Measuring How Effective Smokeless Fire Pits Actually Are

HUMANITY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH FIRE GOES BACK hundreds of thousands of years.

- BRADLEY FORD

The Test

We relied on it for heat, protection from predators, and help in making tools and weapons. You might call our fascination with fire primal. Today, however, we all can't just pile up wood in the yard, light it, and get in touch with the primitive comfort of fire. Many towns have ordinances about open fires. Aside from that, neighbors may view the smoke from one as a nuisance. And the romance of a cozy fire can go right out the window when a small breeze blows a faceful of eye-watering smoke your way.

Enter the modern smokeless fire pit. These appliances directly address some of the biggest issues with a backyard fire. Aside from having metal bodies to safely contain the fire, they employ a method of secondary combustion to burn hotter and more completely, and drastically reduce the amount of smoke created. We tested some popular models to see how they performed and how well they live up to the promise of "smokeless fire."

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SMOKELESS FIRE

While smokeless fire pits for your backyard are a relatively recent development, smokeless fires have been burning for years-centuries, even.

1600s

Dakota fire hole / As far back as the 1600s, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas employed the Dakota fire hole to create fires that would burn in windy conditions and not spread or endanger their environment. It consists of two holes in the ground connected by a tunnel. Building a fire in one hole causes the rising heat to draw cool air through the tunnel. This constant flow of oxygen creates a hot fire that burns close to 100 percent of the fuel (which was wood).