Solo firepit Q's

[marinkitty]

We got the ring and the shelter and I think both are worth it. It's a very nice, fitted cover. The carry bag that comes with the bonfire will be great for when we take it car camping, but isn't a weatherproof cover. We didn't get the screen or the cover as we aren't somewhere with fire danger so we can wait to cover it after it cools.

[wendibird22]

We have the Solo Bonfire. Definitely do not go smaller. We have trouble with some of the firewood not fitting in the Bonfire, but the next one up was really heavy.

One thing we notice (not necessarily unique to the Solo) is that while the fire puts out a lot of heat, it is all "above the rim", so the sides, while hot enough to burn if you touch them, don't radiate heat. We had a raging fire going last night, but I used a blanket to keep my legs warm.

It does burn down really well, so minimal ashes. It also goes out fairly quickly once you stop feeding it, so we are not staying up to wait for it to go out (you can't put water on it). We also bought a metal trash can lid to cover it at night so that we can leave it out to cool and make sure it is out, but not get wet if it rains.

Prior to this we had the generic wood fire pit from Lowes that would last 18-24 months before rusting out at the bottom. This is an improvement for sure.

We got the ring and the shelter and I think both are worth it. It's a very nice, fitted cover. The carry bag that comes with the bonfire will be great for when we take it car camping, but isn't a weatherproof cover. We didn't get the screen or the cover as we aren't somewhere with fire danger so we can wait to cover it after it cools.

Same here. Got ours in July (it was an anniversary present to DH). We use ours on our new stone patio. I like the ring for piece of mind that we won't ruin the patio beneath it. IMO it doesn't put out a ton of heat, but we enjoy it. I like that it is very low smoke (nothing worse then smelling like camp fire for days!) and we've done smores a ton with it. The shelter is nice, as is the bag that comes with the bonfire, if you plan to take it on camping trips.

[ang79]

I can't speak to the actual usage yet, but we just got the Breeo smokeless firepit instead of Solo (X19 model). https://breeo.co/ It's made in Lancaster, PA as well, so you might be able to buy it locally somewhere in PA. You might want to give it a look too. Price is similar and we thought it looked easier to get the ashes out and also has a version with a sear plate for cooking, plus an attachment for grilling as well.

So I told DH to look at Breeo and Solo. He read comparisons and said "get the Breeo, the reviews are better, its easier to clean, etc.". I asked if he had seen the price, but he hadn't. Upon looking at the site, he thinks it is worth the extra $30 to get the 19" Double Flame. But that's not the one with the grill plate edge. If we put this on our patio, will it mark up the patio pavers from the heat? Do we need a mat or something underneath it? If we decide to use it in the yard we have extra patio pavers we could sit it on.

[ssjarrett]

So I told DH to look at Breeo and Solo. He read comparisons and said "get the Breeo, the reviews are better, its easier to clean, etc.". I asked if he had seen the price, but he hadn't. Upon looking at the site, he thinks it is worth the extra $30 to get the 19" Double Flame. But that's not the one with the grill plate edge. If we put this on our patio, will it mark up the patio pavers from the heat? Do we need a mat or something underneath it? If we decide to use it in the yard we have extra patio pavers we could sit it on.

There are about 3 inches of clearance under the firepit (on X19--assume Double Flame is similar). Amazon does have a heat shield and we got this one one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1, anticipating (maybe) using on a deck. We will probably add a set of pavers under ours to raise it up a little further too (I think the heat shield says it should have 6 inches of clearance).

If you are on Facebook, there is a Breeo Users group on there and you might be able to find the answer about marking up the pavers-don't think I've seen anyone mention that though. It's called "Breeo Fire Pits."

Hoping for dry weather so we can put ours to use this weekend!

[ang79]

Broke down, ordered the Solo Bonfire from Amazon. Some of their Solo items have extra 15% and 20% coupons so I got the Bonfire with stand for just under $300! We won't get it until mid Nov., but it would have taken that long to get the Breeo as well and this was $60 cheaper so I hit buy before I second guessed myself again!

[twowhat?]

There are about 3 inches of clearance under the firepit (on X19--assume Double Flame is similar). Amazon does have a heat shield and we got this one one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1, anticipating (maybe) using on a deck. We will probably add a set of pavers under ours to raise it up a little further too (I think the heat shield says it should have 6 inches of clearance).

If you are on Facebook, there is a Breeo Users group on there and you might be able to find the answer about marking up the pavers-don't think I've seen anyone mention that though. It's called "Breeo Fire Pits."

Hoping for dry weather so we can put ours to use this weekend!

Bumping to see if you have used your Breeo yet? I was intrigued because I had not heard of the brand before so watched a couple of reviews on YouTube...the X-series looks like so much fun with that sear plate!

[theriviera]

We have a breeo - happy to answer any questions.


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[ssjarrett]

Bumping to see if you have used your Breeo yet? I was intrigued because I had not heard of the brand before so watched a couple of reviews on YouTube...the X-series looks like so much fun with that sear plate!

We used it for the first time last night! It worked great overall. Low/no smoke most of the time--more as it first got started and when we added more wood. Way less than all the traditional firepits in our neighborhood on Halloween night for sure. Haven't tried the sear plate yet, but the fire is definitely very hot--marshmallows were perfect very quickly! We are very happy with our purchase!

[twowhat?]

We have a breeo - happy to answer any questions.


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We used it for the first time last night! It worked great overall. Low/no smoke most of the time--more as it first got started and when we added more wood. Way less than all the traditional firepits in our neighborhood on Halloween night for sure. Haven't tried the sear plate yet, but the fire is definitely very hot--marshmallows were perfect very quickly! We are very happy with our purchase!

Thank you both!! I do have several questions if you don't mind! The sear plate might be overkill for us...I am trying to think of how often we would REALLY use it. But it looks like fun. Please comment if you have the sear plate and have tried it

Grill attachment...probably worth it? We do not have a traditional grill.

How easy is it to learn and use? For reference, we are a "put a Duraflame on the fireplace rack and turn on the gas to start it" family. Hahaha....

And then finally - I saw one YouTube video where the guy says you can just use a kids shovel to scoop out the ashes into a trash bin or compost pile, no need to turn and dump it. Would this really work and how easy is it really to clean? We have a good sized backyard BUT it's mostly pool and concrete pool deck. No grass or dirt to dump out ashes onto (this is the main reason I'm leaning away from the Solo Stove...there's no good place to dump out ashes).

Do you have to let the wood completely burn out to extinguish the fire? What do you do if you're "done" and want to stop the fire when there's still wood in it? (this could be a totally fire pit newbie question hahaha).

Size...I am thinking 19 inches but I know nothing about firewood. Is the firewood that you buy of a size that would easily fit? Is the 19 inch easy enough to move if we wanted to reposition it, or to move it onto the covered patio if there's going to be rain?

Do you keep it covered when not in use? Is the Breeo lid worth the cost?

How safe is this around kids and pets? I'm a little worried about the metal outside...theoretically you could burn yourself by brushing up against it right? though I guess the fire inside is a good a visual deterrent.

Basically we want something relatively easy to use and clean for completely fire pit novices, that puts out warmth because most of our use would be on fall days/chilly nights, and we could occasionally cook on it for fun.

And finally...has anyone noticed if this keeps mosquitos away? I know it's "smokeless" but I am wondering if the heat and small amount of smoke it produces would appreciably keep skeeters away because if it does, this would expand the time we're able to use it into the summer nights.

[hellokitty]

We have had ours for over 3 years and absolutely love it. We do have the stand for it and because it gets so hot, I am glad that we have it. We have roasted marshmallows and hotdogs over it without any issue before. We actually use our old metal firepit that is a shape of a sauce as the lid when we aren't using our solo, lol. Have lots of wood available, it goes through it pretty quickly.