First Impressions of the Gozney Arc XL
Nothing needs bolting together. The oven leaves the carton complete, with the flue outlet and burner guard to fit. Screw the regulator onto a propane cylinder and turn the dial.
Freeing it from the cardboard is the hard part. Packed, the XL weighs 73 lb. Recesses under the body give you somewhere to grip, but this is a two-person lift. Pick its spot before the box arrives.
Lit, it reads as kitchen hardware. The dark dome curves low over a wide orange mouth. A small screen under the door shows the reading. It also marks a zone for each pizza style.
Our first 16 inch pies baked fast and charred well on the rim. The crust closest to the flame browned first, as expected. The far edge needed a deliberate turn to catch up. Once turned, the base came out crisp and the cheese stayed creamy.
Key Features of the Gozney Arc XL
Nearly every part of the XL is borrowed from the 14 inch Arc. The difference is scale, so read each feature with a 16 inch pie in mind.
- One lateral flame: Fire lives on the left wall only. From there it licks up and over toward the right. A wider floor puts the right edge farther from it.
- Cordierite stone floor: 338.5 sq in of 20 mm cordierite lifts out in one piece. It charges slowly, then feeds the underside of each crust.
- Two layers of insulation: Most of the shell’s bulk is insulation. It is why the dome stays hot when the door is open.
- Digital readout: Under the door, a lit display gives the number and colours the band for each style. No infrared gun required.
- Single control dial: One knob beside the screen sets the flame. Dialled low, the chamber handles focaccia or a skillet steak.
- Stainless steel: Brushed stainless wraps the right flank. Smoke marks wipe off it more easily than off paint.
- A low, wide mouth: Across, the door spans 16.8 inches; top to bottom, just 95 mm. That is barely more slot than a 16 inch pie needs.
- Cover: Two are available, the Arc XL Cover alone or one sized to oven and stand together. Neither ships in the carton.
Small extras ride along too. A Torx driver and a stone tool sit with a matchstick holder for manual lighting. Gozney’s own stand, booster and Arc XL Mantel are optional.
Gozney rates the XL to 950 F. A full 16 inch bake, by its own account, needs a minute at most. On a fully soaked stone, thin Neapolitan dough met that claim in our runs. Thicker New York dough wanted a gentler flame and a slower bake.
As with the Arc, holding heat is the strength. With a 95 mm mouth, little heat escapes during a launch. Our tenth pie of the evening had a base as crisp as the first.
Width has a cost on the right. The flame is on the left, and a 16 inch pie reaches the cooler right wall.
A 14 inch pie in the Arc stays clear of that wall. Here, expect two turns per pie rather than one, especially early in a session.
The width earns its keep in other ways. A skillet fits beside a modest pizza, and vegetables can finish in the far corner. Treat the right side as a gentler zone rather than a fault.
The stone also needs patience. Gozney says “within minutes”. The number on the screen climbs well ahead of the slab, though. A longer, wider floor takes longer to charge, and launching early gives a pale base.
Gozney lists every inside dimension to the millimetre. Yet it never names a burner rating for the US model.
So nobody can tell from the page whether the flame grew along with the room. The bakes suggest it copes. On paper, there is no answer, and no rival can be ranked against it.
Build, handling and durability
The build matches the price. The dome seams sit flush, the stainless flank is clean, and the base feels stiff. Eleven more pounds than the 14 inch Arc go mostly into stone and insulation.
That weight sets the rules. It is 58.5 lb, with no legs or carry bag. Treat the XL as furniture.
Its 20.9 by 24.8 inch base outgrows many patio side tables. The Arc Stand or Booster is the sensible home. Whatever it sits on must stay level and take the heat underneath.
Unregistered, an XL is covered for twelve months. Five years applies once Gozney has your registration, sent within 60 days. For an oven parked outside all season, that matters. Still, nothing in the box reminds you to file.
Running costs, upkeep and value
The XL runs on standard propane. How fast a cylinder empties is anyone’s guess, since no hourly gas figure exists. A bigger chamber may well burn more. A charged stone lets you cook most pies with the knob short of its stop.
Cleaning asks very little. Gozney says the oven starts cleaning itself above 650 F. Burnt-on spills are gone after about three hours at that heat. Sweep the cooled slab with a stiff, dry brush.
Skip soap on cordierite, which absorbs it. Dark stains on the stone are cosmetic. Should the slab ever crack, the supplied tool lifts it out.
Gozney even packs a Torx driver, which implies the panels are serviceable. Keep it with the stone tool, since both vanish easily into a shed drawer.
Value is where the XL surprises. Its floor costs about $2.95 per square inch against about $3.04 on the Arc. Bigger turns out cheaper, per inch. The $200 step buys 75.5 sq in more stone and a 16 inch pie.
The stand still costs extra, and most owners will want one. With a cover and peels added, the total lands well above four figures. Gozney sells the XL direct for $999.99, with free shipping to the contiguous US. Unused returns are accepted within 30 days, which might suit a first oven.
Possible Gozney Arc XL Complaints
- The launch leaves little margin. A 16 inch pie through a 95 mm opening has no room for a wobble. A snagged edge folds the pie onto itself. A floured metal peel and a smaller turning peel make the learning curve shorter.
- The far edge needs attention. With one flame on the left, the right side of a big pie lags. Plan two turns per pie. Letting the stone soak longer narrows the gap.
