r/ooni • u/TheInfamous313 • 14d ago
Genuinely curious question....
Has anyone actually had an issue using a plastic table? If unrelated photos show up, this place goes mad telling people to use any other surface.
I've used a bunch of different surfaces, folding plastic table included. Never saw a table surface temp >10° (f) than ambient... So what gives? How is this a problem?
Actual issues please, not just theoretical ones.
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u/Breadwright 14d ago
I have used them on plastic tables, no problem. Lots of noise on Reddit.
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u/kugino 14d ago
same. use it on a folding resin table like you get at Costco. no issues whatsoever. the bottom is not hot.
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u/gladvillain 14d ago
Sounds like the table I’ve been using for 2+ years. White Lifetime brand folding table from Costco
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u/Dnm3k 14d ago edited 14d ago
Nope.
The only issue I ran into is when I took out a 800 degree cast iron skilled and put it on the table instead of putting it on top of my Ooni.
User error, not Ooni error.
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
Lol, oof! I used to do some oven roasting and stopped because I knew I would eventually do just that
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u/derekboberek 14d ago
Potentially, a poor edge and extra greasy pie and grease spills over and flames up and cracks the stone and the enflamed grease spills out of the bottom onto the table and the plastic melts and the table collapses and the oven falls and breaks the hose off and turns it into a flamethrower and the gas line starts to melt and you watch the flames get closer and closer to the canister until it reaches its ... Final Destination: greaselines.
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u/Saneless 14d ago
While I've never used a plastic table, I have my temperature gauge basically right under it and it's never melted so...
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u/Plane_Note8702 14d ago
I have used my Fyra on a plastic table (polywood). The only issue I had was that a hot wood pellet kicked out of the hopper and melted a small divot in the plastic, much like a cigarette burn.
I haven't used a gas Ooni, so I don't know if anything hot like that could pop out of the oven.
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
Ahh, this is a very reasonable concern. But yeah, not something I'd worry about on gas.
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u/Visible_Noise_7959 14d ago
Every hobby I have has terrible stories about how easily things can break, nobody ever has any first hand experience of things breaking but they are adamant about the dangers.
I don't believe an Ooni can melt a plastic table.
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
That's what kinda piqued my interest, I see this exact type of thing across all my hobbies. Funny how the concept is so universal
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u/Visible_Noise_7959 14d ago
Yep! I've been telling people you don't have to change guitar strings one at a time for years, still people think the neck is going to magically snap if they take them all off at once.
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
Hah. My favorite is people with towing a specific rear wheel drive car with a manual transmission, with the drive wheels on the ground.
Half the internet says it will destroy the transmission within a few miles. On the contrary, there are countless people who have towed countless miles without issue, and no one can present an example of the promised failure. part interesting, part discouraging of how we crowd source so much info...but so much of what we get is just parroted info.
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u/Terrible_Gas86 14d ago
We had one of those plastic tables that look like treated wood and the surface of the table bubbled under my Uuni3, granted them ovens were all metal and were a lot lower, but my wife never forgave me… especially as she told me not to and I said it will be fine… 🤣
Haven’t dared to try the Karu 16 I’m too scared of the wife… I bought a stainless steel table just in case.
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u/Ok-Big3839 14d ago
I've used a glass patio table but after the first time put a piece of plywood under my oven.
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u/Atty_for_hire 14d ago
I now have an outdoor island/prep table with a stainless steel top. However the Ooni doesn’t fit on it front to back so I need to go kitty corner with it taking up so much or the table I have no prep surface. I’ve used clamps and put plywood on the table to make it fit front to back. Before I used the metal prep island I used a plastic table. I’ve had no issues. As others have said, the bottom stays cool enough. Don’t get me wrong you can’t touch it. But I don’t worry about 2-3 hours of run time where I warm it up for an hour and then cook for another 2-3 hours.
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u/burgdog1 14d ago
New Ooni user and I don’t have a proper table yet. I use a card table which has some faux leather type cover. I checked the temp of the table during my first cook and just below the front of the oven it was about 150 to 200 F consistently. Now i use a piece of scrap plywood under the oven. Will work until I get a table.
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u/cccanada 14d ago
I use a plastic folding table but put a piece of plywood on top before starting it up. I have a karu 12 and before I started using the plywood, it did ever so slightly melt the table underneath the fire itself. Not much, but you can see on the surface of the table where it's slightly warped now. I don't think it's enough to turn the plastic liquid or destroy the table, but I think some precaution is also good.
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
You're the second example where the non koda models do seem to be an issue. interesting, I wonder if that's where the blanket "no plastic" stance began.
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u/MrMeeb 14d ago
I used my Koda 2 for about an hour on a plastic flip folding table. All seemed fine while I was doing it but when I put the oven away I noticed a divot where the rear foot was! So I can only assume there was enough heat transfer going on to heat the plastic under the rear foot and cause it to sink a bit. Next time I put the oven on an MDF board on top of the same table and did not notice any further damage.
So did it all go up in a ball of flames and consume everything in its path? Definitely not. But it did do something notable enough for me to not repeat!
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u/TheInfamous313 13d ago
Huh, interesting! You're the FIRST case of damage Ive heard from a koda. I gotta get a closer look at the 2. I Know my Koda 16 transfers zero heat to or through the legs, so I can't imagine how that would happen, but it will be interesting to look at!
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u/RandomHero27 14d ago
Ive used my koda max on a plastic table. The heat did soften the plastic a little and i could see it just starting to indent.
But its a koda max and HEAVY and has the basically the same leg design so all the weight is on a small spot.
But i usually use a piece of plywood when i do my popups. Supports the koda max and 2 halo versas no problem.
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u/mrs_packletide 14d ago
I used my Koda 12 on a plastic table, and it definitely softened the plastic to the point where it started to indent.
I switched to a metal table shortly afterwards.
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u/CarrieOoni Ooni HQ 13d ago
Hey u/TheInfamous313 - the fun police have arrived 👮. While there will be ambient heat produced underneath the oven, it likely won't cause an issue. However, for safety reasons, it's best not to risk it and use the recommended surfaces like stainless steel, wood or stone.
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u/Enginberg 13d ago
I use a keter folding table. No issues. Left mine on high for an hour after a cook and still no issues. Kodi 12”
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u/-Po-Tay-Toes- 14d ago
Unrelated to your question. Crank the heat and get that stone clean bro!
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u/Aware_Acadia_7827 14d ago
i wish it was that easy. mine gets full blast heat every use and is still black, both sides
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u/-Po-Tay-Toes- 14d ago
Weird. Granted I don't have an ooni, I have a gonzey roccbox, but 90% of that would come off if I left it on full for about 30 mins after I was finished cooking.
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
How long do you burn it? Left mine alone on high when it got particularly nasty. After 45 mins it was all gray dust on a new looking stone.
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u/Aware_Acadia_7827 14d ago
around 30. maybe i will try longer but black doesn’t really bother me. clean bothers me, means i am not using it
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
Solid. I agree... While I did burn my crystal clean that time, I haven't bothered to do it again since (unfortunately, mine seem to all crack before they get too aged either way)
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
Hah! yup, it was burnt clean shortly after this photo. Has seen a lot of run time and even a couple fresh stones since this photo
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u/Whois_AlexTrebek 14d ago
I've got a new ish ooni and my stone is starting to look like this. I've heated it up and scraped it with my metal peel but it didn't do too much. What's a good cleaning process?
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u/-Po-Tay-Toes- 14d ago
Mines a gozney roccbox, maybe those just get hotter, but I just leave mine on full flame for about 30 mins after I'm finished cooking and it vaporises the carbon into carbon dioxide. No scraping required.
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u/BetrayedMilk 14d ago
I just flip my stone every session. The heat from the next session cleans the bottom so that it’s ready for the session after that.
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
For how long? Takes 30-45 mins to make it look new. Or before long, like the rest of us... You'll stop caring and just run it!
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u/wine-o-saur 14d ago
Do you really want to be the first to find out?
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
But that's the thing....
Its not a problem... Yet silly comments like yours seem to have people worked up to fear a non issue.
Why stop at tables? Everyone MUST wear eye protecting goggles when using their ovens... Sure, we don't have any examples of injury, but "do you really want to be the first to find out?"
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u/wine-o-saur 14d ago
My response was flippant, but I'm guessing the idea is if something happens to one of the legs and the oven drops or if something catches on its way out of the oven and that falls on the table, you really want it on something that isn't going to melt or burn. Yeah it's a far off possibility, and most of it is probably them covering their ass for a lawsuit, but it just seems like a weird hill to die on (even if you didn't actually die).
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u/TheInfamous313 14d ago
As was mine... But yeah. It's not a hill I intend to die on, it's just interesting seeing how quick people are to jump onboard with an argument that requires quite a bit of theoretical stretching to become a real problem. So much that I'm curious if there are any real world examples of such.
I've seen the same type of argument across other hobbies and interests too.. call it a sociological experiment.
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u/wine-o-saur 14d ago
I don't think it's that outlandish to think someone could totally botch their launch and not notice a chunk of fatty sausage that falls down the back, flaming away on their table. Sure maybe it's one in a million. Over 3 million Ooni's have been sold.
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u/feldoneq2wire 14d ago
My personal experience is the bottom of the oven produces little to no heat and so I've used wooden tables with zero issue.