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I’ve been looking at getting something to generate some heat in the garden and fire pits generally just get too smoky and you end up playing musical chairs to avoid it going in your eyes and came across the Solo Stoves.
My big question is how much heat do they give off to the side or just it just go straight up in the air which would kind of defeat what I really want it for.
If anyone has one and can comment would be appreciated.
Yep we have a Yukon. I love it and it burns very cleanly with the dried birch (same as the pizza over) we use.
In terms of heat obviously a lot goes straight up and we find ourselves shuffling the chairs closer to in the later it gets. However I think it radiates enough heat in most situations.
It is a big investment (mine was a gift) and possible something with a chimney would work better for you?
Following as we are looking for an alternative to our fire pit - don’t use it that often as you end up stinking of wood smoke.
Personally I would like something that can also be used as a pizza oven, but think that is likely to end up with both jobs done badly.
We've got a chiminea. Don't use it a huge amount but it is nice occasionally. No issues with smoke and it does kick out some heat. Pretty cheap, too
They look quite cool, but surely if they were black they'd radiate heat much better?
As part of our middle class aspirations we got a chimenea 😊 As with most fires you need to give it a bit of time to heat the material of the stove itself which is what is doing the radiating of heat. Once you've a good bulk of glowing embers it does throw out a bit of heat, ours is maybe 600mm tall and we can sit a metre or two away from it and feel the warmth (strong gales excepted)
And yes we've a pizza oven! Makes great pizzas but not something I'd want as a heat source for sitting around since they are designed to keep much of the heat in to actually cook the pizzas.
They look quite cool, but surely if they were black they’d radiate heat much better?
Funnily enough I've just been watching a video where they painted one side black and left the other then compared the heat on either side and it did show the black was a lot hotter ALTHOUGH there were quite a few comments saying the different materials would give different readings so it probably wan't accurate.
Certainly I'm looking at one of these or alternatively a chiminea if they give off more heat without generating more smoke .... last resort is a patio heater but don't really want to go that route.
fwiw we use an outbacker flame in the garden
cant stand sitting in the smoke of chimneas.
Gives off good heat to sit round once you get it up to temp and doesnt rip throguh the wood as the chimnea did.
We went with this option as we are looking to build a covered pergola to use it in and the last thing we want there is smoke build up under the cover.
That solo stove reminds me very much of a washing machine drum that’s been polished up!
My solo stove is very tiny, it's more of a cooking device than a heating device. Handy for when you want to toast marshmallows without having a massive fire, and it doesn't burn the ground. But not really a fire pit alternative if what you want is heat IMO.
Funnily enough I’ve just been watching a video where they painted one side black and left the other then compared the heat on either side and it did show the black was a lot hotter ALTHOUGH there were quite a few comments saying the different materials would give different readings so it probably wan’t accurate.
TBF, it doesn't need them to experiment, it's (GCSE) physics innit:
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/159856/why-is-black-the-best-emitter
They've made it with the finish of a stainless steel thermos, the very point of which is not to lose heat.
They’ve made it with the finish of a stainless steel thermos, the very point of which is not to lose heat.
interesting parallelss drawn how ever you'd be ignoring the airless void in the middle of that with your example.
it is possible to run a normally fire pit without too much smoke, you need to use decent wood and put some effort in to keep it very hot though! It will rip through the wood mind, and you'll still end up stinking (that part doesn't bother me tho!)
it is possible to run a normally fire pit without too much smoke, you need to use decent wood and put some effort in to keep it very hot though! It will rip through the wood mind, and you’ll still end up stinking (that part doesn’t bother me tho!)
Have a fire pit already also have decent properly seasoned hardwood that we use on the log burner as well.
The fire pit stinks and you get smoke in your eyes / play musical chairs to avoid it hence why I'm looking for something else.
yes but (and I appreciate no-one likes being told this on STW) only if you're doing it wrong 🤣The fire pit stinks and you get smoke in your eyes
yes but (and I appreciate no-one likes being told this on STW) only if you’re doing it wrong 🤣
You obviously have divine powers and are able to control the wind direction .... absolutely amazing.
So if there's no smoke on this magical fire pit how come you end up stinking ?
So if there’s no smoke on this magical fire pit how come you end up stinking ?
Didn't quite get what you meant? I have a normal fire pit which is what makes me stink and hence looking for something else like the Solo that supposedly doesn't or at least not nearly so much.
Was your chiminea really bad for smell as well, I would have thought they weren't nearly as bad as a fire pit as the chimney would take the smoke higher and the surround would stop the wind blowing it directly at you if it gusts / changes direction?
obviously there's not no smoke, it's a fire, just not enough to bother anyone when done right. Does require a bit of finesse to get it like that though, you can't just lump it with a hammer to make it behave 🤣So if there’s no smoke on this magical fire pit how come you end up stinking ?
as you end up stinking of wood smoke.
I love the smell of wood smoke in the morning.
You sir need to go full Singletrack.....
https://chesneys.co.uk/product/outdoor/garden-gourmet
Or a friend just bought a cheap secondhand stove from eBay and some flue pipe and set it up outside. Takes full size logs and kicks out loads of heat.
Yes, we have a Solo stove, we bought it last summer, as our existing fire pit smoked too much.
The Solo does create smoke as it warms up. The drier the wood the hotter it gets and the quicker it heats. Once up to temp (about 10 / 15 mins) then the smoke just seems to disappear.
A lot of heat does go vertically, but it also radiates a considerable amount. We spent many a happy night huddled around it last summer, and enjoyed our Christmas evening enjoying the fire.
The naysayers point out the similarities to a washing machine drum. That may be so, but I've never lit a fire in a washing machine!
Yes, they're expensive, but they work well and look great. Would I buy another? Most certainly!
About woodburners inside but surely applies to outside also? As step-dad to someone with severe regularly hospitalising asthma I'm less and less keen on the idea of burning wood regularly in any kind of built up area.
In January, experts at Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation asked people to use wood burners only if they had no alternative source of heat. Prof Jonathan Grigg, of Queen Mary University of London, said: “It is difficult to justify their use in any urban area.”
I looked into infrared heating for outside as it seems to be the cleanest and most efficient but I haven't got very far as yet. It's not the same I know...
I'd never seen the solo stoves so large before I looked just now only the small backpacking ones. Looks good but if you want outdoor cooking would a rocket stove be better or even go old school and barbecue.
For heat is an outdoor woodburning stove like a frontier or ozpig better? Burning wood in a stove gives efficiency and chimney lifts the (reduced amount of) smoke out of your eyes. You can boil a kettle on a closed stove but probably not do sausages on sticks or pizza.
I also like using our firepit (we have masses of branch prunings drying in a shed for fuel) but the smoke is a pain sometimes and outside heat would be nice so am considering a portable closed woodburning stove for the reasons the OP gives. NB not in a built up area so smoke less of an issue.
That reminds me very much of a washing machine drum that’s been polished up!
That may be so, but I’ve never lit a fire in a washing machine!
That's what we use, works a treat. £20 from a pal who's a white goods repair man. Burns very clean once it's up to temperature.
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yosemitepaul
Free Member
Yes, we have a Solo stove, we bought it last summer, as our existing fire pit smoked too much.
The Solo does create smoke as it warms up.
Cheers for that .... which one did you get I'm thinking about the mid size one the bonfire although the smaller ranger also appeals as I belve it uses quite a bit less wood.
There is a stove that might be of interest to you which had a successful kickstarter program finish last year
Its basically like an UUni pizza stove, but the firebox can be used as a stove to warm you without the pizza bit added
I think there is also a bio-lite camping stove that might be good - they use fans to add blown air so dont smoke much at all
Are people happy with bits of old washing machine lying around the garden?
It lives under the playhouse, next to the sofa and dags.
Witterings, its the midsize Bonfire. We got it from Tamarack. Sat on a couple of bricks to prevent the heat damaging the flags.
The stove looks just about new, even after a couple of dozen fire ups. The marks on the side are the sole of my approach shoe!!
No smoke!
Christmas Eve:
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Are people happy with bits of old washing machine lying around the garden?
Depends if you have the kind of judgemental company that see things for what they were rather than what they are.
@trail_rat - helpfully the mods adjusted his post to make it more palatable.
Depends if you have the kind of judgemental company that see things for what they were rather than what they are.
Pretty much everyone who's seen our washing machine fire pit has got one for themselves. My BiL has bought 2 for himself and 3 as presents for buddies. It's turning into a pretty good sideline for our white goods engineer pal! Can't imagine the Solo Stove is 18 times better...
I had half a valvoline barrel for a long time.
A washing machine drum would have been a vast improvement....
Yet no one moaned when sat round the heat coming from.the valvoline drum
The washing machine drums .... do they help minimise the smoke like the Solo's or are they just the same as any other fire pit and you still get somethered in teh smell fo smoke?
A friend of mine has a white goods sales / repair shop and when I mentioned it he said he'd a stack of broken washing machines I could have but taking the drum out is a PITA but please do help myself ... in other words there's no way he wanted to take on the job of dismantling one.
@yosemitepaul ... thanks for that cetrianly it was probably the Bonfire I was thinking of getting.
@witterings unlike most fire pits, and presumably like the solo (never seen one tbh!) they are well ventilated so it's possible to get them very hot, which is when you'll get minimal smoke. You'll need fire-wrangling skills to keep on top of it though, for me this is part of the fun, YMMV.
I personally thing they look great. They're shiny, it's not like there's a rusty lump of iron on your patio! I also love the eco aspect of them in that it's reclaimed. Obviously if you feel something's crap unless it's expensive, brand new, and shipped halfway across the world to get to you then it's not for you!
^^^^ Not bothered about the "image" just want something that does the job well and whatever it is if you end up stinking of smoke it'll only ever get used the once as the Mrs really isn't keen.
Also thinking about smokeless logs and just using those on teh fire pit we have although again I don't know how smokeless they actually are but at least can try it for a fiver and see if they're good or just marketing hype.
There are cheaper versions of the solo. Look at blue sky on Amazon. However I think you may find they are not well made/use cheap steel and will rust away.
The washing machine drums …. do they help minimise the smoke like the Solo’s
Ours burns really clean but I can't compare it to a regular fire pit as I never had one. BiL much prefers the washing machine drum to the various fire pits/chimineas he had before.