Choosing by cooking space
CBO 500 or CBO 750 Countertop? Compare the finished ovens
The CBO 500 and CBO 750 Countertop share a wood-fired, preassembled format, but their published layouts and support requirements are not the same. The useful choice is not simply “small or large”: it is whether one documented 12-inch pizza position is enough, how much permanent support the project can provide, and whether the larger body fits the planned station.
What grows from the 500 to the 750
The 500 has a 27 by 22 inch hearth and illustrates one 12-inch pizza. Its model drawing lists a minimum 450-pound support capacity and body dimensions of about 34.25 inches wide by 32.5 inches deep. The 750 has a 38 by 28 inch hearth and illustrates two 12-inch pizzas together; its drawing calls for at least 625 pounds of support and shows a body about 40 inches wide by 35.5 inches deep. The support rating is a minimum capacity for the support, not either oven’s own mass. The checked specifications do not state exact assembled weight, so do not use 450 or 625 pounds as lifting weight.
The 750 keeps the same 17-inch opening identified by the manufacturer’s size comparison. It offers more floor area, not a documented larger pizza diameter. Both page illustrations are explicitly examples rather than maximum-capacity statements. If the essential requirement is two 12-inch pies, the 750 is the one with a direct layout; if one 12-inch pizza at a time is enough, the 500 may leave more room for a station around it.
Both are installed wood ovens
Each countertop model is listed as preassembled with an insulated metal hood and chimney package, plus a peel, brush and handheld infrared thermometer. That avoids treating the customer as the oven-core assembler, unlike the separate DIY kit rows. It does not supply the supporting counter or base, and the manufacturer directs buyers to plan installation with an installer. The countertop label should not be confused with a light portable appliance.
Both exact models burn wood, rely on manual fire tending and hand turning, and have no listed gas burner, electrical element, thermostat, preset or powered stone. The current shared wood-fired manual calls for a slow initial cure near 212°F without exceeding it, dry solid wood, and clearances of 10 inches at sides/back, 18 inches overhead, 30 inches below, 30 inches beside the door and 36 inches in front. It also keeps stored wood 7 inches from the underside insulation. Local solid-fuel chimney requirements and approval still matter, even where manufacturer material describes indoor/outdoor certification.
Do not substitute the Hybrid or DIY name
The CBO 500 and 750 DIY kits are separate native products with a different assembly and installation package. The CBO 750 Hybrid Countertop is also a distinct row: it adds factory-configured gas burners and has a separate manual. A buyer who needs propane or natural gas should compare that exact residential Hybrid and confirm gas and installation altitude before ordering; those options do not belong to the wood-only countertop fact record.
Choose the 500 when its single illustrated pizza plan, smaller body and 450-pound minimum support requirement fit your gathering and site. Choose the 750 when the two-pie illustration and larger hearth serve a real need and the station can meet the larger support and space demands. In either case, ask the installer to confirm the exact model drawing, ventilation route and combustible clearances before building around a price or a picture.