in my experience, the smoke from a wood burning fire really chars the heck out of any pot. does the solo stove mitigate this in any way?
1937955
When I used mine I was burning Birch which burns great, but because of the oil content, it really blackens the bottom of the pot. About half of it washed off with no problem at all. The other half took some scrubbing and some serious elbow grease. 98% of the char came right off the pot. The other 2% seems to be stuck on there for now. So yes, it will "char" your pot. But if you use wood as a fuel source with any stove, you'll have some char and ash to clean here and there. Over all, I would still say that the Solo Stove and Solo Pot are a pretty dang good set up.
1937956
There is not much you can do about it. Some say the solution is to coat your pot with dish soap but I have never tried this. Just part of the wilderness experience!
1937957
When you get home, seal your pans in a plastic bag with a few tablespoons of ammonia in a little cup or dish. The gas of the ammonia loosens the burned on food and charring so that you can easily wash it off. Works great for older pans and oven racks that have burned on gunk too.
1937958
Yep, the bottom of the pots get very sooty, but it washes off with moderate effort.
1937959
If you don't want your pots and pans to have that charred look that goes with camping simply take a small amount of regular liquid dish soap (not a special environmentally friendly one) and rub a light coating all over the outside of the pot or pan. It will appear blackened after cooking however when it comes time to clean up the outside will clean up very easily with minimal to none of the black charring left on the outside of the pot!
1937960
No I have used both the Original and Titan Solo extensively both do deposit soot and creosote on cooking pots. However I feel this is a very minor issue considering the weight savings, reliability, limitless fuel (as long as your not well above the tree line) and ambiance of using these nifty little units. especially the Titan. One of the best products I've seen in 50+ years of mountaineering. Buy a Solo and deal with the soot. You won't regret it!
1937961
To be honest I never worried about blacking on any of my pots. The Solo still puts flame to pot so you get some blacking. I would recommend using soap to coat the pot or just be philosophical about it and rinse it off the best you can.
1937962
I've used it twice so far and each time I had to clean a lot of suit off the pot each time. It smokes when the dwigs have any dampness to them. Perhaps using completely dry fuel would burn cleaner but I havene't had that experience yet.
1937963
Very little on my titanium pot. The heat this stove gives off with so little tinder is amazing... You do have to constantly feed it unless you use small pine cones. You do have to wait for the gassification to start then place your pot other wise you will get some soot.
1937964
Not that I can tell. It blackens up my pots. How I get around that is I take some aluminum foil and wrap the bottom of the pot/pan and when done I throw away the foil.
311004
It would probably work better above the coals, on some kind of grate or grill. The open fire is obviously going to discolor and change the outer appearance of the cooker which won't make any difference in the way it cooks. I personally have never tried to use mine over open fire. I think as long as you're producing steam inside of the pot, uneven heat will not be a major factor. I do like to have the ability to reduce the heat after the initial steady stream of steam appears. A propane fire would be my first choice.
931733
Not sure what you mean by a solo stove. I carry a Svea 123 inside mine. I wrap it in a thin rag (which does double duty while cooking) so it doesn't rattle in the pack.
1472652
Dear Ryan :) It works best over a clean burning flame such as a backpacking stove/ burner but it can also be used of over a campfire using the correct precautions. Create an elevated platform from a flat stone or , if you have one, a small steel grill. Either way the object would be to position the Terra over a bed of coals or over a stone heated by the fire beneath it. Not over open flames which could render the handle too hot to use and "blacken" the outside which is not the best thing to do if you are packing it around. Know what I mean. The Terra is very durable but not indestructible. Any more questions, feel free to ask. Happy Trails to You...Steve Dear Ryan :) It works best over a clean burning flame such as a backpacking stove/ burner but it can also be used of over a campfire using the correct precautions. Create an elevated platform from a flat stone or , if you have one, a small steel grill. Either way the object would be to position the Terra over a bed of coals or over a stone heated by the fire beneath it. Not over open flames which could render the handle too hot to use and "blacken" the outside which is not the best thing to do if you are packing it around. Know what I mean. The Terra is very durable but not... » Read More Dear Ryan :) It works best over a clean burning flame such as a backpacking stove/ burner but it can also be used of over a campfire using the correct precautions. Create an elevated platform from a flat stone or , if you have one, a small steel grill. Either way the object would be to position the Terra over a bed of coals or over a stone heated by the fire beneath it. Not over open flames which could render the handle too hot to use and "blacken" the outside which is not the best thing to do if you are packing it around. Know what I mean. The Terra is very durable but not indestructible. Any more questions, feel free to ask. Happy Trails to You...Steve « Show Less
1903848
See in the photo how there's a grate on top of a tray that rests on top of the stove-- so any drippings would fall into the tray and not the stove or flames. You just clean the grate & tray, so it's not a problem/issue.
969263
Thus far I've found that the 14.5" model uses less charcoal (less volume) cook time remains the same. Something very important that I've learned - Wrap your wood chunks (2-3) in foil and cut several vent slits in the top to alot smoke to escape. Using this technique prevents the wood from catching on fire (increases the temperature which is a bad thing) and your chunks/smoke last much longer.
550150
Both heat and exhaust exit out the top. There is minimal smoke, and you won't blacken your pots to anything near the level you'd get throwing them on an open campfire.
622927
I've been using a wood stove for 22 years, and the best you can do is get a humidifier. putting any pot or can of water on top of stove at best is inefficient and at worse is dangerous, when it runs dry and you're not right there, what happens next? people; if you don't know what you're talking about please say nothing!
1158993
on the side there is a lever that engages the fuel, when done i push the lever to disengage. i dont remove because it is just laying in the bin and will cause no harm. the care taken should be, not to use too large a pan, which may trap heat if doing a long cook. this may force heat down to the cannister and cause it to explode. i stir fry or scramble eggs a lot, so not a concern. this may be rare, but read some safety concerns by googleing dangers of butane stoves. i will say, have used them for 20+ years and no issue. oh! i paid a little over a dollar each for fuel at lee lees in chandler,az.........asian market.
912236
The smoker will work on any sufficient hot source of heat. You'd have to ask the manufacturer of your stovetop whether it might be damaged.
141606
I either use a long nosed butane lighter (like the kind you use on a grill), or, as Ken T. says, if you have a flint and steel striker/spark maker, it'll light fairly easily. Alcohol has a pretty easy flashpoint, so even tossing a match down in the solo stove will probably do the trick, just don't burn the hair off of your fingers.
1718043
Also be aware there will be a "burn in" on the stove for the first few fires that will make the stove smoke a bit and smell because of the paint on the outside of it. You might want to set it up outside and light a few fires in it before you bring it into your home.
936632
Not that I know of........The depth of the pot is not deep enough for the canister, so you would need to do some kind of connection outside of the pot which would look terrible unless you could mount it on a column and hide the canister below the pot somehow. Sorry, I could not be of more help. Love the fire bowls, but would love for them to burn longer. If you figure something out, let me know.
22625
no because of the carbon monoxide and the smoke. it gets to be smokeless but when first starting it is smoky like all other wood burners
595899
No, never had soot on my pots or cast iron skillet. I also never run it all the way up on high because of the yellow flame, since I still run this stove inside a cabin. I never had the need to do so because my pots are no more than 14" dutch ovens or skillet and the flame goes past the pots. But no soot.
915243
Rubbing alcohol works, but burns sooty and not very hot. Denatured alcohol works much better and is what the stove was designed for.
1484451
Ugh. What a question to ask about a WOOD BURNING stove. Humanity is doomed.