DIY Smokeless Fire Pit Review, Your Questions Answered!
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
- In this video I answer the most commonly asked questions about the DIY Smokeless Fire Pit video that I did a couple months ago! Some were great suggestions and questions that I wanted to take the time to address with my personal experience and perspective after having used the fire pit numerous times now!
Items in the video:
36" Fire Ring: amzn.to/2Rev8jC
or 27" Fire Ring: amzn.to/3xWvsUV
Hole Saw Kit: amzn.to/3ucgqIB
12" Retention Wall Pavers
Thank you for watching and for subscribing. You can support the channel at no cost to you by using one of the above affiliate links. This helps support the channel for new content!
Blessings,
Adam
How To Home assumes no liability for damage or injury. How To Home highly recommends using proper safety procedures and professionals when needed. Our content is for entertainment purposes only. No information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not How To Home. How To Home will not be held liable for any negligent or accidental damage or injury resulting from equipment, tools, electrical, fire, electronics or any items contained in this video. Attempt projects and repairs at your own risk. - Jak na to + styl
Yeah, more airflow equals better combustion. It's incomplete combustion that causes a good deal of the smoke. It's not even a disputable fact. Nice job!
Good job dealing with the haters. Trying to build something you've never done before takes some courage to get past the fear of failure. But, it's just a fire pit so well done. Can't wait for the next adventure. Cheers from Texas!
Hey Jim, yeah they come with the territory. Sometimes they can be comical though haha. But at the end of the day it is all about hopefully helping someone to either get a project or repair done or like you said, help someone get the courage to take on something that maybe they wouldn't have. When I get that feedback, which is the vast majority, it makes it all worth it! Thank you for your kind words and I look forward to seeing you around here!
"The haters" lmao stop being dramatic
Your creativity is excellent, and I will apply what I learned from was done with this build. We all can tweak our own fire-pits to fit what we are looking for so I am grateful for you taking time and sharing the hard work you did...
IGNORE THE HATERS!!! YOU ARE DOING SOLID DIY PROJECTS!!!
Thank you! I am glad you are liking them! It really is all about hearing from folks that a video helped them complete a project or repair. Especially if they felt unsure of whether they could do it or not. Thank you very much for the feedback!
Ignore the haters. Experimenting is what improves designs. Thanks for posting.
Man! I want to so do this! Please do not remove your videos on this! We will be moving within the next year or year and a half and our next house I need to build this!
This is cool beans! Also, you could display professional top quality to people who think they know everything and they’ll still tell you what you did wrong. It worked for you.
The thing that gets me is you are using it… like if it didn’t work…. why would anyone say it does? This is literally FREE help to people!
Thank you, thank you and thank you!
Now to find my husband and present what I found on youtube. Here I was just looking to put some holes into a junk fire pit to make it smokeless until we moved then I found this.
Have a great night man!
You hit the nail on the head! I could not agree with you more. Thank you so much for your kind words and feedback! If you do end up building this I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do! We have been using it non stop this winter! 🙂
great work on the 1st vid and followup! can't wait to see the next one!
Loved your video series on the smokeless pit. It truly motivated me to tackle my own project and it is quite rewarding
Awesome! Love to hear that. That is what this channel is all about! Thank you very much for the feedback. I am glad it made you feel like you could do it!
Thank you for your update/review!
Thank you for this followup, excellent videos mate love it
I have a Solo Stove and love it for taking it camping. Looks like you nailed a bigger concept design. You are spot on about the initial smoke, our Solo Stove does the same thing. It's not until that fire really gets going in 5 to 10 minutes that the smoke minimizes. Will definitely mirror your design if I rebuild a large burn pit. Thanks for sharing!
Yeah the bigger and hotter the fire, the better! We love this thing! Thanks for the feedback!
Great video! Thank you for the follow up..
And to all the Naysayers...
When I came across the video of the build I was intrigued....so I searched for more .... which I found and all came to the same conclusion....
Works great!
You are very welcome! I really wanted to be able to answer the main questions and be able to share them with everyone. Some really great suggestions. I am really glad to hear your pit is working well for you. We really have loved having it built! Thank you for the feedback!
I really admire you dealing with negative comments or any comments even to the point of digging up the air intake which I think is genius in itself I'm seriously thinking about making one of those for this winter and the spot where I put my pool thanks for great content
I'm going to have to do some research into your brick breaking method so for now I may have to go with the handheld Sledge and chisel. 🙃
You can do it! But it took years of training in order to master the rock kwan do. Started with pebbled and worked my way up! Haha! Thank you very much for the feedback. The haters just come with being on social media. Many of the comments I find comical. At the end of the day though, when I hear a video helps someone with a repair or project or it gave them the courage to tackle something they were unsure of, that is what it is about. And many of the subscribers of this channel also try to help each other out in the comments which is also awesome! Thank you very much for the feedback. Hope to see you around!
Thanks for doing this. I told my wife I was going to build one in October, so I'm going to use your strategy. Let's smoke the better...
Enjoy the build! It is a fun project!
Good job and very informative videos. I've pretty mech watched these from the beginning and like the amount of experimentation. I'm basing my design on your work but using a circular tub from tractor supply cause that's what I have. I'll try the smaller holes to start with because it's easier to drill them out than fill them in. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing ! Great up dated project (draft pipe)
Glad you liked it. Thanks a lot for the feedback!
That is outstanding.
Glad you liked it. Hope it cleared things up. Thanks for the feedback!
thanks for sharing 👍
You are welcome. Glad you liked it!
I built one almost exactly like yours and we used it for the first time last night. It works just as you have described. Thank you for this awesome idea and party on 😊
That is awesome! Love to hear it. Thank you for the feedback. Always like hearing when these videos are helpful! Take it easy!
Thank you so much for this video! I can't wait to try this with our fire pit!
Awesome! Love to hear it! Really happy to hear you are enjoying it. Thanks a lot for the feedback!
Thanks for the great video man, about to build a deck in the yard with a fire ring in the middle and this is just what I needed. I think I'm going to raise it and back fill in the bottom so the fire is higher, but definitely using this design.
Don't pay attention to the trolling.
yours is a great pit !! the proof is in the video, at 9:20 there is NO SMOKE, and it's burning really nice. I built one similar to yours after watching a couple yt vids (including yours). in January I got a steal deal on a 28" ring at tractor supply on clearance for $27 marked down from $90. it's thick, heavy steel. drilled 1" holes around the top. works great. like you said, clean up is easy. usually nothing but ash left, and the little bits of charcoal are burned up in the next fire.
p.s. metal shower drain grate for $7 at H.D. to put over the air flow pipe.
thanks for the videos
Excellent video!
Your video's are so well presented and have great information. Thank you.
You are welcome! Thank you very much for the kind words!
I took a 54” x 12” tractor rim, dug down about 4”, put the rim in the hole and stacked some rocks around it, then I dug about a 4” tunnel under one side, no smoke, works better than any fire pit I’ve ever seen
Post a video!
Great idea man, the whole dealing with comments is crazy nice of you. I'd want to tell them to do their fire pit youtube video however they want. Also cans don't even melt on a fire so who ever said that has no idea how heat works. It's probably under 100 degrees where the pipe is. Heat rises guys...
Thanks Mark! Yeah I knew doing this that those comments were going to come with being on social media. But honestly some of them give me a good chuckle. I do welcome folks to make theirs how they like, or build off of what I did. And yeah, that pipe does not get hot at all, with the heat rising and it pulling in fresh cool air, it's actually being cooled down. I really appreciate the feedback Mark! Hope to see you around!
Dude, loved your video on this. Thank you for it!
You are very welcome. Really glad to hear you liked it. Thanks a lot for the feedback T.J.!
This was a great video, thank you for the extra information.
You are very welcome! I am glad you liked it. Thanks a lot for the kind words and feedback Sherena!
8:04 You're just in the pocket of Big Fire Pit!! I KNEW IT
😂 You caught me! I'm not proud ok!
don't vindicate the trolls - they don't deserve a minute of your time. my son and i built a fire pit patterned off your initial version of this. after many, many fires it works great! the only time we get smoke is when we throw something that is not seasoned into it. generally if the fire is hot enough that is not even an issue.
Awesome! Always like hearing it was helpful and others are having success. Thank you very much for that feedback Thomas! Glad to hear you all are enjoying it.
Amazing mate xxx
I love the rockwondo! Award a black belt
Thank you master!
Great job, i’ll be building a similar pit this week!
Awesome! We love ours! Good luck on the build!
Using good seasoned woods and having the fire burn hot helps the smokeless effect more.
Yes absolutely right! The bigger the fire, the better with this!
Great videos!!
Thank you for the feedback!
I can’t tell you how happy I am I found your videos!! This has always been a bone of contention with my fire pit. But I do have a question, does it cause the fire to burn better? Mine seems to be starved for air. I was thinking I would just do what you did on the bottom by splitting some bricks just to get some airflow underneath but if I’m going to do that I might as well make it smokeless. Thank you!!!
Good effort!
Thank you!
Haters r gonna hate. Great video and I can't wait to build myself one.
Really glad to hear you liked it. Thanks a lot for the feedback!
Thanks for making these videos. I just picked up my stuff last night from Menard's, I just have to figure out a jig to allow me to drill all those holes with my drill press!
You are welcome! Hope the build went/goes well!
Just buy a cheap corded drill from harbor freight for like $30... If you really want to be cheap you can return it within 90 days...
consider staggering the large and small holes to see the effect
Love to see this at night with a light behind it. That would show smoke better but nice work. Truthfully, I did not think the aluminum would stand up to the heat
Don't sweat over haterz mate.. Great video and top job I say. Thank you for sharing and Gday from Vic Aus.
Hey appreciate the kind words! Glad you liked it. Hope things are good Down Under!
@@HowToHomeDIY Thank you my brother. The worlds gone mad down under but it's nothing a good fire pit and a few beers can't fix lol..
I don’t understand how people can’t get their heads around the science of why this works. It’s the same as fanning a fire or a carburetor for an engine and also a damper control on a wood stove.
Adding more oxygen to fuel increases efficiency. Great video and now I’m inspired to rework my fire pit !
Love to hear it! Thanks a lot for the kind words and good luck if you decide to try this or something similar out!
You said "science" --- that is why.
👍🏼
lol of course it works, its a crude approximation of what a Kerosun kereosene heater does, or a decent kerosene lantern, directing oxygen for more complete burning. looking at the blocks you might have made the diameter a little smaller but the black tin is going to soak heat about the same anyway.
Great video series - thanks so much for the tutorial. Planning to build this in my own yard in the next few weeks. Question - I’ll be building over an existing stone patio and would REALLY prefer not to dismantle it to create an O2 feed at the bottom. In your estimation, might I approximate the same effect by feeding smaller gauge aluminum tubing through gaps in the bottom layer of stone block, configuring to vent upwards - possibly from beneath a fire grate? TIA for any perspective you care to share. 🙏
Sometimes you just gotta tell people to f*#k off. Your fire pit is dope! I'm sure it has helped lots of people.
this fire pit is essentially a large wood-gas stove. Good work.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for the feedback!
"Gosh Dang It! I Did It Again!!!"
Lol... I bow before your mighty Roc-kwan-do!
I have to be careful with these hands! 😂 I am glad you liked it. Thanks a lot for the feedback Mark!
I used to make bowls from aluminum foil. We are good to go on that front.
Then you definitely know haha
What about a secondary heat exchanger to direct the heat from the fire outwards
Excellent presentation! Excellent perspective dealing w/naysayers! Can we see a slo-mo of you breaking the stones w/your hand? LOL Just kidding.
Would be interesting to see a smoke or fog machine on the pipe outside the pit to see how the intake works
“rock-kwon-do” 🤣😂🤣 classic!
Hey, these have been great videos, much appreciated! Do you think this smokeless set up can be accomplished with a 36" square fire pit instead of round, or will the corners be too far away from the center and not burn off the smoke? I want to build a square pit for the extra space in the pit, but I don't want to negate the smokeless technology.
Thank you!
What would be the implications if I added another layer of blocks to the top? I'd like it to be a little taller.
Hello mate, thanks for putting this together.
I built a copy of the Stove smokeless out of two soup pots and it worked perfectly.
I'm going to attempt this one now and have a question if that's ok. How much space do you have between the metal ring and the inner diameter of the stone?
I'm struggling to find a stone surround that leaves less than about 3 inches. Do you think that gap is too big?
Thanks!
Does the steel ring have to be long enough togo down and touch the ground ?
Do you think there would be a way of putting this in the ground?
love it! my grandson got us going on starting fires with the "upside down fire". check it out. I just made one to appease him, but now, that's all we use! it really works! ty for the vid
I have never tried one. I will definitely try it!
@@HowToHomeDIY awesome! lmk if it works for you. I felt so bad afterwards! When he was setting it up, I was thinking there's no way this is going to work! it did! Hardly any smoke either, and you don't have to poke the fire etc to keep it going! God bless and thanks for all your cool vids!
I've seen some fire rings with a rim around the inside of the metal ring at the top. It is supposed to force the combustion air for the smoke more towards the center, making more complete combustion of the gasses (smoke). It is also supposed to keep the fire from being blown around in windy conditions. I don't know if it does or not. I'm 67 but I still miss having my Dad around. He was an engineer, and he would have been able to give me guidance on things like this. Oh, BTW you were right about using aluminum tubing. Steel tubing like that is usually galvanized, and there may have been a problem with the zinc burning off, which is hazardous. Maybe a quick tip for cleaning up ash. Just make a wooden frame that fits over a trash can, and nail hardware cloth that is like the material you attached to the cinder block in the air intake, to the frame. Put the frame over the trash can and shovel the ash, along with the rocks onto the hardware cloth. The ash falls through but the rocks stay on top. Best wishes!!
How can you put an ember lid on top?
Fire 101, heat, smoke and fire rise, not burn down. A fire investigator would tell you that a fire that burns down had propellant. I like the idea of a bottom air conduit but not so sure it needs to be that big.
Does the ring have to be touching the ground inside the pit?
do you think I would benefit from making some 2 inch holes on the bottom of the rim?? maybe 1 per quarter?? instead of the underground pipe... I already have 1" holes around the top about 3 inch apart....
That chop brotha, gotta be careful! Lol
They don't let me on planes anymore.
I've enjoyed these fire pit videos and the basic concept seems sound. But it would be VERY INTERESTING to do a simple test to demonstrate how important the fundamental concept is to the final smokeless result. Specifically I'd like to see a typical fire built, like the one shown in this video. Then, take a roll of furnace pipe sealing tape and temporarily cover all the holes drilled in the fire ring. This would cutoff the flow of "fresh air" and should result in creation of more smoke due to incomplete combustion due to less oxygen being delivered. If it shows that, I think any critics would have to accept the validity of this design concept. If it made no real difference...well that would also be a very interesting result.
An easier way to do the same test is to make a fire before drilling the holes, then after everything cools, drill the holes and make another fire. Make sure to use wood from the same source, ideally from the same tree.
How long did the intake pipe end up being?
Where did you get your fire ring at
Great video! I was thinking of building the same thing but maybe only going with two blocks high instead of the third row to see the fire better. Does adding the third row give any advantage to the fire or efficiency?
No not really. I did it because it was the height I needed in order to fully cover my ring insert. Thanks a lot for the feedback!
The size of your fire ring should fall within local fire pit regulations as well. For instance, my county only allows 36" diameter fire pits, so using a 39" or 42" would be illegal for me.
Please give specs of the thickness of the fire ring AND the hole saw you used and was it attached to a regular drill?
According to the description of the ring, it is 2mm thick. I used a 1 1/2" hole saw. You could try a smaller one but I would not go bigger with the holes.
I love youtube :)
hey! kind of a silly question- what should i ask for at the store if i’m looking for those exterior pavers you used?
Hey! They are retaining wall blocks. Hope this helps!
Using aluminum piping underground for airflow is the same result of a Dakota fire pit being smokeless.
So if you put a tarp around the fire pit while it's burning, to 'choke' the air flow around the the bottom two layers, would it start smoking. It might make it clear to the naysayers how well it works!
I made a primitive version of your pit when I had a large amount of brush and tree trimmings to burn.
The pile was about eight feet across and six high.
I took four 1 1/2" galvanized iron pipes and put them in towards the center of the pile and laying on the dirt.
Be careful of fumes from the galvanizing but the fumes went straight up so not much to worry about.
The inner ends were about a foot apart under the brush.
The outer ends were about a foot outside the pile.
I applied some kerosene and lit the pile.
Went inside for lunch and watched it burn.
It burned down to mostly white ash with no smoke.
I think that your ring & venting holes and blocks may not be the major asset in the clean burn.
I think the white rocks are providing the path for the air.
I imagine that if you closed the holes the burn would be the same since the hot air rising would draw in air around and through the rocks.
The drilled holes and split landscape stones contribute air, but just a little.
I'm going to make a fire pit using a six inch layer of rocks and a fire ring alone to test my hypothesis.
Good job on the fire pit in any case!
I just watched your second fire pit video where you put in the air vent in the center.
I'm still going to make one with only white rocks.
Thank you. I love this! Have you thought about how to do this with a sunken pit? I like having the fire pit half sunk in a paved circle.
Also, are you familiar with the upside down fire? Another ancient fire technology that was lost but is easy to resurrect.
I make hiking/camping/portable wood stoves out of unused paint cans, coffee cans, etc. for fun and use the TLUD (top load, up draft) principle to cook on them. It works great. It’s essentially the upside down fire method you mention on a smaller scale.
What is the diameter of your metal fire ring? Thanks
I have a fire pit that’s already built. All your videos show you adding the blocks. How would you do this project with an already existing mortared fire pit? Thanks
Since they are mortared that is going to make it a bit more difficult. Would try to find a ring that is the size of the existing pit and try to make it work. Would also need to make some holes in the bottom of it to get air introduced.
Instead of 2 - 3 big holes at the bottom, what about spacing each bottom brick about an inch apart for air to circulate through?
Soooooo you didn’t watch the video.
@@HowToHomeDIY Must of missed that part :S how many holes do you recommend?
gotta learn "rockkwando"!
It definitely comes in handy! 😂
what are the covers you put on each end of the aluminum pipe?
They are drain grates. They can usually be found in the plumbing section at home improvement stores.
Good job mate! Could you tell me if the white stones at the base are special ones that don't explode when heated, thanks and cheers from Australia.
So I have heard the exploding rocks theory, which I am not saying it doesn't happen but I think it is very rare and more so happens with river rocks as they can have some moisture content inside of them. These are marble chips. I have never had one explode and should not do so. Thank you for the feedback! Take care!
@@HowToHomeDIY thanks for your reply. I will look into marble chips. Cheers
Rocks can\will\do explode...not all rocks, mind you,but enough to make it a good rule to not build campfires on rocks. It's funny after you've told a group not to and they do it anyway. Creek rock\gravel is the worst ,in my experience but any rock with air pockets or voids are subject.
It’s a little overblown. Pun intended 😂
ohmygosh you're hilarious
Well thank ya! Glad I was able to add a little entertainment. The how to genre can be hard to impart humor into.
What about rain water in aluminum pipe?
Generally I’m not having a fire right after a large rain but if I needed it out quickly I can just use my shop vac. Other than that it drains pretty quickly.
how tall are your bricks? I'm assuming they are 4" tall 12" wide and 8" deep. if your ring is 10" tall how did you deal with the 2" gap at the bottom if you used three layers?
How much did it help when you added the air intake to the bottom of the fire? Your original version did not have that feature, did you have a notable improvement in burn after that addition?
I felt like it definitely helped to make the fire all around healthier.
@@HowToHomeDIY could I drill about 8 holes along bottom of ring to achieve this instead of intake pipe?
can you make a smokeless firepit in a large rectangular shape?
I was wondering the same... I am going to use his videos, but wanted it to be a square fire pit instead ;)
If you start coals in a chimney and spread the hot coals all the way around the base of the ring, I think you’ll be smokeless even faster..
I think you are probably right. I am all for making it as hot as you can. Will just make that ring work better. Thanks for the idea!
if you have the pipe in the ground do you still have to put gaps in the brick on the bottom row?
Hey! Yes the gaps in the bricks is to let air into the area between the bricks and the fire ring, once the fire ring is hot it will cause that air to rise and exit the holes in the fire ring to help feed the top of the fire. The pipe in the ground is for introducing fresh air into the bottom of the fire. Hope this answered your question.
@@HowToHomeDIY thank you. we put the gaps in, we put the pipe in, we are testing it now. I'm surprised by the amount of smoke coming off. If you use the wrong kind of wood (walnut) is it going to smoke regardless?
Depends on the walnut. I have talked to some folks that have said the walnut burns great and some that have said it smokes like you’re burning tires with a lot of ash. I do know that many use walnut when smoking meats because of its strong flavor and adequate smoke. You may try a different wood and see if that helps. Also make sure it isn’t wet or full of sap. And the ring needs to be plenty hot before it starts doing its thing.
@@HowToHomeDIY hey listen thank you! when you say the ring needs to be plenty hot, what length of time would you suggest that might be?
That got me curious. What if? Scientific experiment myth busting. If you place the wood in an outer ring, and the set (4) 6" long 3" diameter wool tubes filled with fresh grass directly in the center; will the fire burn or not burn the grass tubes?
With a surond walls and chimeny, that has opening to feed the fire around the grass tubes.
Will this work on a square fire pit using the same principle?
I don't see why it wouldn't.
@@HowToHomeDIY Thank you for all three videos on a smokeless fire pit! You are amazing and I look forward to all the things I will learn from you for future projects!! I am planning on building a square smokeless fire pit for my husband because he always hates the smell of smoke on his clothes... I actually love the smell... I know... not a popular opinion ;) But I thought if I can help reduce the smoke down as much as possible that will help him enjoy the fires a bit more ;) Thanks for all the time you spent planning, creating, editing, and posting these videos! Much appreciation all around ;)
😂🤣😂🤣😂 you’re gonna have haters bro thats just how this world is no reason to entertain every little thing they say, great build thanks for share Im gonna make mine like this
Yeah it adds entertainment to my day when I get the comments. Awesome! Glad you liked it. Good luck with the build!
@@HowToHomeDIY yeah it is funny everyone has opinions… which are invalid when they’ve never even tried to make it for themselves yet lol
Why is the aluminum rusting?
It isn’t.
Please show us what it looks like at night -- thanks
Instead of going the aluminum vent route, would holes at the bottom on the ring and the top of the ring be just as effective?
Galvanized gives off toxic fumes. 4:20
1. It has to reach a certain temperature to do that. 2. Once it burns off the coating it wont fume anymore. We are talking about a very small amount of metal 3. It’s only dangerous in enclosed places. If you are burning a fire in an enclosed space, you have more issues at hand than fumes from that metal.
i could be wrong but that looked like galvanized steel not aluminum.
It’s aluminum. The only thing galvanized was the cap to it.
Those negitive comments may be coming from the manufactures of 15" smokeless firepits.