonry trowel, caulk gun and a power saw with
masonry lades.
Figure 3. Base Cabinet Delivered
A 4-inch steel-reinforced concrete pad or patio
should e constructed large enough to have an out-
side order to support finish material, if required.
The pad should have piers elow the frost line if
required in your geographic location.

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A. Lay a chalk line on the pad to visualize the
layout.
B. Leave the foam shipping form in the front
panel opening until the panel is in place.
C. Arrange the panels as shown in Figure 4.
WARNING: Each of the panels weighs about
200 pounds. Handle with ex-
treme care with proper weight
handling equipment.
Figure 4. Panel Arrangement
Brackets, shown in Figure 5, are provided to hold
the panels together and provide support.
Figure 5. Cabinet Brackets
D. At the ack wall position of the ox,
place a corner single racket (Figure 6)
on the pad. These lower rackets may e
glued if desired.
E. Lay a 2-inch ead of Sonolastic® adhe-
sive or a landscape lock adhesive along
a line where the panels will rest.
F. Set the ack panel (3P), shown in Figure 4,
into the racket as shown in Figure 6.
Place all panels with the rough side out.
Figure 6. Place Back Panel in Bracket
G. Place a side panel (4P) into the racket,
utting against the ack panel. See Figure
7.
Figure 7. Place Side Panel
H. Slide single corner racket under the front
end of panel 4P.
I. Apply adhesive mortar etween the two
panels. Sonolastic adhesive is recom-
mended.
J. Install front panel into racket, in front of
panel 4P. Apply mortar etween the two
panels. Then, install a front-to- ack rack-
et, connecting the tree panels together, as
shown in Figure 8.
Front-to-Back Bracket
Corner Single Bracket

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Figure 8. Install Front Panel
K. Install the other side panel in the same
manner.
L. Once the last front-to- ack racket is in-
stalled and all joints are mortared, the in-
stallation is complete, as shown in Figure
9.
Figure 9. Installation Complete
Remove the foam shipping form from the front
door opening. See Figure 4. Remove y sawing it
out rather the knocking it out as the opening is sus-
cepti le to damage until the finish material has
een applied.
4.2 Installing the Pizza Oven
Always consult local uilding code requirements
efore installation of a Stone Age pizza oven. If
local codes exceed Stone Age’s requirements, al-
ways a ide y local code. Stone Age pizza ovens
are designed and intended for outdoor use only.
Never install an oven within 4 feet of com usti le
materials on the front, ack, sides and top of the
oven. If the oven is to e installed under a covered
structure, maintain a minimum clearance of 6 feet
from the top of the oven door opening to the ceil-
ing, if roof or ceiling structure is constructed of
com usti le materials. Never terminate the oven
chimney under com usti le material or an en-
closed roof or ceiling. If this type of installation is
necessary, install a commercial-grade vented hood
and maintain proper clearances and spacing from
oven chimney to vented hood. Always refer to
hood manufacturer’s specifications for spacing and
clearance requirements.
If chimney is to penetrate the roof or ceiling of a
covered structure, allow a minimum 12 inches of
clearance to com usti le materials from all sides of
the oven chimney. Never terminate the oven chim-
ney less than 2 feet a ove the roofline of a covered
structure. Never add more than 10 feet of addi-
tional chimney height to the oven. Always use a
chimney cap, or keep chimney flue covered when
not in use, and keep oven door closed when oven is
not in use.
The ase ca inet is installed and ready to receive
the ase for the pizza oven. If the ase ca inet is
not used, it is assumed that a satisfactory ase sur-
face has een prepared from concrete locks or
other materials; is at the desired height, and will
receive the weight of the pizza oven.
A. Install the ase plate on top of the ase
ca inet or other ase you have selected.
Check the level from front to ack, side
to side.
B. Install fire rick from side to side using
refractory mortar. Stone Age All Purpose
Redi-Mix is recommended. See Figure
10.
Figure 10. Install Firebrick on Baseplate
C. Figure 11 shows how the oven compo-
nents go together. After the fire rick mor-
tar sets up, lay a 2-inch ead of the same

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mortar along each side of the fire rick
surface.
Figure 11. Oven Components
D. Lift the roof and place it onto the fire-
rick. Because of the extreme weight of
the roof, it is est to extend a eam under
the roof and lift the eam from oth ends
with a person on each side to help guide
the roof into position or lift with a ma-
chine. See Figure 12.
WARNING: The roof of the pizza oven
weighs 400 (Mezzo) to 600
(Amerigo) pounds. Be extremely
careful in lifting. If dropped, it
will easily chip and at the least,
crack. Make sure you have suffi-
cient help in lifting it.
igure 12. Install Roof
E. Inspect the mortared joint on oth sides,
inside and out and make sure it is
smoothed out with no gaps.
F. Install the chimney on top of the oven.
Mortar inside as well as on top, as shown
in Figure 13.
Figure 13. Mortar Chimney Inside of Oven
G. Install the rear wall, using the same mor-
tar. Carefully fill the joints with mortar,
including the inside joints, as shown in
Figure 14.
Figure 14. Mortar Inside Joints
Install the front panel and carefully fill all
joints with mortar, as shown in Figure 15.
Figure 15. Install Front Wall

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Installation of the oven is now complete and ready
for the outside finish to e installed. Brick, rock or
any masonry/concrete compati le material can e
used for the exterior finish, depending on your de-
sires and the motif of your outside kitchen/patio.
Two types of finish are shown in Figure 16.
As with any cooking appliance, heat transfer will
occur from the inside cooking cham er to the out-
side walls of the oven. Thermal cycling can also
cause expansion and contraction in the oven com-
ponents and the mortar joints. This can e visi le
in the exterior veneer, especially in the mortar
joints when it is applied directly to the surface of
the oven and will vary on each application. These
expansion and contraction cracks do not compro-
mise the structural integrity of the oven and are
only cosmetic. If the visi ility of these hairline
cracks is not desired, it is recommended that the
oven e encapsulated with concrete lock, metal
framing with concrete oard attached or surround-
ed with other non-com usti le material. If this
method is used, leave a minimum of 3 inches of air
space etween the encapsulating walls and oven
unit. This space can e left void or filled with insu-
lating materials like perlite or vermiculite to further
insulate and stop any heat transfer. The outside
profile of the oven can e changed to create any
shape or architectural design when using this
method.
Another option is to cover the oven with a ceramic
fi er lanket wrapped with metal lathe and scratch
coated with cement efore applying veneer materi-
als.
Amerigo™ Pizza Oven Mezzo™ Pizza Oven
Figure 16. Pizza Oven Finishes
5.0 Building a Fire
The owner should wait a minimum of 28 days after
construction is completed to uild the first fire. It is
important that all moisture e gone from the oven
efore the first fire is laid. After that, the first three
fires should e small to gently season and reak in
the oven.
Failure to allow full curing of the mortar may re-
sult in expansion cracking in the oven’s mortar
joints and finish. This is not a structural defect and
does not harm the product integrity, ut may affect
the appearance.
In order to reduce the possi ility of moisture col-
lection, it is recommended that the ovens exterior
veneer e treated with a water sealer after comple-
tion of the exterior.
WARNING: Do not start a fire in a unit that
has been exposed to excessive
moisture.
To protect from moisture, keep the oven door in
place and cover the chimney when the oven is not
in use.
5.1 Selection of Wood
Any cured wood that is suita le for smoking meats
can e used in pizza ovens. Hickory, pecan and
mesquite wood are good. Oak is good for heating
ovens and generating a ed of coals. Flavored
wood such as apple and cherry fruitwoods, soaked
in water, can e used for smoking when the cook-
ing starts.
Charcoal and natural lump charcoal are also an
option for cooking along with fruitwood chips for
flavor.
Avoid use of green uncured wood as it will have a
much stronger smoke flavor which can e over-
earing, and will produce more soot and oils.
Caution: Do not use paper, trash, synthetic logs,
or wood treated with petroleum or other
chemicals.
5.2 Starting and Keeping a Fire
It takes time and experience to learn the nature of a
wood-fired oven. There are a lot of varia les af-
fecting cooking such as type and quantity of wood,
am ient temperature, size of oven and the dish e-
ing cooked.
Recommended length of wood sticks is 6-12 inches
for the Mezzo oven 6-18 inches for the Amerigo.
Stores selling BBQ supplies will have smoking

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wood in chunks or cut smaller for smokers and
wood fired ovens.
Just like the oven inside your home or an outdoor
gas cooking appliance a wood fired oven will re-
quire a certain amount of cleaning and mainte-
nance after usage.
By design the chimney flue of wood fired ovens
are undersized for maximum heat retention. This
will cause smoke spillage out of the front of the
oven opening and leave soot, creosote or smoke
stains on the face of the ovens exterior. This spill-
age and staining is common on all rands of wood-
fired ovens without power vented chimneys. The
degree of staining will vary depending type of
wood used for cooking, how cured the wood is,
amount and length of usage, wind direction and
speed along with several other factors that will
vary with each application. This adds character and
gives an authentic old world appearance to your
oven ut the staining can easily e removed with a
wire rush and water or y using a masonry clean-
ing solution for soot and smoke that can e pur-
chased at most hardware stores, home
improvement stores, specialty fireplace retailers or
on the internet.
Fire management tools are shown in Figure 17.
Figure 17. Fire Management Tools
The sequence for uilding a fire is as follows:
• Build a fire in the center of the oven floor
and develop a good a ed of coals. The
size will depend on what is to e cooked
and the quantity.
• Heat the oven to 350° to 600°F. This may
take as much as two hours. Heating a ove
800°F is not recommended.
• When desired temperature is reached, push
the fire and coals to the rear and sides of
the oven. Sweep fine ashes to the sides and
ack of the oven using a wire ash rush.
Use one of the tools shown in Figure 14.
• Insert pizzas and cook directly on the oven
floor.
• Add wood as necessary to maintain de-
sired temperature. If cooking several piz-
zas, it may e necessary to pull the fire
ack to the middle to reheat the floor and
repeat the process.
5.3 Cooking
If the oven has een exposed to moisture 48 hours
prior to use, uild a small fire and heat the oven to
250-300°F for two hours efore increasing the heat
to cooking temperature. An easy solution is to urn
an 8-10 pound ag of match lite charcoal and let it
urn completely. This will slowly dry out the mois-
ture that the oven has a sor ed.
As stated, we recommend cooking in a temperature
range of 350° to 600°F. Time of cooking will de-
pend on the temperature and the item eing
cooked. The floor is the heat source that will do
most of the cooking. An infra-red temperature
gauge like that shown in Figure 18 can e used to
measure temperature at any location in and around
the oven.
Cooking pizza in a wood-fired oven is somewhat
like grilling or smoking meats in that there are
many varia les such as the type of wood used, am-
ient temperature and humidity, oven temperature
and thickness of crust and toppings, that affect the
outcome, Be prepared to spend a few times testing
recipes and techniques. Practice and experimenta-
tion will show how to est cook your favorite style
of pizza.
• A traditional Italian pizza with a thick
crust and a thin layer of toppings should
cook at 600°F or hotter for 3-6 minutes.
• For thicker pizzas with heavier toppings,
lower temperatures are required to thor-
oughly cook without urning.
• A medium pizza with heavy toppings may
cook est at 400°F-500°F and will require
a longer cooking times, perhaps 15-25
minutes.
Cook the pizza directly on the floor of the oven.
Place it in the oven using a long-handled paddle
called a peel, using hot mitts or hot pads. Slide the
pizza from the preparation surface to the peel, and
then onto the cooking surface using a slight jerking
technique.

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WARNING: Be mindful of the hot surfaces of
your pizza oven. Because of the
high temperatures, extra caution
should be used when cooking
with a wood-fired oven. Use
proper, long-handled tools and
protective mitts when working
around the opening or reaching
into the hot oven.
Tools required for cooking pizza are shown in Fig-
ure 18 and are availa le from Stone Age Manufac-
turing.
Figure 18. Cooking Tools
6.0 Cleaning, Inspection and
Maintenance
As is the case with most other equipment, cleanli-
ness is the est maintenance practice and will con-
tri ute to many hours use.
WARNING: Do not clean the oven when it is
hot.
Let the fire and coals completely urn out and
cool efore cleaning. It is est to wait until the
next day efore removing ashes.. Ashes should e
placed in a metal container with a tight-fitting lid,
and removed from all com usti le materials,
pending final disposal. If the ashes are disposed
of y urial in soil or otherwise locally dispersed,
they should e retained in the closed container
until all cinders have thoroughly cooled.
Spot check the refractory ricks and mortar for
small cracks. It will expand slightly with the heat,
then contract as it cools. Replace refractory ricks
when the cracks open more than ¼”; or when pits
ecome extensive and deeper than 3/16” when ov-
en is at am ient temperature and not in use; or
when any piece of refractory larger than 2 inches in
diameter ecomes dislodged.
If creosote has accumulated, it should e removed
to reduce the risk fire. Remove creosote using a
wire rush and/or a creosote liquid detergent de-
signed for this purpose. Also there are manufac-
tured logs availa le that are designed for the
removal of creosote. These products will e avail-
a le at most local hardware stores, home improve-
ment stores, specialty fireplace retailers or on the
internet.
Keep the door in place and a cap on the chimney
when not in use to protect the interior cooking
cham er of the oven from exposure to moisture.
10 and 14” Pizza Pan
Pizza Handling Tools
Pan Gripper Tool
Infrared Thermometer
Wood & Metal
Pizza Peels

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Sonolastic® is a registered trademark of BASF Chemical Company
Rev: MPOAPO1012
October, 2012
LIMITED WARRANTY
The products of Stone Age Manufacturing, Inc. (“Stone Age”) have
een carefully manufactured and the components assem led to give the
customer a quality product. Stone Age warrants to the original purchaser
the materials that it provides to the customer against defects in manufac-
ture for a period of twenty-five (25) years from the date of purchase on
UL-127 listed fireplaces, for a period of five (5) years from the date of
purchase on all unlisted fireplaces, fire pits, and other masonry compo-
nents. Other accessory items or components offered, ut not produced
y Stone Age Manufacturing, Inc., shall e covered y their manufac-
turer’s warranties. This Limited Warranty covers only actual manufac-
turing defects in the Stone Age product and does not cover defects or
faulty workmanship in the installation of the product or the masonry or
other structure in which it is installed. Also this warranty does not cover
items that have een damaged due to over-heating, modification, im-
proper storage or maintenance. Stone Age shall repair or replace, at its
option, any defective Stone Age product component upon receipt of
written notice addressed to Stone Age. This Limited Warranty covers
only replacement of any defective components within the product itself
occurring during the warranty period and does not cover the cost of in-
stallation or removal from a fixed location. NO OTHER
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE, INCLUDING
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES WHICH ARE SPECIFICALLY
DISCLAIMED. Stone Age is not lia le for damages or injury to persons
or property or other incidental or consequential damages.
Stone Age Manufacturing, Inc.
11107 E. 126
th
St. N., Collinsville, OK 74021
WWW.Stoneagefireplaces.com