Chicago Brick Oven CBO 750 DIY Kit review

The CBO 750 DIY wood-fired kit is the middle size in Chicago Brick Oven’s built-in family. Its exact observed native U.S. item is SKU CBO-O-KIT-750, with a 38.25-by-28-inch hearth and a 17-inch opening. In the maker’s current layout illustration, that floor holds two 12-inch pizzas together. The maker cautions that the reference layouts are examples rather than maximum capacity, so the evidence supports that two-pie arrangement without establishing how many smaller pizzas—or the largest possible single pie—will fit. The 17-inch opening is not itself a promise that a 17-inch pizza clears the oven interior.

The meaningful upgrade is working room, not convenience

Compared with the CBO 500’s 27-by-22-inch cooking surface and one illustrated 12-inch pizza, the 750 gives a host more room to stage two documented 12-inch pies or a wider mix of pans and cookware. It remains a fixed hearth that needs hand tending. There is no motorized stone, phone monitor, named pizza preset or setpoint thermostat in this wood-fired kit. The included infrared thermometer gun is a handheld instrument, not an integrated live display or a cooking controller. If your priority is less manual work rather than more floor area, the 750 does not solve that requirement.

The six-piece oven consists of a dome, three-piece hearth, arch and decorative door. The package includes the installation materials, a pizza peel, brush and infrared thermometer gun. Its spec sheet names a DuraVent #9441 six-inch anchor box, three insulation boards, insulation blanket, steel plate and mortar. The manual gives the oven weight as 480 pounds and says the support base must carry that oven plus the decorative cover you choose. That is not the weight of the completed island, chimney and surrounding construction. The custom supporting structure, finished surround and labor still need to be planned separately.

Wood-only identity matters

This review is for the wood-fired CBO-O-KIT-750 native item. Chicago Brick Oven lists a separate residential 750 Hybrid-R product with its own fuel choices and manual. Do not read the hybrid burner into this kit or treat a gas/altitude selection on another product as interchangeable. The wood model uses solid, dry wood only; the current manual warns against scrap, compressed logs and coal. Starting with dry kindling and adding fuel gradually is a more realistic routine than expecting an appliance-style button and unattended cycle.

The manufacturer calls the kit DIY, but the product page says installation requires hardscaping experience, and the manual calls for a professional or suitably qualified individual. The support must be masonry or metal, level, sturdy and noncombustible. Plan the supporting base, chimney, finish material, access around the oven and venting before ordering the hearth. The current manual covers both the CBO 500 and 750 and says to check with local authorities for permits, restrictions and inspection. For indoor use, the route also depends on code-compliant chimney and ventilation design; the finder’s indoor answer is not a permit or an installation approval.

Clearances and first-fire routine are not small details

For the 500 and 750, the manual calls for 10 inches from combustible materials at the sides and back, 18 inches above and 30 inches below. At the mouth, leave 30 inches on both sides and 36 inches in front; keep wood storage at least 7 inches below the insulation board. The largest directional requirement is 36 inches, which the finder uses as a conservative clearance summary. The site dimensions and a patio photo cannot replace those specific installation drawings or the authority having jurisdiction.

Before regular cooking, the manual calls for curing gradually over two to three days at a temperature near 212°F, never above it. A new or moisture-exposed masonry oven should not be rushed into a large flame. For pizza, the instructions use an open door and ongoing attention to the fire. The supplied decorative door is not for closed-door cooking. To use the oven for bread or similar retained-heat cooking, the manual specifies below 400°F with no fire in the chamber and an insulating door; that door is optional for the 750 and is not part of the listed package. The time, fuel handling and cleanup belong in the decision alongside cooking area.

Does the 750 justify its footprint?

This is the logical CBO DIY choice when a custom station is already part of the plan and a documented two-12-inch layout is more useful than the smallest kit’s one-pie example. It is not automatically the right upgrade for a household that cooks one pizza at a time: its larger floor also increases the installation support requirement from 350 to 480 pounds and increases the enclosure footprint. The 1000 has still more room—four 12-inch pizzas shown in the maker’s illustration—but calls for a 920-pound minimum support base and a much larger structure. Those layout figures demonstrate a supported arrangement, not the maximum potential output of a service shift.

No exact maximum pizza diameter, full assembled weight or selectable temperature range was confirmed for this configuration. The maker advertises very high heat and its FlameRoll design, but those statements are not independent measurements. If your must-have is gas, powered rotation, portable storage or quick setup, compare a different product family rather than treating “DIY” as a sign that the 750 is turnkey.

Sources: Chicago Brick Oven CBO 750 DIY product page, specification-sheet index (CBO 750 DIY sheet), and the product-manuals index (current CBO 500/750/1000 wood-burning manual). Product layout statements are manufacturer examples, not independent capacity or performance measurements.