You finally bit the bullet and bought the big one. The Ooni Karu 16 is sitting on your patio, looking all shiny and stainless steel, and you're ready to live your best Neapolitan life. But then, reality hits. Managing a wood fire is a whole thing. It’s messy. It’s unpredictable. Sometimes you just want a pizza on a Tuesday night without smelling like a campfire for three days. That’s exactly where the Ooni Karu 16 gas burner comes into play, and honestly, it changes the entire vibe of the oven.
It's a heavy piece of kit. When you swap out the wood tray for this propane attachment, you're basically turning a rustic wood-fired hearth into a precision-engineered kitchen appliance. Some purists hate that. They’ll tell you that if it isn't white oak or hickory, it isn't "real" pizza. They're wrong, mostly because at $800^{\circ}F$, the dough doesn't have enough time to pick up significant smoke flavor anyway.
Let’s get into the weeds of why this specific accessory is arguably more important than the oven itself for the average person.
The Reality of Cooking with the Ooni Karu 16 Gas Burner
Most people buy the Karu 16 because it’s "multi-fuel." It sounds great in the marketing copy. You imagine yourself foraging for fallen branches and craftily stoking a flame like a medieval baker. In practice? You’re usually starving, the kids are screaming, and you just realized your wood chunks are slightly too damp to hold a consistent temperature.
The Ooni Karu 16 gas burner fixes the biggest pain point of high-heat outdoor cooking: recovery time.
When you launch a cold pizza onto a hot stone, the stone loses heat. Physics is a jerk like that. With wood, you have to toss in another log, wait for it to catch, and hope the flame rolls over the ceiling at just the right moment. With the gas attachment, you just leave the dial on high. The blue flame licks the ceiling of the Karu 16, keeping that cordierite stone saturated with heat. It’s consistent. It’s boring in the best possible way.
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Why the Design Matters
Unlike the smaller burners for the Karu 12, the 16-inch version is a beast. It’s got a large overhead element that mimics the "rolling flame" of a wood fire. This is crucial. If the heat just sat at the back, your crust would burn before the toppings even melted. Ooni designed this to create a vortex of heat that circles the dome.
Installing it is a bit of a process, though. You have to remove the draft shield and the fuel tray. You need a screwdriver. It’s not something you want to do back-and-forth every single night. Most people I know who buy the Ooni Karu 16 gas burner end up leaving it in for 90% of their cooks.
Temperature Control vs. The "Soul" of Wood
Let’s talk about the knob. The burner has a low-to-high dial that actually works.
If you're doing a classic Margherita, you crank it. You want that $900^{\circ}F$ ($480^{\circ}C$) blistering heat. But what if you want to bake a New York style pie? Or maybe a sourdough loaf? Or a cast-iron pan of ribeye steaks? Wood is a nightmare for low-and-slow. It’s either "surface of the sun" or "extinguished."
With the gas burner, you can actually dial the temperature back to $500^{\circ}F$. This makes the Karu 16 a much more versatile tool. It stops being a "pizza-only" machine and starts being an outdoor oven. I've seen people do incredible roasted vegetables and even brownies in these things once they have the precision of gas.
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The Soot Factor
One thing nobody mentions in the glossy brochures: wood is dirty.
If you use wood, the glass door of your Karu 16—which is one of its best features—will be pitch black within twenty minutes. You’ll spend half your life scrubbing it with a damp cloth and ash. The Ooni Karu 16 gas burner burns clean. You can actually see your pizza cooking through the glass. This isn't just about aesthetics; it's about not burning your dinner because you couldn't see the crust charring in the back corner.
Is It Cheating?
There’s this weird elitism in the pizza world. People think if you aren't struggling, you aren't doing it right. But look at professional Neapolitan pizzerias in Italy. A huge percentage of them use gas-assist or purely gas ovens now because the consistency is better for business.
If you’re hosting a party for ten people, you don't want to be hovering over a wood box. You want to be drinking a beer and hanging out. The Ooni Karu 16 gas burner allows you to be a host instead of a firewarden.
The Fuel Efficiency Question
Propane isn't free, but neither is high-quality kiln-dried hardwood. A standard 20lb propane tank will last you a surprisingly long time—roughly 20 to 30 sessions depending on how long you preheat. If you're buying those tiny boxes of Ooni-branded oak, gas is actually significantly cheaper per cook.
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Common Frustrations and Fixes
It isn't all sunshine and rainbows. The igniter on these can sometimes be finicky. You’ll find yourself clicking it five times, wondering if you're about to create a small explosion.
- The "Blow Out" Issue: In very high winds, the flame can occasionally flicker out. Because the Karu 16 is so well-ventilated, a strong gust can sometimes bypass the burner's protection. Always position the back of the oven away from the wind.
- The Hose Length: The included regulator hose is fine, but it’s not exactly long. You’ll need your propane tank pretty close to your oven stand.
- The Heat-Up Time: Even with gas, don’t expect a 5-minute preheat. To get that floor stone truly saturated so the bottom of your pizza is crispy, you still need 20 to 30 minutes. Gas is faster than wood to reach peak temp, but it's not instant.
The Technical Specs You Actually Need
The burner is rated at roughly 7.5kWh (about 25,500 BTU). For context, that’s more powerful than most single burners on a high-end gas grill. It’s designed specifically for the airflow of the Karu 16. Do not try to jam this into a different model; the mounting points are specific to the 16’s larger chassis.
It also comes with a 28mbar / 37mbar regulator depending on your region (US vs UK/EU). Make sure you’re buying the version meant for your country’s gas standards, or you’ll be hunting for adapters that don't exist.
Nuance: The Flavor Myth
Blind taste tests are humbling. If you cook a pizza in 60 seconds with wood, and another in 60 seconds with the Ooni Karu 16 gas burner, 95% of people cannot tell the difference. The "smoke" flavor in BBQ comes from hours of exposure. In a pizza oven, the smoke is mostly just moving past the dough too fast to stick. What people perceive as "wood-fired flavor" is usually just char. Gas gives you char just as well as wood does.
Actionable Steps for New Owners
If you’ve just picked up the burner or you’re on the fence, here is how to actually get the most out of it without ruining your first batch of dough.
- The First Fire: Don't cook on it the second you install it. Run the burner on high for 30 minutes. This burns off any manufacturing oils or residues. It’ll smell a bit weird; that’s normal.
- The Door Secret: Even with gas, keep the door closed during the preheat. The Karu 16 is designed to hold heat in that massive ceiling. Opening the door too much is the #1 reason for "soggy bottom" pizzas.
- Low and Slow Finish: If your toppings are raw but the crust is getting too dark, turn the burner to its lowest setting. The residual heat in the stone will finish the bottom while the gentle flame melts the cheese.
- Leak Test: Use soapy water on the connections. It sounds like a dad-advice cliché, but these burners put out a lot of gas. A small leak at the regulator can ruin your night.
- Get an Infrared Thermometer: This is non-negotiable. Don't guess. Don't trust the thermometer on the side of the oven (which measures ambient air, not stone temp). Wait until the center of the stone hits at least $750^{\circ}F$ before you launch.
The Ooni Karu 16 gas burner basically turns a high-maintenance hobby into a reliable weeknight tool. It takes away the "will it work?" anxiety and replaces it with "what toppings are we doing?" For most people, that’s the difference between the oven getting used every week or gathering dust in the garage.
Focus on your hydration levels in your dough. Practice your launch technique. Let the gas burner handle the heat. You've got enough to worry about with the flour all over your floor.