>> Overview
The Farenheit Flame Fire Pit 17.5” has delivered wonderful surprises, and perhaps I am a little biased now that have used it for a few evenings straight in the patio while drinking some hot beverages or enjoying some wine, and ended up liking it a lot. Wood burns to ashes, with very little residue left. There is almost no smoke (well depending on what type of wood used), this was one attribute advertised to which I was skeptical, but not anymore. You can sit close to the fire pit to enjoy its warmth or stand up to get the most “heat” out of it. There have been no burn marks on the floor so far, which has been another surprise. We are definitely planning on taking it on our trips to the beach and campsites, as it is easy to store and to transport.
- Pros: easy to transport and store, intensive and complete burn, easy to clean, basically no smoke.
- Cons: none so far.
>> Setup and first use
The box comes with the bottom base stand/container and the top main burner/container along the carrying bag and the metal handle/rod for lifting and moving the device around. Once taken out of the box, just place the bigger top part on top of the smaller bottom one and you are set to go.
For our first fire, we went with some semi-wet and dry wood. I placed the wood in a pyramid shape at the center of the fire pit and used some newspaper pages to start the fire. In a few minutes we got a nice fire going on. After the fire and once it cooled down, it was easy to clean as there was not much debris left. The metal showed some discoloration, which is expected according to the manual. We were highly pleased with the fire pit on our first use.
>> Burn
We’ve tried different kinds of wood, and also, semi-wet and dry wood (yeah I know, why dare using wet wood?). Wet wood was mostly used to determine how well it did at minimizing smoke, and incredibly, smoke was highly reduced when compared to experiments we did in the past with wet wood. Dry wood just burns with no smoke, it is impressive. It looks like the design of the little vents all around at the bottom and top of the device makes the difference by providing enough oxygen to the fire. There was a even a point in time during the burning that it got as if the flames were coming from the vents around the top inner part of the device, I assume it had to be the extra oxygen coming from those vents into the ongoing fire, just unbelievable.
The wood burns completely, with very little residue left. These evenings have been somewhat cool/humid here in the Pacific Northwest and after using the device there have been few very little pieces of charcoal left with a small quantity of ashes in the main burner/container, and just a tiny layer of ash dust in the container/stand below (I was expecting way more ashes in the lower container, almost nothing there). I was very impressed by this, I wonder if it is the air flow from the vents that cause the tiny pieces of ash to dissipate in the air and as a result minimal residue is left.
One would think that the device leaves burning marks where it is placed, but no, so far we haven’t had any burning marks on the patio floor. I am sure it gets hot under the fire pit, but not too hot to cause burns underneath it.
>> Size/capacity
This device comes in two sizes, and we picked the bigger 17.5” one, which is perfect for creating a good size fire; although, we are still trying to figure out what is the max load the fire pit can take and how big a fire can get. Given that it has air flow holes on the inner lining towards the top, any wood close to it starts burning faster, so it looks like wood below the line of vents or perhaps in a pyramid on the center are the preferable configurations.
That being said, if space is limited in your car, then perhaps the smaller version might suit you better if your intent is to use it away from home.
>> Storage
It comes with a bag that is in handy for the purpose of storing the device somewhere where exposure to moisture is limited. Since we are using the device a few times a week (before we get into the constant rainy days), we keep the bag near the kitchen area for easier access, almost no one notices it.
>> Cleaning
There is very little debris left after burning, so there is not much left to clean. We’ve just used a brush and duster to get rid of the ashes and that’s it.
>> Rust/Care
We live in the Pacific Northwest and my main concern is the potential rust on this device. The manual states it is stainless steel, and it is not considered rust proof. We have decided that after every use, and after the fire pit cools down, to clean the fire pit (get rid of whatever ashes are left), place it in its carrying bag, and store it somewhere with less moisture. We are not leaving it outdoors overnight to fall prey to the high humidity in these areas.