Tripod Torch

You get no complaints from me; that would definitely be the pot calling the kettle. Anything to save us from replicating the Mr Heater Trouble-Shooting Saga.

If wood fires are going to be passe, increasingly impractical or impossible, I'm wondering if some sort of holographic / AI solution to evening campfires is in our future.

 

The solostove really does check most of those boxes. If you want to burn logs, you can, then of course you can add the pellet insert, which is nothing more than something to let a little more air get into the pellets...

I'm the designated person in my group—if the smoke is going to blow, it's going to blow to me. The Solostove is 95% smoke-free—and often higher than that. I'll get a little when its just starting, but after its rolling the re-burn (burns the smoke) is nearly 100%. When I use it for wood or pellets, I don't smell like a chimney. It's the best solution I've found so far except its big and you still have to have fuel.

The propane fake fires are all pretty equal, methinks. A gallon of propane is going to produce a maximum of 91,452 BTUs. The "campfire in a can" or the "torch" is going to be in that same range (assuming 100% of the propane burns) The mock-logs may have a little radiant heat, this is probably what will be most missing from the Torch.

I need to grab a full propane bottle and a scale and dedicate 60 minutes to this!

The one big downside of all the gas fires --- is they hiss. And the torch is no different there.

Its also a minor thing, but the torch edges are SHARP. They need to run an emery cloth to the edges of all the parts. I cut myself fairly badly (not needing stitches) on the edges of the legs. Hope they've fixed that by now.

 

Yeah, I looked for the burn rate on the Tripod Torch website, but didn't really find a BTU rating for it, but they did claim a 10-15 hr burn on what they called a 5 gallon (20lb) LP tank, so it will be interesting to see what your observation is.

I liked the low smoke aspect of the Solostove, and similar stoves, but what gave me second thoughts when I was considering adding one of them to our camp equipment are as you mentioned, the packing size, the need for either poor quality campground approved firewood, or carrying bags of pellets along with you, the wait for the burn down once fueled and fired up, and the clean up after use, all issues that the propane fire pit seemed to answer to a certain level.

I really didn't notice a hiss sound, at least not like you would hear with a propane torch, when mine was running, mainly the sound of the lapping flames themselves, but I'll admit not really being tuned in to listen for that either. The size is fairly compact with the legs folded under ( about 7" tall, and 17" around ), so not too hard to pack up with.

These are just my observations up until now, but since I haven't really used it in the field yet, a true review would be premature at this point, but I'm optimistic that it will fit our needs.....but then as they say, different strokes for different folks, and YMMV, so take from it what you will at this point, and I'll try to update both the pro's and the con's of it that we find as we get a chance to use it little more.

 

"I can't let you do that, Dave..."

 

We finally got a chance to field test the new propane fire pit this past week, and are pretty happy with it. I found that running it on its lowest setting gave us a fire level we were happy with, and gave us about a lb/hr of propane burn rate, or about 4hrs / gallon, or about $1/hr at Tractor Supply propane price of $3.99/gal. which obviously varies by location. The mineral wool, and vermiculite pellets placed over the burner ring between the ceramic logs glow like embers as the propane burns, giving it a little more authentic appearance.

The 20ft extension hose I added to the 10ft one the fire pit came with, gave us a lot of versatility in where we could put the unit. We did bring a separate LP tank off our home gas grill to fuel it, just to make sure we didn't use up the CI tank, and be left without fuel for the CI stove, so the extra hose allowed us to hide the tank from view behind our solar panel. In the future we may just switch to a 20lb LP cyl. on the CI, and keep track of how long we use the fire pit.
About the only thing I didn't care for was having the hose running across camp site. The stainless braided hose cover is kinda out of character with the rest of the camp site, so I may entertain some camouflaging ideas.

 

Is there any thermal mass or radience to speak of?

I didn't update here on the forum, I probably should have.

I did get a chance to use by torch it in the wild. As with all open propane flames, it is a bit of a propane hog. The big disappointment is that it really doesn't "throw" heat. Any heat generated goes straight up, and it's not very satisfying on cool nights. I want to re-emphasize, at least with the version I got the edges are ridiculously sharp. I hope they have invested in a way to soften those edges.

There is nothing beats a rippin' log fire, but with the cost of camp-approved wood being what it is...I'm sorry, I am just not willing to be a victim of "implied consent."

The solo-stove pellet adapter has been the biggest improvement, and since I have a dedicated camping vehicle at this point, it just rides with me wherever I go. It takes 20 pounds to fill the solo stove, and it gives a nice respectable burn for about 2 hours of flame. There is still glowing embers, but there's no significant output of heat at that point. 2 hours is usually more than enough except in very cold conditions.

A bag of pellets from Tractor Supply that is normally used for home heating is about $7 for 40 pounds. If I'm desperate, a 20 pound bag of cheap-o hictory fuel from Walmart is about $7 for 20 pounds. I consider this is helping out a friend, too; that Walmart bag of pellets is horrible for cooking!

Considering a bundle of wet, cheap, knotty firewood is $6 and burns (badly) for about an hour --- I'm still money ahead. The Solostove is my go-to at this point.

 

As you can see in the pic above labeled "firepit shutdown" there is thermal mass enough from the volcanic rocks and ceramic logs that after the fuel is turned off there still is remains a hot glowing mass throwing off heat for awhile. It does give off considerable heat to the surrounding area during the burn as well, but I don't know how to quantify this to compare to other heat sources like the Torch or Solostove, however I have read that the heat being directed more upward than outward has been one of the complaints about both the Torch & Solostove.
Personally I think that can be either good, or bad, depending on your reason for burning them. Is it for ambiance, radiant heat, both, or neither. To me it appears the Solostove provides ambiance, but not a lot of radiant heat, it appears the torch provides little of either, and the propane fire pit provides some of both. On a warm summer night you probably are looking only for ambiance, and the Solostove may be better, on a cool fall evening, probably both are desired, and the propane fire pit may better fill the bill.
For me, hauling 40lbs of pellets to get 4 hrs of burn time over two nights is less desirable than hauling an extra 20lb propane cyl. that should provide somewhere between 8-20 hrs of burn time for 4-10 nights of 2hr burns depending on how full your tank is filled, and if you set the burner on high, med, or low, at a cost of $1-3/hr based on my limited field test.
After all is said and done, there isn't one burner that is going to fit everyone's needs & desires for all occasions, and everyone will have to pick what will work best for them, and their camping style, as both of us appear to have done. Providing the forum with our best information, and experiences, so others can make informed decisions is a big part of what this forum is all about, and hopefully the considerations discussed here will help others with theirs.

 

Tractor Supply is my go to for propane too. ACE is NOT the place for propane.

 

Guess I’m an overachiever because I have been known to bring the Campfire in a Can and the Solo Ranger on a trip.

 

You're bang on right, no one solution is perfect, ever. Its balancing the advantages and disadvantages. Your firepit though looks like a good alternative. Its hard to say, but I think the solo & your pit are probably the two "sweet spots" I usually buy the bag o' pellets when I'm buying groceries, so I'm not slogging around with a 40 pound bag. Since I'm usually only at a place for 1 or 2 nights, its not that big of a problem.

The pile o' logs is still the best except for cost. If I can pick up a supply at a nearby roadside stand I will, and burn it in the solo or as a pile. I just refuse to pay park prices for awful scrap lumber.

I think that depends on your ace. We've got a couple up here that are just fine. My only real need is to sell me what I take with me. I had an independent RV rental refuse to partially fill a tank. No matter how much you had in it, they changed the full 20lb price. Those people are skum.

I often carry so many duplicate things with me, I wonder if I have a twin ....