What's your campfire in fire season or no campfire areas?

[Wasting Time In The Woods]

We really like our Outland Bowl, quick and easy!

How is the quality? I noticed the Outland Bowl is bigger than both the Red campfires and $50 cheaper than the Little Red Campfire and $76 cheaper than the Big Red Campfire.

Quality is excellent in the camco product other than the jenky latches. The outland bowl is nice but will likely be is 10lbs heavier and messier 4 offroad with the lava rocks. My parents have one and it works well for their rv lifestyle. Camco is just more overland friendly IMHO.

 

[Speric]

We love our Little Red Campfire. Way lighter and more self contained than a lava rock fire. More realistic and easily roof mountable:

Same here. Works great and packs away nice and clean too.

 

[NMBruce]

We love our Little Red Campfire. Way lighter and more self contained than a lava rock fire. More realistic and easily roof mountable:

I have one of these and also carry this 80,000 BTU Propane Convection Heater, the second heater is great for colder weather. We use it also in the mornings when it’s not in the best interest to start a fire if your leaving in a couple of hours.
Living in the west, no fires are becoming more and more common.

 

[Bpjr07]

I also have the little camco campire, bought it because of the cali fire season. Replaced the fake ceramic logs with lava rocks to hold the heat, feels more effecient.

 

[Bpjr07]

Just found out of lavabox.... its a fire in a ammo can container. Im going to return my camco campfire and build or buy one of those!

 

[Jk.Overland]

I searched the threads to see what folks used when campfires were not permitted. Couldn't find a thread. So as we come closer to spring and possible fire restrictions in the west. It would be interesting to see what OB'ers use on the trail.

After seeing a friends Unimog outfitted with a 20 foot attached hose from their propane source to a portable campfire, I knew I needed one but in a smaller version that would not take up much space in the 4Runner.

This is the unit I went with.....View attachment 48463
This unit with a half size propane cylinder worked like a champ. It packs up in its own pouch and takes up limited space.

Alot of places I have been did not allow camp fires or gathering materials for fires. My go to item for when I want a fire but cant have a fire pit or gather materials is this. It is a fire in a can. Lasts for hours, easy to put out with the lid, smells good, and puts off enough heat that when my brother and I were out camping last winter we were warm. (we live in the south so our winter is vastly different than yall in the north)

Fire in a Can

 

[Tundracamper]

Just found out of lavabox.... its a fire in a ammo can container. Im going to return my camco campfire and build or buy one of those!

Same here. Got one on order. Can’t wait to see what this little compact option will do.

 

[Downs]

I just don't have one. But looking at the LAVABOX looks promising but, no way I'm paying 200 dollars just to have a camp fire, I've got some 50cal cans floating around here I'll see what I can figure out.

 

[Bpjr07]

I just don't have one. But looking at the LAVABOX looks promising but, no way I'm paying 200 dollars just to have a camp fire, I've got some 50cal cans floating around here I'll see what I can figure out.

Yup, just built one out of a 50 cal. Box it was too big, nice that it will hold the hose inside.
Build one with 5.56 box and its perfect. 1/2" ridgid pipe drill out some holes. Some home depot pieces and 7$ propane valve and hose.
Few lava rocks

 

[Williamdavis22915]

This is the fire pit I have was bought off of Overland bound. Absolutely amazing easy to clean and can also be used as stove

 

[tjZ06]

We love our Little Red Campfire. Way lighter and more self contained than a lava rock fire. More realistic and easily roof mountable:

I have both this, and the "Big Red Campfire." Love 'em both. The way they pack up is perfect for throwing in the rig. FWIW, they both have the same size fire ring, IIRC, so actual flame/heat/propane consumption is the same.

-TJ

 

[DRAX]

This is the fire pit I have was bought off of Overland bound. Absolutely amazing easy to clean and can also be used as stove

Problem is that doesn't get around fire bans/restrictions during fire season, which is what the OP was asking about. Those are great portable fire pits but since it still burns wood and releases embers it's still a danger and can't be used during fire bans.

 

[Tundracamper]

Same here. Got one on order. Can’t wait to see what this little compact option will do.

So, just had my first official outing with the LavaBox after playing with it at home. At this point, I’m just ehh about it. The flame seems to be on the sooty side for propane. Perhaps the burner is too far down in the box for the right fuel ratio. Not sure.

While it will burn over 90 minutes on a 1 lb bottle. It does start struggling after 30-40 minutes in timid weather or after about 10 minutes in real cold weather. I cranked it up all the way in 25F weather this AM and the flame shown in the photo is all it would do after about 10 minutes. Shaking the bottle definitely made the flame bigger, until you stop shaking. Maybe I need to try it without the shutoff valve in line. I’m thinking a 5 lb bottle may work better in the cold temps.



I also noticed that the burner is only supported at the inlet. While the rocks are very light, I’m still concerned it might bend over time (it’s already at a slight angle).

I plan to play with it more as it’s very compact. Still, not what I was expecting in terms of ready to go out of the box - especially for the price.

 

[Tundracamper]

So, just had my first official outing with the LavaBox after playing with it at home. At this point, I’m just ehh about it. The flame seems to be on the sooty side for propane. Perhaps the burner is too far down in the box for the right fuel ratio. Not sure.

While it will burn over 90 minutes on a 1 lb bottle. It does start struggling after 30-40 minutes in timid weather or after about 10 minutes in real cold weather. I cranked it up all the way in 25F weather this AM and the flame shown in the photo is all it would do after about 10 minutes. Shaking the bottle definitely made the flame bigger, until you stop shaking. Maybe I need to try it without the shutoff valve in line. I’m thinking a 5 lb bottle may work better in the cold temps.

View attachment 222340

I also noticed that the burner is only supported at the inlet. While the rocks are very light, I’m still concerned it might bend over time (it’s already at a slight angle).

I plan to play with it more as it’s very compact. Still, not what I was expecting in terms of ready to go out of the box - especially for the price.

Did some more testing. The LB on a 1 lb bottle with an adapter and a valve ran really good in 21F temps for about 10 minutes then throttled back, way back. So, I put the tank in a bucket of lake water and the flame came to life, again for about 10 minutes. Then, it was like a pilot light. Funny thing is, the shutoff valve wouldn’t cut off on the adapter. I think I have some freezing in the adapter.

Can 5 lb bottles put out propane at a higher rate than 1 lb bottles?

 

[DRAX]

Did some more testing. The LB on a 1 lb bottle with an adapter and a valve ran really good in 21F temps for about 10 minutes then throttled back, way back. So, I put the tank in a bucket of lake water and the flame came to life, again for about 10 minutes. Then, it was like a pilot light. Funny thing is, the shutoff valve wouldn’t cut off on the adapter. I think I have some freezing in the adapter.

Can 5 lb bottles put out propane at a higher rate than 1 lb bottles?

Ultimately, you need to determine what is freezing and causing your low flow problem. If the regulator is freezing then the higher flow from a 5LB tank won't matter (yes, they can have a higher flow rate due to the larger valve and orifice). If the problem is that the "high" flow rate from the 1LB bottle is causing the bottle temp to drop so much that there's no pressure then the 5LB tank would work much better, at least until that tank started to freeze. :D