This will keep the fire pit from tipping over and help you avoid sparking a fire from a stray ember. Always place your fire pit on a hard, flat, inflammable surface, such as a driveway, patio, or concrete pad.Wood is flammable, and some composites are prone to softening or even melting, even at as low as 175° F. Trapping smoke or carbon monoxide under a covered patio puts you at risk. Wood smoke contains carbon monoxide, an odorless and colorless gas that can be fatal if allowed to build up to dangerous levels. Never use a smokeless fire pit on a covered patio.(For more information, see our guide to fire pit safety.) Read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully, and follow these general guidelines, below.

Generally, models that are faster and more thorough to light (and score higher in our ratings for small and large fires) do the best job reducing the smoke.Īny wood fire presents some degree of risk. You start to see the most notable reduction in smoke only once the fire is roaring. “Instead, it’s better to think of them as smoke- less fire pits, meaning they smoke less than a conventional fire.”Īll wood fires produce smoke, particularly when the fire is first lighting. “None of the smokeless fire pits we’ve tested produce a fire that’s truly smokeless,” says Bernie Deitrick, CR’s project leader in charge of smokeless fire pit testing. Note that these fire pits reduce, not eliminate, the smoke. By extension, smokeless fire pits put off heat, and typically burn at least as hot as a traditional fire, if not hotter. The oxygen in the air feeds the fire, allowing the wood to light faster and more completely, and reducing smoke in the process. In addition, most models feature a network of holes or vents, strategically placed to promote airflow. That wall is crucial-by trapping hot air against the fire chamber, it makes it easier for wood to fully light. Most models use double-wall design-like an insulated metal mug-to burn wood more efficiently, cutting smoke in the process. Lastly, we measured the capacity of each fire pit to see how big a fire each could build and noted whether any rust developed during the course of our testing. Some have trays designed to capture ash, and some need to be flipped upside down to get the ash out. We also noted how easy each was to clean out and dump the ash. The best is designed to funnel wood toward the center of the fire pit, resulting in a more thorough fire with less waste. Next, we let multiple fires in each smokeless fire pit burn out completely and measured any wood that didn’t burn. Our engineers noted not only how effectively each fire burned but also how quickly each lit. For small fires, we used three to five logs in models that burn wood in models that burn only wood pellets, we covered the bottom of the fire pit in a single layer. For large fires, we filled each smokeless fire pit to capacity. At our Yonkers campus, test engineers set up each fire pit on an asphalt surface and built both large and small fires to see how each would burn fires of different sizes.

Best fire pit tables