That thick smoke is wood gas. The way this thing works is it heats the fuel to the point where the wood gas is forced out, then when the hot wood gas hits oxygen, the gas combusts. In the case where it started rolling smoke out, your wood gas wasn't hot enough to combust. Probably all you need to do to start the fire again is throw a match or a lit fire starter in there to re-start the secondary burn
Smoke solution. If your fire goes out add a fire cube or a small amount of pellets in the center , let it catch fire well enough to add more pellets minimum smoke produced. It is the fire that burns the smoke you just have to have a flame source going to add more pellets. (Problem Solved)
When you add pellets, yes add them when there is still flame. It is best to add the pellets with a metal scoop and add them one quadrant at a time. Each time you add pellets, the new pellets will snuff out the flame in the area onto which they are added and will create a lot of smoke. So long as the stove is hot with flame, the smoke will be burned off as it exits the top of the stove. But it you snuff out the entire flame with pellets you will have a large smoke bomb!
I got one of these as a gift. I already burn pellets in my fireplace and buy them in 40 lb bags for about $5 a bag. 50 cents worth of pellets will give you about an hour of fire in this pit. Very efficient. Great Pit. Great video.
A tip when adding pellets.. I fill brown paper lunch bags with pellets and just toss a bag on like adding a log to a fire. The paper bag help get the pellets going too.
If you use a gas bottle torch you can reignite the wood gas which is the smoke pouring off. As you are gasifying wood gas without ignition. I use a hand held bottle gas torch to light wood fires too
I just order a Blue Sky fire pit from your recommendation. I have been debating using a Smokeless vs. a Propane pit because of firewood restrictions and this is a very affordable alternative. Your channel has been a great source of information for this Cookeville Tennessee 5th wheeler. Thanks for all you do.
Keep a soup can with your pellets to throw in some occasionally. That would also be nice for additional 10 minutes burn vs another hour pouring in a big amount that might smothering the fire.
Great review. Just what folks need to know. For the adding pellet smoke, many others light that smoke immediately and it starts functioning again. I was lucky and found that on Amazon for $49. Snapped it up.
You guys seem like folks our family would love to share a campfire with, thanks for the video. I notice this one is a little smaller than the Fire Genie, which might be nice for portability. I'll bet the smell is the finish curing as you mentioned.
That seems like a really nice option. I got a propane fire pit a few years ago since I live in an area with regular fire bans. The propane pit technically counts as a cook stove (and emits no sparks or debris), so it's still permitted at most ban levels. Also no smoke and plenty of heat, but it can be a bit bulky and uses a fair amount of fuel.
We bought a Solo Stove Bonfire last year. Basically the same stove as yours but larger. The Solo Stove line is made from stainless steel and quite a bit more than $80. I've never thought about wood pellets in it...... might be a good way to go. I'm thinking it could get pretty expensive though. Our pit likes to be fed!!! Burning the wood that efficiently burns it up pretty fast. I think you'll love it!
@@festerhairball6588 its one of these. www.silverfire.us/304-stainless-steel-scout-stove. The concept is the same. The heat generated is mostly through the holes around the fire. Looking at mine, I dont know why firepellets wouldnt work in it either.
You should try attaching a Mason jar lid on the underside of your pellet canister lid with a nut n bolt and 2 large washers. That way you can keep your fire starts in the Mason and they won't bury in the pellets
This is older, but just a few tips - as a pellet stove owner. Yes, that's just what pellets do in the stove - if the flame is going out and you add pellets, first it smokes, then poof - it flames. :-) Most pellets are actually compressed sawdust - so it makes use of even the waste of a lumber yard or wood working facility that couldn't be used otherwise. I suggest using gel fire starter - for a more even distribution at start up. I am surprised they don't have some sort of safety grate - those flames look scary in a forest environment.
I think you just sold one.. my wife ask if I heard about one of these. I said no. So like always i when right to RU-vid, Yours was the second thumbnail to chose from and I liked that picture you had so it was the first video… and only one I watched. You answered every question we could’ve had. It’s my wife ‘ birthday in two weeks and this is now what she wants because of your video. Thanks. You just go a subscriber sir.
These things are great but they won't get you past an open flame fire ban. That is what we endure up here. So I stick with my propane campfire. For a log burning campfire I use the inner perforated drum from an old washing machine. I just place it in the fire pit/ring. It just feels safer to me, contains the embers, etc. While that doesn't eliminate all smoke it is less than a regular campfire.
I build a small gas bottle based wood stove for my camper van (obviously I installed a dedicated air inlet to the stove to prevent accidents with carbon monoxide) In this wood stove I burn wood pellets in a miniature version of this thing. A repurposed stainless steel table top bottle cooler which I drilled and cut to act like a 10 inch tall and 4 inch diameter pellet burning insert for said wood stove. No smoke to speak of (only when lighting it and a couple of minutes in), about 1.5 pound of pellets for about 4 hours of burning and copious amounts of heat in the van. I hardly fill up the burner insert to full to get a nice and roaring fire for 2 hours and a even nicer amber/coal heat for about another hour and a half. The van is not large: about 12 m3 in volume and the wood stove is able to keep a comfortable heat going even when it is freezing out... I sometimes even have to start the roof fan(s) to get rid of some of the heat because it works so well... The dedicated air supply is basically a tube of 3 inches which acts also also the stand (bolting the stove to the floor of the van) The tube carries fresh air from underneath the van to the bottom of the burn chamber where the stainless steel burner insert sits on top of a metal rim. The insert is unable to topple over inside the stove. I can also add pellets through a small tube (2 inches in diameter) which is capped. The cap has a scoop attached to it so I can scoop up some pellets from a container and add it to the burner insert. The wood stove itself is made with an old gas bottle which is rather tall ( I believe about 21 inches) The gas bottle was an old propane bottle which I found at a scrap yard. The stove is tall enough to house the burner insert and still can watch the flames coming from the burner insert through a heat treated piece of glass set into a hinged door. I can burn regular wood but I have only tried that once because it does smoke quite a lot not using the burner insert. I did use the burner insert with small pieces of wood (just to try it) but getting small pieces of wood - about quarter of an inch or so or even smaller) is not easy, especially if you want enough of it to last a couple of days. Some mulches can be used but only if the wood chip size isn't too large. Also pieces of wood do not pack as well as pellets do in the insert which results in the need to add more wood throughout the evening. Pellets are the easiest fuel to use in small wood stoves and are relatively easy to get hold of... I used a standard pellet stove exhaust pipe (80mm diameter) to carry any gasses out through the roof of the van. The 5 feet in total stack provides more then enough of a draw... I have copper pipe wrapped around the lower part of the stack to be able to get some hot water for washing and showering...
I also wonder if you don't time it right and the flames go out, if you only add a handful of pellets just to get it burning again, then add more. Maybe the smaller amount of pellets would smoke less.
This is so helpful! Your video was very thorough, way more info than the others I've seen. I have allergies and smoke from camp fires wreaks havoc on me. This looks like a great alternative! I wonder if the pellets are food safe?
Check out the Biolite camp stove it's basically the same thing but smaller and you can charge a phone with it. Also just wanted to say you don't need to run pellets in it you can use regular fire wood if it small enough to fit inside.
Excellent review, thank you! I definitely want to pick one of these up for my back yard. I was wondering if it is ok to use wood on this too, or should it strictly be pellets?
Great review. Looks like a good alternative. I guess the only downside is it will get messy if putting out early with water, But that would be the case with any portable fire pit. Looking forward to your future vids.
I have a small stove with secondary burn and i prepackage pellets in paper lunch bags.. makes easy to keep fueling fire.. Also, fire gel is helpful for ignition..
Smoke isn’t really an issue until too many pellets are dumped on too late. It does scorch the ground as hot ashes fall into the metal base. It would be best used in dirt, sand, gravel, or rocks.
An ordinary fire will do the same thing when covered up so that oxygen can't get to the fire below. The smaller the item that's used for fuel, the more it's likely to happen. Like you said, those wood pellets would be better than buying overpriced firewood. Thanks for the video!
Terrific video. What would happen if you burned regular wood in it? The pieces of wood would have to be smaller to fit in and not pile too high, but, in the event you ran out of pellets, could you use regular wood and would it be smokeless? Frankly, I’m already buying one, but it sure would make for an interesting experiment.
When the fire dies and only hot coals remain, it pretty much just radiates heat, but there’s little to no smoke. The only real smoke you’ll get is when you’re first starting the fire, or if you put too many pellets back on it and snuff it out.
You’ll need to experiment, but I usually put one ladle scoop on one side of the fire. After a few minutes do a scoop on the other side. All that said, it’s best to follow the manufacturers recommendations for safety.
Thanks for posting this Michael! I don’t like having to purchase firewood either especially if we have some right in our backyard. We do bring it when we camp close to home. When we camp in the Adirondack Mts we forage wood. The campsites are so spacious, it’s easy to find fallen branches. But sometimes I just don’t want all the smoke 💨. I was thinking of a gas firepit but the pellet firepit looks great! I was just telling Chris that I thought the heat smell might be the black paint and then Joann said it 😁 LoL Happy New Year to you two! ~ Maria. Ps. Loved seeing the chickens in the background 🐓
Happy New Year! We’re still learning how to use it. We like it, but learned to never let the flames get too low before feeding it! It went from smokeless to space shuttle launch! Lol! Good hearing from you. Be well!
My pellet smoker will do that if you don't clean out the fire box before starting a new cook session. It smokes so bad and then WHOOSH it will blow the lid open. I love this pit but I have a question. For a average 3 hour evening by the fire, how many pellets do you think I would burn through?
@@CampandCamera Thanks. I really like the burn on that. I will order me one. Easy to transport pellets in my Class C I no longer have a truck bed to haul the wood
