How To Use Solo Stove

Solo Stove have made using fire pits in the outdoors so much easier, known for their unique bonfire stoves that not only look modern and stylish, but also mitigates a lot of the issues that come with regular stoves and fire pits. 

Solo Stoves have a unique design that works to maximize the airflow and burning produced from the pit, making for an intense and accurate flame that can warm you up and cook food in mere moments, with the added bonus of producing no smoke.

Knowing how to actually use a Solo Stove to its full efficiency can be a little tricky at first however once you get the hang of it, Solo Stoves can quickly become the go to fire pit for camping, barbecues and essentially any outdoor activity.

Here is a step by step guide of how to use a Solo Stove, and why they are worth picking up as a reliable fire pit. 

Why Use A Solo Stove?

The Solo Stove fire pits have been growing in popularity especially in these last few years, and it’s not hard to see why.

Alongside having very compact designs which can easily be taken to an outdoor destination of your choosing, they are most well known for having accurately controlled fires and producing no smoke at all.

This is all made possible because of the Solo Stoves unique design of having a cooking ring placed just on top of the fire itself, allowing the heat to seep through the rings ventilations holes and quickly heat up anything it comes into contact with. 

A lot of quality of life issues that can make cooking on fire pits a bit more of a nuisance than it needs to be are therefore mitigated by the Solo Stove with no need to worry about a flame getting out of hand, embers jumping out of the pit or big gusts of smoke blowing in everyone’s face and causing a lingering smell to stick to your clothes. 

More and more models of Solo Stoves are coming out regularly with different sizes and extra additions being added with each new release, so it has never been a better time to pick up one of these portable firing pits. 

Step 1 – Gather Twigs And Wood

To begin using a Solo Stove, first you will need to search the area for some twigs that are big enough to light the fire and keep it burning.

The drier the twigs the better, wet wood can take a lot longer to burn and can produce more smoke. 

Hardwoods such as maple, birch and oak are just a few kinds that will burn for much longer and generate a lot less soot than softer woods. 

If the twigs are a bit larger you will want to break them down into a smaller size, this does not need to be very big, roughly thumb length.

Step 2 – Find A Suitable Spot

When placing the Solo Stove down, ideally try an area away from the wind or that is at least partially surrounded by some large trees or some buildings.

As like with other fire pits, the wind can become a real disruption and can continuously blow the flame out if strong enough.

It is also worthwhile clearing away any flammable debris in close proximity to the stove such as leftover twigs or high grass, just to mitigate the chances of the fire spreading. 

Step 3 – Remove Cooking Ring

Once the stove is in place and you have enough wood, this is when you can start using the Solo Stove.

Start by removing the cooking ring which is located inside the stove, it will have grips around the side which will make it easy to lift up. This is so that you can stack the twigs inside the stove much easier.

Step 4 – Start The Fire

Once the twigs are in and with the cooking rings still removed, light a fire inside the stove.

Step 5 – Insert Cooking Ring

As soon as the flame starts picking up heat, place the cooking ring back into the stove so that it sits on top of the fire.

Each Solo Stove cooking ring will have particular ventilation holes which directs the  accuracy of the fire and cuts out any smoke from reaching outside of the pit. 

Step 6 – Start Cooking 

Once the cooking ring is back in the fire the stove will be ready to use. Feel free to cook, boil or roast your favorite foods without any need to worry about the flames getting out of hand or huge puffs of smoke blowing in your face.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What Size Is A Solo Stove?

Solo Stoves are known to be fairly small in height so that they can be easily used as fire pits, however you can adjust the size by purchasing certain models.

The Bonfire model for example stands at 14 inches while the Yukon model stands a bit taller at 16.

You therefore have a bit of variety depending on how big you want your fire pit to be however they are all on the smaller side.

This is not to suggest that they are any less efficient than bigger stoves, because of the design of Solo Stoves they can still produce enough heat to thoroughly cook or boil anything you place on top of it even with just a few dry sticks and twigs fueling it.

Summary

The Solo Stove is a great portable fire pit that mitigates a lot of the issues that can ruin a good barbecue or camping trip such as lingering smoke and flames that are too big and burn the food, or that are too small and just can’t last long enough. 

With new models being designed all the time now is the best time to invest in a Solo Stove, and with how easy they are to set up, there’s no need to worry about manually putting it together or taking hours to set it up, simply start the fire, place the cooking ring on top, and you’re ready to go.