Raptor 1 / Technologies & Design
Inspired by traditional Italian masonry ovens. A side fire, a stone cooking floor and space above the pizza—designed around how the whole pizza bakes.
The crust can brown before moist toppings in the center are ready. Compare the Raptor 1’s taller FullBake chamber with the lower chamber of the Dragon 17 to see why the space above the pizza matters.
FULLBAKE TECHNOLOGYRaptor 1More space above the pizza. | LOWER CHAMBERDragon 17Less clearance above the pizza. |
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01 / CHAMBER HEIGHT & CRUST RISE As the crust rises, it enters a different heat region.As the crust rises, it passes through more of the hotter reference bands in the lower Dragon chamber. The same rise leaves more clearance in the taller Raptor chamber. 450–700 °C: reference temperatures supplied by Glowen. The Dragon panel uses the same reference scale to illustrate lower clearance; band positions are schematic, with gradual boundaries. Why the rising crust changes the bake.The numbers describe the supplied oven-temperature reference, not the temperature of the pizza itself. At launch, the dough sits low above the stone. As the outer crust expands, its top moves toward the hotter flame and upper surfaces, while the topping-covered center remains lower. In the lower Dragon chamber, the rising crust reaches this upper region sooner. Its exposed surface loses moisture and can darken rapidly. The wetter center is still using energy to evaporate water, so it needs more time before its surface browns. FullBake gives the growing crust more clearance while continuing to heat the toppings and the base during the same bake. | |
02 / CRUST & CENTERKeep clearance as the crust rises.As the crust expands upward, the taller R1 chamber gives it more room before it reaches the upper heat region. The center toppings keep receiving heat while moisture evaporates and their surface browns. | 02 / CRUST & CENTERThe rising crust reaches the upper region sooner.With less clearance, the same rise brings the Dragon’s crust into the upper heat region earlier. The crust can darken quickly while the wetter center remains lower and still needs time to brown. |
03 / ON THE PIZZABrowned toppings. A controlled crust.The aim is a browned center and a baked base within the same cycle, before excessive crust darkening forces the pizza out. | 03 / ON THE PIZZAJudge the center separately.A deeply colored crust does not mean the toppings are finished. Check their surface as well as the crust when deciding whether the pizza is ready. |
The hot stone conducts heat into the base. Radiation and convection heat the exposed toppings and crust. FullBake names the Raptor’s combined arrangement of chamber height, side flame and heated stone.
Gas configurations shown. Conceptual illustrations, not scale drawings or measured temperature maps. FullBake is used in Raptor 1 and Raptor 2; Dragon 14 and Dragon 17 do not have FullBake.
FullBake Technology defines how the Glowen Raptor 1 combines conduction, radiation and convection within one cooking chamber. The 20 mm chamotte stone transfers heat into the dough by direct contact. The flame and hot internal surfaces supply radiant heat, while moving hot gases transfer energy by convection. Together, these mechanisms heat the base, crust and toppings during the same cooking cycle.
Different parts of the pizza respond differently to that energy. The exposed crust can dry and begin browning while moist toppings in the center are still releasing water. Evaporation consumes heat, delaying the surface-temperature rise needed for more pronounced browning. A dark crust therefore does not establish that the center has reached the intended finish.
The R1 combines a taller chamber, fire on the left and space above the pizza. As the crust rises, it moves toward the hotter upper region. In the lower Dragon chamber it reaches this region sooner; the R1’s taller chamber leaves more clearance above the growing crust. Geometry also affects gas movement and exposure to the flame and hot surfaces. FullBake brings this arrangement together with the heated stone, with the design objective of giving the toppings—including those in the center—time to develop browned surfaces before the crust darkens excessively. Adequate preheating, flame management and manual turning let the cook manage that balance for the chosen dough and topping load.
INSPIRED BY NEAPOLITAN MASONRY OVENS
Follow the air from the opening to the fire, then follow the hot gases above the pizza and toward the outlet. The shared arrangement is visible in both ovens: combustion at the side, a heated floor below and space for heat above.
Wood fire at the side · Front vent and chimney
Side cutaway · Front opening at right
Hot gases rise because they are less dense than the surrounding air. As they leave through the outlet, replacement air enters. The shape of the openings, the gas path and the temperature difference affect this natural draft. In the gas R1, the gas jet separately draws primary air into the burner before ignition.
| Follow the flow | Masonry oven · wood | Raptor 1 · gas |
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| 01Air supply | Fresh air enters low through the oven mouth and travels toward the wood fire. The open space around the logs lets combustion air reach the burning fuel. | The gas jet draws primary air into the burner’s mixing tube. Additional, secondary air enters the open chamber and reaches the flames around the burner. |
| 02Side combustion | The wood fire is banked along the side of the hearth, beside the pizza. The flame rises along the vault, leaving the central stone surface available for baking. | The slotted gas burner sits along the left side, beside the baking stone. Flames emerge along the slotted half of the tube’s circumference along its active length and rise into the chamber. |
| 03Hot-gas path & outlet | Hot gases move beneath the vault and toward the upper part of the mouth. A vent above the entrance collects them into the chimney, outside the cooking dome. | Hot gases rise into the space above the baking stone and travel toward the front of the chamber, then leave through the short upper outlet. |
The side flame and heated upper surfaces supply energy to the crust and toppings, while the stone heats the base by contact. FullBake brings these processes together in the R1’s taller chamber, giving the center toppings time to brown as the crust rises.
The Raptor 1’s side burner is designed to create a broad rolling flame that reaches across the upper chamber from one side to the other. It recreates the sweep of a side fire, carrying heat toward the opposite crust while you watch the bake through the front opening.
Compatible gas burner
¼ turn · 90°
The R1 burner is designed to recreate the sweep of a side fire: a broad flame rises on the left and rolls across the upper chamber toward the right. Heat reaches both side crusts during the bake, where you can follow their color and decide when to turn.
Left + rear flame position
½ turn · 180°
Flames are positioned along the left and rear. The rear outer crust face points away from you, so it can darken quickly without its color being directly visible. By the time you turn it into view, that section may already be overbrowned.
Left + rear + right flame position
½ turn · 180°
The rear crust can overbrown quickly while its outer face is hidden from view. After turning, flames still heat both sides. If those crust sections have already browned, continued exposure can take both too far while the center toppings are still finishing.
First click: turn R1 by 90° and the L/U examples by 180°. A second click resets the comparison.
First click: R1 turns 90°; L/U turn 180°. Second click: reset. The angles illustrate this comparison; choose the turning angle and timing from your actual bake.
From the illustrated front position, you can see the pizza top, front and side crusts and the open floor around it. The pizza hides its rear outer crust face and the low area immediately behind it. Here the R1 turns 90°, bringing the rear crust section toward the side; the L and U examples turn 180°, bringing it to the front. The hidden area stays behind the pizza.
Illustrative turns and heat exposure, not measured baking rates. After the turn, the remaining pale crust gradually browns; the R1’s already browned sections keep their color in this illustration. In the U-shaped example, darkening appears after the turn to represent continued heat exposure. Drawings are not to scale.
InView Baking Technology combines the Glowen Raptor 1’s side-fire layout with a direct view through the cooking opening. The gas burner is designed to recreate the sweep of a side fire: a broad flame rises on the left and rolls across the upper chamber toward the right. Heat reaches both side crusts during the same bake, making their developing color useful feedback for turning.
A burner whose flames remain close to its ports concentrates direct flame exposure along that line. Extending the burner into an L or U distributes those flame positions around more sides of the stone. R1 uses a different approach: its burner stays on the left, while the rolling flame reaches across the chamber.
In the illustrated L and U layouts, rear crust can darken quickly while its outer face points away from you. A turn reveals that surface after the browning has occurred. The U layout also keeps flame on both sides after a turn; already colored crust can become overbrowned while the center finishes.
Green marks the visible area; purple marks the low space hidden behind the pizza. In this illustration, the first click turns R1 by 90° and the L/U examples by 180°. The U-shaped example then darkens to show continued heat exposure after the turn. A second click resets the illustration. Choose actual turns from the crust and toppings; check the underside separately once the base is firm enough.
Internal gas–air mixing and air access around the flames support clean combustion, helping prevent burner-generated soot from settling on your pizza.
INSIDE VORTEX
Yellow gas meets green primary air, mixes through the bend and downstream passage, then reaches the half-circumference slots. Both combustion zones are outside the tube.
Conceptual flow and flame diagrams. The speed difference and vortex paths are illustrative, not measured R1 flow data. Yellow, green and yellow-green identify gas, air and their mixture; the gases do not visibly change color. Flame colors are illustrative, not a purity measurement.
Turning the flow redistributes velocity and pressure across the passage. The animation distinguishes faster and slower regions, then shows transverse motion carrying gas and air across the stream. The inset shows a pair of opposing vortices in cross-section; the mixture keeps travelling toward the outlets.
The mixture ignites after leaving a slot. Oxygen carried in with the primary air supports the inner reaction zone. In a partially premixed flame, this first zone may not supply all the oxygen needed for complete combustion.
Air from the oven chamber reaches the outer flame region. This secondary air supports further oxidation of remaining fuel and intermediate combustion products. It joins outside the tube, through the space around and between the flames.
THE PURPOSE OF THE MIX
The aim is to release heat without depositing burner-generated soot on the pizza. Mixing the gas with air before ignition, then supplying secondary air at the flames, helps prevent the fuel-rich conditions in which soot can form.
Soot is an unwanted combustion deposit. Incomplete burning can also produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which are carcinogenic. Smoke can carry these compounds onto food. Preventing deposits from the burner is one part of clean cooking.
Vortex Burner Technology controls how gas and air meet before and during combustion. Across Glowen gas burners, the central gas jet entrains primary air. Yellow and green paths identify these incoming streams; yellow-green identifies their mixture.
The first straight passage leads into a bend. Turning the flow changes its pressure and velocity distribution. Transverse motion develops, and vortices continue into the downstream straight section, redistributing gas and air across the passage. Faster and slower paths illustrate this mechanism; they are not measured R1 velocities.
The mixture travels toward transverse flame slots cut through half the circumference of the burner tube. The remaining half stays intact. These are partial circumferential cuts, not complete rings or outlets through the closed end cap.
Ignition occurs outside the slots. Primary air already mixed with the gas supports the inner reaction zone. Secondary air then reaches the outer flame region and supports further oxidation of remaining fuel and intermediate products. Neither reaction zone is inside the mixing tube.
Adequate mixing and access to oxygen help suppress fuel-rich conditions that produce soot. Vortex addresses burner-generated deposits at their source. Use the compatible R1 burner, gas and regulator, and keep air inlets and flame slots clear. Flame color alone does not establish complete combustion.
Primary air mixes inside the burner. Secondary air reaches the flames in the chamber.
As the Raptor 1 heats up, the growing temperature difference can strengthen natural draft, drawing air toward the wood more quickly. With dry fuel and enough oxygen, the fire burns more vigorously and releases more heat. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle: more heat supports stronger airflow, stronger combustion and further heating.
Build your wood fire directly on the chamber floor at the left side. The separate Firebox is an optional accessory.
RapidPreheat Technology brings the Glowen Raptor 1’s heat input, chamber geometry and insulation together for the first pizza. With wood, preheating also involves a developing fire: the heat already released helps prepare the next wood surfaces to burn.
Hot combustion gases are less dense than the surrounding air. As they rise and leave through the upper part of the opening, cooler replacement air enters below and feeds the side fire. During warm-up, a greater temperature difference can strengthen this buoyancy-driven flow. Meanwhile, heat from the flame and hot surfaces warms the wood, driving off moisture and releasing combustible gases. Mixed with enough oxygen, those gases burn and release more heat.
The fire triangle explains the relationship: heat, fuel and oxygen must be available together. Adding what is limiting can strengthen combustion; simply adding more wood does not guarantee more heat. Closely packed logs can restrict air access. Use dry, split beech wood and leave space between the pieces.
Build the fire directly on the chamber floor at the left side. A separate Firebox is optional. With dry wood and a well-managed fire, R1 can preheat faster than on gas, as described in its instructions. This depends on how the fire is built and maintained.
A stronger flame does not mean the stone is ready. Build heat progressively, allowing the stone to warm through. Before launching, check several points across the cooking area with an infrared thermometer; those readings describe the surface, not the heat stored deeper inside.
Dry wood and a well-managed fire make the difference. R1 instructions describe this fuel-dependent result; actual preparation time varies.
Build heat progressively. A lively flame is not a readiness measurement: check the cooking surface before the first pizza.
The flame warms the chamber and the wood. Dry wood releases combustible gases as it heats, preparing more fuel to burn.
More heat. Stronger draft. A more vigorous fire. The cycle develops while dry fuel and oxygen are available. Keep air paths open and allow the stone to heat through before baking.
The construction behind the heat
One insulating layer at the rear, one around the complete upper shell, and two beneath the cooking floor. ThermaShell helps Raptor 1 retain heat for the stone while reducing heat transfer toward the surface below.
Rear: 1 layer · Upper shell: 1 continuous layer · Base: 2 layers
ThermaShell Design is the insulating envelope around the Glowen Raptor 1 cooking chamber. It uses one layer at the rear, one continuous layer around the upper shell and two layers beneath the cooking floor. The baking stone sits above the two base layers and stores heat separately.
Heat flows from the hot interior toward cooler surroundings. Insulation adds thermal resistance to this path. The two base layers work together to restrict heat escaping beneath the stone, while the rear layer and upper wrap limit losses through the rest of the covered enclosure.
In winter, colder surroundings increase the temperature difference driving heat loss. Without underfloor insulation, the cooking floor can become a substantial loss path. If the available heat input cannot compensate, the stone may struggle to reach or maintain the temperature needed for the pizza base, even while a strong flame heats the chamber above it.
During preheating, limiting losses leaves more energy available to warm the chamber and stone. During consecutive bakes, it helps retain stored heat while the fire replenishes energy absorbed by each pizza. Check the stone between launches: recovery still depends on fuel input and the interval between pizzas.
The insulated base also reduces heat transferred toward the supporting surface, helping protect a suitable worktop from excessive heating. Use a stable, heat-resistant metal or stone support, as recommended in the R1 instructions. Those instructions advise against glass and plastic surfaces.
Raptor 1’s riveted joints keep the metal parts connected while allowing the limited relative movement built into the assembly. As the oven heats and cools, the joint accommodates small changes in the parts’ dimensions.
Cold reference: watch the plate edge as the joint heats.
ThermoFlex Design describes the Glowen Raptor 1’s provision for thermal movement at its riveted construction joints. Metal expands as its temperature rises and contracts as it cools. The dimensional change depends on the material, the length of the part and its temperature change.
The oven does not heat every connected part uniformly. The inner chamber, outer structure and individual connection points can reach different temperatures. Even parts made from the same metal can therefore expand by different amounts. If the assembly fully restrains that difference, the resulting strain creates mechanical stress.
In the R1 joint design, the rivets retain the connection while the assembly permits limited relative movement between the joined parts. This small allowance helps accommodate differential expansion during warm-up, cooking and cooling. The movement belongs to the designed joint and its assembly; the parts remain connected throughout the cycle.
The illustration enlarges this movement so it can be seen. Switching between cold and heated states shows the sheet-metal edges changing position relative to the cold reference. For the user, ThermoFlex is passive: there is no joint adjustment to make during cooking. Let the oven cool naturally after use so the parts can return toward their cold dimensions.
With gas, Raptor 1 combines the powerful Vortex burner with FullBake, the heated stone and ThermaShell insulation. With wood, the spacious chamber accommodates larger dry, split logs, while retained heat supports the bake. For slower wood or charcoal cooking, the optional door restricts airflow and slows combustion.
FuelFlex Design gives the Glowen Raptor 1 three fuel options: gas, wood and charcoal. The stone and chamber remain the same; the source of heat and the way you control it change with the setup.
For gas-fired pizza, the powerful Vortex burner feeds a rolling flame into the chamber. FullBake combines the side fire, taller chamber and heated stone to cook the base, crust and toppings during the same bake. ThermaShell limits heat loss through the insulated body. Burner output, heat distribution and stored heat work together; flame strength alone does not determine the result.
Fit a compatible R1 burner and the specified gas equipment; inclusion depends on the package. Adjust heat at the burner. For wood, the spacious chamber accommodates larger dry, split logs directly on the left chamber floor; a Firebox is optional. Leave gaps for air. Smaller pieces give a livelier flame; larger pieces burn more slowly. Insulation limits heat loss and the stone stores energy between refuelling. Charcoal supplies a glowing fuel bed.
For slower cooking with wood or charcoal, the optional R1 door restricts incoming air. Its side hatch controls the air supply to the fuel, reducing the combustion rate and ongoing heat release. This supports gentler cooking for dishes that need more time. The door is for lower-temperature cooking, not high-temperature pizza baking. Do not use it while operating the gas burner.
Prepare one fuel configuration before cooking. Let the oven cool completely before changing it.
01 / HIGH-TEMPERATURE PIZZA
The burner supplies the heat. The complete R1 system determines how that heat reaches the pizza and how much is retained for the next bake.
Choose one fuel setup for the session. Allow the oven to cool completely before changing the configuration.
Glowen Raptor 1
See the oven, available packages and compatible equipment.
