Welder99
Rushsylvania Ohio
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Joined: 08/02/2004
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Hello,
Anyone on this site have a Solo Fire pit? Looking into getting one. What size did you buy. Pro’s and Con’s …Thanks in advance. P.S did u buy any accessories, if so what did you get.
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toedtoes
California
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Joined: 05/17/2014
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I don't have one, but their website would stop me buying from them. They provide no descriptions of their products - yet they have an entire Terms of Service regarding using the website (to the level that a forum like this or a social media website would have). That seems to suggest that they don't really care much about customer satisfaction.
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Both born in Morgan Hill, CA to Irv Perch (Daddy of the Aristocrat trailers)
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Fizz
Ottawa, Canada
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Joined: 07/28/2003
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The way things are going I'd be more concerned about open fire bans.
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folivier
Southeast Louisiana
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Joined: 04/15/2007
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I thought about and almost bought one but decided to get this instead, may not be as smokeless: https://www.ebay.com/itm/184629779053
Note that this is for my cabin but since it's collapsible and built out of heavy steel should work for an RV. This is another brand that is very similar: https://www.ebay.com/itm/304266221025?hash=item46d7ae15e1:g:V90AAOSwuj5hui4~
Also there are many copies of the Solo (not sure who copied who).
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dedmiston
Coast to Coast
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Joined: 01/26/2004
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I bought one in 2018 and I love it.
Cons: They aren't cheap.
Pros:
- They make a great fire. Having a fire in a pit like that feels like a compromise to me, but sometimes we go places that don't have a pit or a decent ring. If we're just going to be there one or two nights, we'll use the Solo so we don't leave a mess.
- No mess. That tub is like a crematorium and all that's left of the wood is an inch or two of very fine ash. As long as you don't mess with it and don't add any water or sand, it will burn down to nothing and leave you with cool ashes that you can safely dump in the bushes. But if you try to put the fire out with water/sand, then you'll have a horrible mess on your hands.
- Incredible customer service. I called them after I thought it was out of warranty and asked them for a price for a replacement canvas carrying bag because mine had worn out. The rep wouldn't send me to sales, she said this was a service issue and replaced it with a better designed bag under warranty and sent me some other doo-dads for my "trouble". I thought I was going to get the run around, but they took great care of me.
As far as accessories go, I don't think you really need anything. Even though they call their pits a "stove", I don't really cook that way and I already have a decent grill. All you need is their stove, the ring that goes around the top lip to control the flames, and the bag. I always keep a shovel in my pickup bed and I can use that to deal with any mess from the ashes and to make a clean spot if there are dead grasses where I want to place the fire.
Besides the price, I don't think there's any downside. My buddies with their washer tubs tease me for paying big bucks when their tubs were so cheap, but mine burns the ashes more thoroughly and I don't have the same mess they do. Their tubs are pretty similar to mine though.
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pasusan
Northernmost PA
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Joined: 05/13/2009
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We've got one. It's a very small one since we take it in our Class B. Our model is the Campfire. We can use it to cook over and just have fun - using mostly twigs and sticks to burn. We didn't buy any accessories.
They really do work as advertised - I actually first saw one on a youtube channel where the guy was cooking over it using a tripod and cast iron dutch oven - it was a Ranger.
They are well made from stainless steel and engineered to be pretty much smokeless. The way the air is fed into them is unique and you can have a roaring fire within minutes. Then when there are just cold ashes left you tip it over and dump them out - that's it for cleanup.
Don't know any cons...
"I'm out here to enjoy nature -- don't talk to me about the environment!" ~Denny Crane
Susan & Ben
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JimBollman
Lost State of Franklin
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Joined: 08/31/2006
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We have the Campfire model as a compromise in size. Bought in 2015 on the recommendation of a friend that now has the Campfire and the largest model. We like it a lot and originally carried it in a small slide in camper and now in a B. I care it in it's bag in one of those square plastic buckets that are around 5gallon I think. Has a sealable lid. I cut all my scrap lumber into roughly 1"X1"X4" pieces and store them in the same buckets on the shelf. If I put the stove in a bucket with the bag open and fill the stove and all the edges of the bucket it gives me 2 or 3 fires in the evening of a couple of hours, supplementing with any dead twigs around the campsite. If it is a longer trip I throw an extra bucket of wood in. Becomes nearly smoke free within a 5-10 minutes of starting. I carry some small wax fire starters, I light one and drop it in then start adding my mini logs. My friend bought the bigger one for when they are going to be in one place longer and for home use because it makes a bigger fire and will take bigger chunks of wood.
I have been teased about my mini camp fires but after a wet day when everyones fire wood is wet mine becomes popular. I had a homemade small mini camp fire setup years ago but it wasn't smokeless but showed how useful it was to carry your own campfire.
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BBB66
Ft Bliss Texas
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Joined: 07/13/2017
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I have one, we love it. Really cant use anywhere with the drought problems. So it sits in the garage.
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ktmrfs
Portland, Oregon
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Joined: 06/22/2005
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Welder99 wrote:Hello,
Anyone on this site have a Solo Fire pit? Looking into getting one. What size did you buy. Pro’s and Con’s …Thanks in advance. P.S did u buy any accessories, if so what did you get.
My observations (ignoring the price difference)
If you really want something that will mimize any smoke, the solo is great. If you want very close to the same control of smoke but also want lots of heat, a washing machine drum is better.
Either is orders of magnitude better than typical campground fire pits for control of smoke, amount of heat, ash, and amount of wood needed.
And with a screen on top IMHO (and several rangers who have seen our washing machine drum with SS grid on top) much better for fire danger from sparks, embers, etc.
A top load washing machine drum radiates a great deal of heat and doesn't smoke if you keep the wood below the top. The solo has a inner and outer drum with air going in the bottom up then exiting at the top. like a washing machine drum it keeps smoke down with a blast of hot air at the top, but the inner/outer drum makes a heat insulator so it doesn't radiate as much heat as a washing machine drum.
And a washing machine drum is way less expensive. The best ones are the comercial stainless steel drums, very light weight, I welded on some large (3/4") nuts on the bottom (3) and have some long bolts I can attach to raise the drum off the ground. Or if we are in a place with a firepit I just set it on top of a firepit grate.
The washing machine drum like the solo burns most everything down to a fine ash.
* This post was
edited 05/15/22 01:48pm by ktmrfs *
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dcmac214
SW OKLA
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Joined: 12/21/2007
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Love ours. Few years ago camping neighbors had an alternate brand. At DW's insistence that's the one we bought. All black - she liked more than the "white" stainless. And it's a bit smaller. We burn tree trimmings, 1-3" diameter, mostly oak and pecan.
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