Solo Stove Fire Pit?

[Archimagirus]

We don’t have a the solo stove fire pit but bought one of the same concept from Breeo. I wanted something I could cook over/ on and Solo didn’t recommend cooking with theirs. I bought the Breeo X series with the searing lip built in and the grill grate and pot hanger attachment. The grill grate was pretty dope to cook with but I have not made the woodfired chili I keep threatening to yet. Fair bit of heat and the smoke is minimal. If I am cooking something I will start it off with some charcoal in a chimney starter and then once I am done cooking start piling on the wood.

[OlongJohnson]

Stainless steel generally has pretty low emissivity, and lower the more polished it is.

Putting even a foil-thick piece of metal between the flame and the person wanting to be warmed makes the transmission of heat from the fire by radiation (how most of it gets done, since conduction isn't in play and convection is taking the hot air up and away) dependent on the emissivity of the surfaces of the metal. There's also a factor of the conductivity from the inner to outer surfaces. Thermal conductivity of stainless steel is ~10 percent that of aluminum. Not a yuge deal if the stainless is thin enough, but if the outside is reasonably effectively cooled, it could be a factor.

Giving it some kind of solid black coating would be a big improvement if you want it to warm you. Making it from a more thermally-conductive material would also help.

The chiminea only has the mesh between the flame and the people, and the metal surfaces are dark and flat finished, so it would be expected to put out a lot more radiant heat, as reported.

Since I'm on the topic, titanium cookware for backpacking is kinda dumb, as titanium has one of the lowest thermal conductivities of any metal.

I'd like to find some aluminum cookware with a coating that's not a polymer that may release toxins into the food when heated and isn't anodizing that will be dissolved by acidic foods. Haven't researched it enough to land on anything yet.

[Cookie Monster]

Stainless steel generally has pretty low emissivity, and lower the more polished it is.

Putting even a foil-thick piece of metal between the flame and the person wanting to be warmed makes the transmission of heat from the fire by radiation (how most of it gets done, since conduction isn't in play and convection is taking the hot air up and away) dependent on the emissivity of the surfaces of the metal. There's also a factor of the conductivity from the inner to outer surfaces. Thermal conductivity of stainless steel is ~10 percent that of aluminum. Not a yuge deal if the stainless is thin enough, but if the outside is reasonably effectively cooled, it could be a factor.

Giving it some kind of solid black coating would be a big improvement if you want it to warm you. Making it from a more thermally-conductive material would also help.

The chiminea only has the mesh between the flame and the people, and the metal surfaces are dark and flat finished, so it would be expected to put out a lot more radiant heat, as reported.

Since I'm on the topic, titanium cookware for backpacking is kinda dumb, as titanium has one of the lowest thermal conductivities of any metal.

On the last point, titanium is light. All my backpacking cook pots are titanium. Got 10,000 miles in and I wouldn’t do anything else.

[BobLoblaw]

Putting even a foil-thick piece of metal between the flame and the person wanting to be warmed makes the transmission of heat from the fire by radiation (how most of it gets done, since conduction isn't in play and convection is taking the hot air up and away) dependent on the emissivity of the surfaces of the metal.

This is my understanding as well after speaking with a few people who have a Solo. For heating, it works best if the unit is below you or counter-sunk in your deck. Burns hot and fast. I've been teetering on this purchase for a while hoping something better would come to market.

[Shawn Dodson]

I have the smallest model, the Ranger. We've used it several times and like it. Very little smoke. We have the hard lid, the screen shield, log grabber and the poker. Everything is quality amd well made.

My only complaint is the Ranger is too small to accept standard 18" long logs. I have to trim them down to 14" to get then to fit properly. I chose the Ranger specifically for its size due to the location where we use it.

When the fire gets roaring it burns efficiently. I prefer alder wood as it's less sooty than pine, fir, cedar, etc., which are all common here in the northwest.

[LOKNLOD]

I'm perfectly good with the idea of enjoying a fire pit all summer when when it's too frigging hot to want the heat from fire, so the solo stove as a warm weather fire pit seems to make a lot of sense. As a space heater, perhaps less so unless you enjoy leaning over it?

[Erik]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Solo Yukon Backyard Bundle. I decided on it for a few reasons. At the end of the day, if it's that cold out, I'll have a fire in the fireplace inside where I can be comfortable. Plus, I know how much I'd kick myself in the ass if I managed to burn the new composite deck I'm about to spend too much on, either from the fire pit itself or from sparks falling on the deck. So I like the spark shield that comes with it and and I like the less smoke aspect too. The fact that it seems to be at a decent discount right now (I will probably not go back to see if I'm a sucker in a few days...) and I'd had a couple of double IPAs tipped the balance. One thing I will say is they sure ship fast. I ordered it last night and UPS tells me it will be here tomorrow. I appreciate everybody's input on this.

[rob_s]

Following.

I bought a Solo Stove Titan for camping a few months ago but haven’t used it yet because:reasons.

We bought this slightly larger Campfire model that we keep in the camper that we love. We’ve used it lots of places that we aren’t supposed to have fires too. We love it, but you need a way to chop up wood to get it into the thing. That can also be part of the fun though. I’ve literally set up the solostove on the fire pit grate more than once simply because I didn’t want to deal with a large fire.

I really wish they sold Shields for the smaller stoves as some campgrounds require them.

As to the question of heat for the larger models, they now sell deflectors that should help address that.

As to placing on a wood deck, a friend has one on his deck and I believe thy use a stand as well as some sort of Matt underneath it.

We visited a state park last year where a few of the sites had solostoves. Not very common. We asked the camp host about them and he said the neighbors in the new (newer than the park, anyway) development complained about the smoke (“fuck you” would have been my reply) and they installed them in an attempt to assuage the bitches. He said they seemed to be helping.

[BobLoblaw]

We don’t have a the solo stove fire pit but bought one of the same concept from Breeo. I wanted something I could cook over/ on and Solo didn’t recommend cooking with theirs. I bought the Breeo X series with the searing lip built in and the grill grate and pot hanger attachment. The grill grate was pretty dope to cook with but I have not made the woodfired chili I keep threatening to yet. Fair bit of heat and the smoke is minimal. If I am cooking something I will start it off with some charcoal in a chimney starter and then once I am done cooking start piling on the wood.

Not interested in cooking with it but I ended up getting a Breeo X with a hard lid so I can leave it outside and not worry about it. Just needs some pavers and a mat for when we want it on the deck. Plus, I think the rust looks cool. I have a shit ton of trees so this will get used most of the year. I don't know why it took so long to pick a fancy barrel to put fire in.

[RJ]

Following.

I bought a Solo Stove Titan for camping a few months ago but haven’t used it yet because:reasons.

We had an enjoyable dinner and campfire last night. Broke out the small Solo Stove we bought and boy did it work well.

I was astonished how easily it lit; it consumed light twigs and small dry dead sticks quickly, leaving very little ash. Ours is maybe the size of a coffee can. As advertised, it was smoke-free, compared to the typical camp fire made in a pit or with larger wood. From the point of view of having "ambience", it scored a major hit with everyone.