Videos to help you decide what product is right for you. Honest reviews, and I'll tell you exactly what I think. No fluff, straight to the point. I enjoy working on our outdoor living area, and many of the products I review focus on that. Thank you for your viewership.
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Black bodies will radiate more heat than lighter or reflective objects. If they all had the same finish it would be a better comparison. However, I'm not surprised the black finish radiates more heat. The comment on the IR being affected by the surface is on point as well...thermocouples would be better, as IR cameras/meters are affected by emissivity. I suspect the two SS finish pits are actually hotter than what you're measuring. You at one point got 110°F for the surface temperature of the solo stove, which means you should be able to comfortably rest your hand on that surface for an indefinite period of time; I would not suggest doing that. I suspect if you put a hot dog on that surface, you'd hear it sizzle. So, the two SS finishes are probably hotter than you measured, and the black object is probably reading more accurately (depending on what your IR gun's emissivity setting is at). Thanks for this video! I've been looking at smokeless pits for a while now and East Oak wasn't even on the radar until today. Glad to see we have options! Do you have any additional thoughts now that you've had them for longer?
@@Homedadgriff Good deal. They actually have a smokeless ring available now with the holes already in it. I got that one in the 36 inch size. Your pit still holding up well?
You’re right I just looked all around the web. I even looked on Amazon. I didn’t see one anywhere. There’s a chance it may fit, but I can’t confirm since I don’t have one.
Alright I appreciate the in depth experiment with these three table tops. I was ready to pull the trigger on a cheaper one for 39$ but that East Oak sold me. Just put one in the Amazon cart. I like bigger size, that center piece, and the longer burn time. Just earned a new sub man.
The small one wasn’t choked out. It was burning fine if it was choking out, it would’ve smoked a lot. And you’re supposed to fill them up all the way to the bottom of the holes at the top.
The reason you're getting a different reading off the solo stove is because it's reflective stainless steel, there's an adjustment I believe to calibrate that tool for a reflective surface as opposed to a black surface, that's why the temperature readings are so different.
Great review and very well done! I also enjoyed your tabletop comparison video and decided on the East Oak myself. I would, however, recommend you look into emissivity ratings with regard to your IR thermometer. Stainless steel has a 0.59 rating, while black paint is generally 0.90+. 100 would be considered a perfect emitter of heat energy, while 0 is basically an IR mirror. Some IR thermometers have an adjustment for this. One possible solution may be to paint each stove with a small area of high-temp black BBQ paint and make sure the IR measurement circle is covering that area. Once again, awesome video! Please keep them coming.
I'm curious, about 3 months before you made this video, you tested and preferred the East Oak over the Solo Mesa XL. Your subsequent videos all have hit on what I consider the weakness of the East Oak, which is a lack of accessories. Now that you've had this form factor a while and tested out cooking and deflector, would you choose differently? Also, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on how these would work when put on the ground with 2 to 4 people sitting around it. Would either the East Oak or the Mesa XL provide any warmth and how would the deflector impact it? Thanks for the videos, nice to see these in action.
Thank you for watching the videos and for your comment. After doing all the videos so far, I would say that the performance of the East Oak still stands out among tabletop fire pits alone. It puts out a great amount of heat, along with all the other positives mentioned in the video. I do wish it had more accessories, and maybe they will come out with a heat deflector in the future. In terms of versatility, the East Oak is outmatched by the Mesa XL for cooking, accessories, and camping. Also, great video idea-I might have to do a video on that and see if the East Oak can keep up with the Mesa XL without a heat deflector.
@@Homedadgriff Thanks for the reply and future video possibility. Can you clarify why the East Oak is outmatched for camping? Is it the size/weight and portability or?
Just that you can use the Mesa XL as a camping stove to cook and boil water on. Both the East Oak and the Mesa XL are very portable, but the Mesa XL is lighter and more compact and would give you more room in your backpack.
Great comparison! I have the Walmart Ozark trail and really love it besides 1. No base or legs so you do need to set it on a heat proof surface (I just use a silicone hot pad) 2. Like you said the solo has a more stable cooktop, plan on DIYing that myself for the Ozark. Completely not related to the content, I love the (botanical) wallpaper on that one wall in your dining room and would love to know where you got it! Thanks!
Thank you! Yes, the Ozark Trail is definitely held back because it doesn't have a stand-I melted my table testing it out on video lol. Link here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rU95qWc4370.html. As for the wallpaper question, my wife found it on Wayfair. Here’s the link: bit.ly/3MbD52d."
The 19 inch pan warps but otherwise a nice fire pit for the price. The 15 inch rocks! I can load about 30 pounds of pellets and get a 3 hour burn before it goes to coals. It takes almost 2 days to cool down.
I am confused by your question but the outside of the fire pit got extremely hot on the East Oak. over 400 degrees. The next day I did another burn just the East Oak and the solo stove and tested them again. Same results. I wanted to double check it was not a fluke.
Thanks for this video and you confirmed my thoughts on the cooktop addiion for the solo. I was glad to see it was pretty stable and the popcorn test was the best way. I'm not going to run out and get the cooktop extra but will put it on wish list!
Thanks for the content. I just ordered the Mesa XL and I had watched the Solo livestream on the XL comparing pellets to wood on replay and they did about a quarter cup of pellets to the wood burning one and I liked the effect! I'm sure I'll have playing around with mine when it arrives. Like others have mentioned below our local box store sells wood chunks and hardwood pellets at a good price so I'll be going for the low effort option except for maybe some sticks that fall in the yard!
Thanks so much for the review! I agree if I were to go purchase I would likely go with East Oak but to be honest I have an work anniversary gift choice and the Solo XL is an option I'm considering and given the accessories the XL has I'm probably going to go with it but will say if I need a second one I will go with the East Oak.
Also, you should check out the video where I cook with the Solo Stove Mesa XL and Ozark Trail camping stove: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I9C-WRg2sJE.html
Valid point, but I will say the outside temperature was quite a bit warmer than the starting point on the cool pan. That being said, I believe the starting point being within 2 degrees will not make much difference after the 10-minute mark. It is hard to get the exact same temperature to start, but I tried my best to get it as close as possible.
@@Homedadgriff Good Points and honestly for me being within a degree or two seems like about the same expectation. I personally would go wtih the solo because of sturdiness and not blocking the view of the flame as much as the cheap one!
One other thing. It seems the East Oak would use less pellets because of that center 3rd burn stack yet it looked to burn stronger while also burning longer.
Every time I tell people about cooking Conecuh sausage they feel the need to tell me how to pronounce it. Why is this? I really don't care! It is the best sausage though.
