Topic: Smokeless fire pits......Any good?

[KD]

Thinking of buying a smokeless pit and wondering if they are worth the ridiculous price?  Not expecting something entirely smoke free but just a lot less smoke output than a traditional pit like the last one I made.  Neighbors are a little closer here than last place so looking for a PC solution to burning wood. 

This one intrigues me from the ones I've looked at thus far.  Like that it comes with a grill. 

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.ca/Home-Garden/Black-Decker-34-Smokeless-Wood-Burning-Fire-Pit-with-Grill/36388662/product.html?option=70367055&cid=333902&track=bpla&msclkid=284ffd1f653c17a6814e9b3f04e73c2e

[JohnnyMac]

What do you want out of the fire pit?  Do you just want ambiance, heat, cooking, or just to burn scrap wood?

[bridgecity]

I looked into these in detail a couple years back. I never did purchase but if I did it would have been one of the Solo models. Im sure there’s many more models available now.  There’s also some good vids on YouTube on building your own if you don’t need it portable.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-smokeless-fire-pits/

[rrocket]

I don't think it's what you're asking for, but I have a Biolite Firepit and it's smokeless by way of its app controlled fan unit. You can also charge you phones from the firepit if need be.

Zero complaints and we love the unit. A couple of people have bought one after seeing ours and they are similarly impressed. I think someone other than me has one on the forum as well?

We also added a metal cage "log" that we can fill with wood pellets. There's a video I made below.

There's a brand called Breeo that's been advertising heavily on my US TV channels. It reminds of the Solo Fire pit style. I have an original Solo Stove (back when it was literally the only product they sold) but have zero experience with their larger units.


https://youtu.be/Gnbhxq_rXt0?feature=shared

[HeliDriver]

I bought a BioLite fire pit as well. It’s a neat little unit and we still bring it along with us on camping trips. It is definitely not “smokeless,” but certainly produces less smoke than a regular fire.

I’d expect the bigger, backyard units to work at least as well, or better. Neighbours are still probably going to smell smoke, but you’re not going to be choking them out with big, grey clouds. 

[JohnnyMac]

If you just wanted to try a smokeless fire pit to see if it's a good concept before spending big money on one, you could always buy one of these small table top ones from Princess Auto.  https://www.princessauto.com/en/tabletop-stainless-steel-smokeless-fire-pit/product/PA0009178401  Would likely come in handy if you are camping too.

[ktm525]

Can get a washer drum from the dump for free. 

[rrocket]

Can get a washer drum from the dump for free. 

Yep!

But the stainless ones are harder to find

[sailor723]

Propane fire pits are smokeless........just sayin' 

[bridgecity]

Keep in mind none of the smokeless fire pits are truly smokeless, but they do reduce the amount of smoke considerably. 

A couple years ago Mrs BC developed asthma (not sure if developed is the correct term) so we were seeking a solution for cleaner burning fires as that's one of her favorite pastimes at the lake, hence the research on these smokeless pits.  In the end we didn't purchase one.  However I did have more vent's cut into our pit at the lake (its a large steel one that a welder buddy made) and switched to birch wood which smokes much less than the pine we were previously burning.  Also, I found that if I keep it loaded up with wood and burning hot the smoke is minimal. 

[sailor723]

My wife has fairly serious respiratory issues. Our biggest issue is with neighbors on either side of us that heat (at least partially) with woodstoves. On damp, humid winter days with the temps around zero and low clouds the pall of smoke laying over the area can be eye watering. 

Summer bonfires from the houses across the street (on the water) were an issue but somebody in the neighbourhood must have called the FD because they showed up a couple of times and finally came with the Police. (Open bonfires banned within the city limits)  Wasn't us who called but I was glad to see them show up as we were downwind of the smoke.

[bridgecity]

 I used to think people complaining about smoke from outdoor fires were a bunch of whiners.  Now that Mrs BC has issues I understand and I'm sympathetic.  I was just an swerver before.  Well, still am, but slightly less so. 

[ktm525]

burning wood is just no good for you. Should be banned in urban areas.

[PJungnitsch]

We had terrible wildfire smoke starting in May last year, and it's an odd thing. The MIL was complaining she was having trouble sleeping, and we went over to her apartment with an air quality gauge. Outside it the 2.5 ppm (the dangerous particle size) was about 300, which is terrible. Visually obvious too, could hardly see the downtown for blue smoke

But inside her apartment was still around 250. Air seemed clear, didn't smell smoky, but obviously this old apartment had no useful filters on the building air system

We brought over a portable air cleaner unit and you could watch the air quality on the gauge get better by the minute. Turn on the portable A/C and the ppm went up again, so she kept the gauge the whole summer so she could manage heat vs air quality

[bridgecity]

Yes, it was brutal last year.  One Friday night we headed to the lake.  Got there and smoke was so bad we just turned around and went home.  Other times Mrs just sat inside while the boys and I went fishing or whatever. 

What kind of air purifier did you end up with PJ?

[PJungnitsch]

Various types of Blueair. After that experience we ended up getting ones for my parents as well as the step daughter as both hit the smoke later on (central BC and Vancouver)

They've all been good. The newer/fancier ones tend to come with a variable speed fan coupled to a sensor as well as a readout of the air quality, which is handy if you don't have a gauge

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-air-purifier/

[KD]

^ We bought a couple of Blueair units last year and they work great. 

Think I'm gonna sit on the fence for a while with the firepit idea.  Not a big fan of smoke lately either.  Agree with Sailor that woodstoves in winter are irritating.  We were surrounded by wood burners at our last place and I'd have to shut off the air-exchange unit several times a year in the winter months.  Not a fan of propane firepits either and doubt that's gonna be an alternative that works for us.   

Thanks to all for the suggestions! 

[ArticSteve]

As we all know, it's much to do with the type of wood and how dry it is.   Does price dictate performance in these units?

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09WGZTLKC?ots=1&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C10060.g.35797153%5Bsrc%7Cwww.google.com%5Bch%7C%5Blt%7C%5Bpid%7C16c3ec95-99bd-4ce4-a45e-81fa7272da1a%5Baxid%7C30baa0db-1968-446e-8717-8cc315c8c9e4&linkCode=gg2&tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20&th=1

[rrocket]

I've seen these guys go..not much smoke at all. But they get HOT and burn fast.

https://www.burnrightproducts.com/product/burn-cage-portable-fire-pit/

[aquadorhj]

holy sh1t that amazon one is expensive...

i got one from costco for $200 bucks.  i think it's 20~ inch or so.  i think it's solo stove knock off.

used it couple times over the summer when it wasn't so smokey, pretty good.  still smokes little bit though like others say, and as RR says, it burns hot, and quick.

plus side, it burns so hot, ashes end up being not much at all.  you can do couple fires before you have to clean it out.

minus side is, there's no ash tray, so you gotta tip the whole thing upside down to empty the ashes.  pain in the assss.

overall, i don't regret it.