I bought a hot shot from Costco and used it about two or three times.. wasn’t impressed but I had an idea, it was starving for air, I looked at a bunch of photos of solo stoves and saw they had about twice the air holes on the bottom and upper ring. I used a drill and got to work putting in more air holes in both the bottom heat shield and the upper ring, the hot shot it amazing now! Supper happy I tried allowing more air into the pit. Highly recommend!!
I will say that these stoves need / must be run loaded with wood. I'm talking FULL to just under the inner air holes. That's where it really shines. You can't just throw some wood in the bottom and expect it to gasify. When it's working correctly you'll see every single hole jetting fire towards the center. If the stove is not jetting out the air holes inside, then it's just a stainless barrel with a fire in it. Get the fire going and fill it with the right sized wood. Don't stick 18" logs in it. Cut them back to like 12" and split them smaller, and keep the wood dry. I have particular wood I use for ours that specially cut and split for the solo. When done right, these things RIP, basically it's a full-on furnace inside. They are not meant to be run slowly or half-azz. Fill it up it to the bottom of the air holes, and don't go above them and you'll have a super hot awesome smoke free fire. Love my solo, but laugh at the price. One additional mention is that they absolutely EAT wood. Don't go buy some expensive kilk dried hardware store bundle wood. You need piles of dry wood to keep it loaded. You're basically filling it ever 15 minutes. If you're burning that "bundle wood" crap you'll go broke. It will eat a bundle of $7 wood in like 10 minutes.
Thanks for the positive feedback. Cleanup is easy and can be accomplished by vacuuming up the ashes or tipping the unit upside down and dumping the ashes out in an ash friendly bucket or area...after they have cooled down of course :). However, they are somewhat heavy and that option may not be realistic for some or sustainable. I highly recommend an ash vac.
Thanks for the comment. I've used mine on my composite deck with the stand. Supposedly if you use the stand you can use it on any surface. But please practice fire safety and keep a safe distance from your house and any other structures. Enjoy it!
I bought a hot shot from Costco and used it about two or three times.. wasn’t impressed but I had an idea, it was starving for air, I looked at a bunch of photos of solo stoves and saw they had about twice the air holes on the bottom and upper ring. I used a drill and got to work putting in more air holes in both the bottom heat shield and the upper ring, the hot shot it amazing now! Supper happy I tried allowing more air into the pit. Highly recommend!!
Great idea, glad it worked for you. Thanks for sharing!
What size holes did you Add? And what was the spacing of the holes?
Hi. Do you have any photos of the milidifications you done on the fire pit. Thanks Mark
Great comparison video! Blessings to you family from ours in Tennessee!
Thank you for the kind words.
I will say that these stoves need / must be run loaded with wood. I'm talking FULL to just under the inner air holes. That's where it really shines. You can't just throw some wood in the bottom and expect it to gasify. When it's working correctly you'll see every single hole jetting fire towards the center. If the stove is not jetting out the air holes inside, then it's just a stainless barrel with a fire in it. Get the fire going and fill it with the right sized wood. Don't stick 18" logs in it. Cut them back to like 12" and split them smaller, and keep the wood dry. I have particular wood I use for ours that specially cut and split for the solo. When done right, these things RIP, basically it's a full-on furnace inside. They are not meant to be run slowly or half-azz. Fill it up it to the bottom of the air holes, and don't go above them and you'll have a super hot awesome smoke free fire. Love my solo, but laugh at the price. One additional mention is that they absolutely EAT wood. Don't go buy some expensive kilk dried hardware store bundle wood. You need piles of dry wood to keep it loaded. You're basically filling it ever 15 minutes. If you're burning that "bundle wood" crap you'll go broke. It will eat a bundle of $7 wood in like 10 minutes.
Wow, gonna have to try that out! Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like they are great firepits once you get to know them.
Exact comparison I was looking for. Thank you!
Thank you for the positive review.
Well done thank you sir
Thanks for watching!
Great review. Thanks so much! How is the cleanup for each of them?
Thanks for the positive feedback. Cleanup is easy and can be accomplished by vacuuming up the ashes or tipping the unit upside down and dumping the ashes out in an ash friendly bucket or area...after they have cooled down of course :). However, they are somewhat heavy and that option may not be realistic for some or sustainable. I highly recommend an ash vac.
Great video I just assembled mine from Christmas, is it safe to use on a wood deck? I’m thinking the bottom would burn the deck
Thanks for the comment. I've used mine on my composite deck with the stand. Supposedly if you use the stand you can use it on any surface. But please practice fire safety and keep a safe distance from your house and any other structures. Enjoy it!
"it burns really hot" ...dang, i wanted a fire pit that burns cold
nice review. lovely kids.
Thank you for the kind words. We're blessed!