Undestading the way this stove work is key: principle is the "gasifier" function and does burn from the top down. It turn wood into flamable gas. Once the smoke gets at a high enough temperature, helped by super heated air going through the side walls, the fuel ignites . This is why it is smokeless, the stove burns the smoke, not the wood. Pellets will turn to charcoal which dont emits smoke no more = no more flame. When you add pellets to charcoal, you are now burning from down to the top, creates too much smoke that cannot be all ignited, this is the column of smoke you see in the middle. To use it best, dump the pellet when in charcoal state, refill with fresh pellets and light it up again as you did at first. You can use a bit of methyl alcohol as a fire starter.
I find using a liquid fuel to light the top works well. Denatured alcohol, methyl hydrate, lamp oil, even hand sanitizer all work well. Spreads outs and light a larger area faster.
I have a Mesa XL and I packed mine tight with walnut mini-logs, all split up into finger sized pieces and stacked vertically in the Mini XL, and made a small fire on top which caused the wood to burn from the top down. It was great. It was nice. But it still only lasted as long as the little pot full of wood lasts, then I was loading more wood in from the top like a regular little fire. So after about an hour, or less, it doesn't really seem to matter which method you use!
Camping with my knockoff Mesa and all I have is pellets and the top-down method is definitely the way to go with pellet fuel source. I will have to try with hard wood next. Thanks for your videos. Very helpful.
Top-down pellet burner here. Works great, cheap and nice flame. Yes there is fire management but really no more or less than wood sticks. One complaint is the length of time for the pellets to take off. Plan ahead and your set.
Great video - thanks. I just bought the Ranger and Mesa XL for van camping and am looking forward to trying these out. The little Mesa looks like a great quick option when we're road tripping and dont want the bulk of the Ranger but still want to sit around a small fire. Very interesting experiments in these videos thats saved me some work!
When using pellets it is best to fill with pellets and ignite the top. I strongly believe that you should avoid Adding pellets as they are burning out, but instead use the pellets as a bed of coals for larger pieces of biomass.
Thanks man! Great video.. just to let you know I a, down on the west coast of USA and we look like brothers, same build, hair cut, beard and age..ci just don’t wear hats.. Anyhow nice new trick with the smoke catching the secondary burn area twirling in place… haven’t seen that yet… thought you had the bigger mesa.. but the smaller one you have is doing pretty good.. Would like to see this future video with other form of fuel…. Thanks for your patience with your solo stove videos…
At 13:50 , use a long reach lighter and try to light that smoke. I think it'll cause the secondary combustion and get rid of it. Haven't tried it myself but heard people doing it . Although it looks pretty cool .
I am also recreating every pyro experiment I have ever made inside mine. And I'm also buying more sizes haha. Here outside Seattle I own an equivalent Suzuki and a Ford Transit van, inspiring content!
Hey we are close haha in PNW!!! Thanks to videos and prices for holidays, I have two pack solo Mesa xl stoves from Costco, then I ran across the Walmart Ozark camp stove which is a clone of the older solo stove large campfire stove… then Walmart had a bigger n just recently new Ozark 15.3 inch around and 17.3 inch tall clone of acrylic ranger solo stove… I’m having fun with these things using hard wood Walmart brand cooking pellets and all natural starters for a hundred percent no smoke hot high flame burning slowly for long times in these things at 7 dollars a 20 pound bag or 10 dollars for 30 pound bag of Walmart brand cooking hardwood pellets. Pellets burn clean, hot, smokeless, no chemicals, barely any ash and stay hot after flame dies down. Bonus thing with small Ozark Walmart stove, if pellets hot enough and no wind, after secondary burn of flame, you get kind of like an invisible hot smaller butane burner like flame coming out from the heat level of dry hardwood pellets turning into charcoal and ash.. doesn’t happen on Mesa xl stove but does on Walmart camp stove because of design and huge slanted vent holes on outside, inside bottom and top side.. it’s awesome… me and my son hate camp fires because of mess, keeping it going and smoke and wind here in PNW… Now we can have much more fun with these things.. I’m enjoying it… we are planning a cold winter camp out after thanksgiving to try out the stoves out in the woods….
Nice video 😊 as far as I have seen on the solo stove channel ( it was a live stream video) the did not fill the pellets to the top, only to cover the pellet insert and lit it from the top, then they added the pellets a bit at the time (don’t know how much but i guess like half a cup) and it lasted a long time, they also made a fire wood comparison and at some point they added pellets with the wood, and it worked to revive the fire for then adding other wood. Just see if it works and keep to enjoy your mesa. Take care
When refilling with (too much) pellets and the flame goes out, you can use a battery air pump (flextailgear or similiar) to get the flame back. That´s what I do.
Similarly, I've found that when you've added pellets, smothered the fire, and it's just smoking, I just take a deep breath then blow firmly into the top opening (from the side a bit, not from directly overhead), it'll reinvigorate the heat and ignite the smoke to make it smoke-free again.
I get about min per inch of pellets after it starts gasifying. I have several knockoff pits in various sizes. Doesn't seem to matter what size of fire pit. I did try adding a couple of big sawdust bricks the last time I used our 15" pit and it seems to have lasted a bit longer but I need more trial to say for sure.
Next time try putting tree pieces of that fire starter around the top of your pellets will start a helll of a lot quicker than the way you do it on your film 😊
Better experience with wood? Exactly how? If you’re using this for COOKING…possibly with a grate or pan above for burgers, steaks, etc. …you not only have to tend to your food, but deal with uncontrollable flame height when using wood and keep feeding the fire! The steady, consistent burn of pellets blows wood away. Now, if you’re using this little thing as a campfire, that’s kind of ridiculous. It’s tiny and throws off no side heat. Yes, if you put a heavy cast iron pan on it, it can kind of do that. Better yet, a grate about a foot above (either from tripod or staked type) with a pan or the grate wrapped in foil, wood would work just fine. But that’s not what this thing is designed for.
Sir, this is a Wendy's. Are you sure you're at the right location? That's the companies name. The product being used is a tabletop accent fire for ambiance and heat. Not intended for cooking, they make cooking models on their website. Do some research 🤔
Undestading the way this stove work is key: principle is the "gasifier" function and does burn from the top down.
It turn wood into flamable gas. Once the smoke gets at a high enough temperature, helped by super heated air going through the side walls, the fuel ignites . This is why it is smokeless, the stove burns the smoke, not the wood.
Pellets will turn to charcoal which dont emits smoke no more = no more flame.
When you add pellets to charcoal, you are now burning from down to the top, creates too much smoke that cannot be all ignited, this is the column of smoke you see in the middle.
To use it best, dump the pellet when in charcoal state, refill with fresh pellets and light it up again as you did at first.
You can use a bit of methyl alcohol as a fire starter.
I find using a liquid fuel to light the top works well. Denatured alcohol, methyl hydrate, lamp oil, even hand sanitizer all work well. Spreads outs and light a larger area faster.
I have a Mesa XL and I packed mine tight with walnut mini-logs, all split up into finger sized pieces and stacked vertically in the Mini XL, and made a small fire on top which caused the wood to burn from the top down. It was great. It was nice. But it still only lasted as long as the little pot full of wood lasts, then I was loading more wood in from the top like a regular little fire. So after about an hour, or less, it doesn't really seem to matter which method you use!
Exactly what I found as well. Thanks for watching and sharing!
Camping with my knockoff Mesa and all I have is pellets and the top-down method is definitely the way to go with pellet fuel source. I will have to try with hard wood next. Thanks for your videos. Very helpful.
Awesome! I’m glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching!!!
Top-down pellet burner here. Works great, cheap and nice flame. Yes there is fire management but really no more or less than wood sticks.
One complaint is the length of time for the pellets to take off. Plan ahead and your set.
Great video - thanks. I just bought the Ranger and Mesa XL for van camping and am looking forward to trying these out. The little Mesa looks like a great quick option when we're road tripping and dont want the bulk of the Ranger but still want to sit around a small fire. Very interesting experiments in these videos thats saved me some work!
You’re most welcome! I love this little thing and I never camp without it!
When using pellets it is best to fill with pellets and ignite the top. I strongly believe that you should avoid Adding pellets as they are burning out, but instead use the pellets as a bed of coals for larger pieces of biomass.
Use some of your left over hand sanitizer for a starter. Squirt and light!
Thanks man! Great video.. just to let you know I a, down on the west coast of USA and we look like brothers, same build, hair cut, beard and age..ci just don’t wear hats..
Anyhow nice new trick with the smoke catching the secondary burn area twirling in place… haven’t seen that yet… thought you had the bigger mesa.. but the smaller one you have is doing pretty good..
Would like to see this future video with other form of fuel….
Thanks for your patience with your solo stove videos…
Dude send me a photo on insta! Would love to compare!!!
At 13:50 , use a long reach lighter and try to light that smoke. I think it'll cause the secondary combustion and get rid of it. Haven't tried it myself but heard people doing it . Although it looks pretty cool .
I am also recreating every pyro experiment I have ever made inside mine. And I'm also buying more sizes haha. Here outside Seattle I own an equivalent Suzuki and a Ford Transit van, inspiring content!
That sounds like the perfect setup to me mate! Thanks for watching!!!
Hey we are close haha in PNW!!! Thanks to videos and prices for holidays, I have two pack solo Mesa xl stoves from Costco, then I ran across the Walmart Ozark camp stove which is a clone of the older solo stove large campfire stove… then Walmart had a bigger n just recently new Ozark 15.3 inch around and 17.3 inch tall clone of acrylic ranger solo stove…
I’m having fun with these things using hard wood Walmart brand cooking pellets and all natural starters for a hundred percent no smoke hot high flame burning slowly for long times in these things at 7 dollars a 20 pound bag or 10 dollars for 30 pound bag of Walmart brand cooking hardwood pellets.
Pellets burn clean, hot, smokeless, no chemicals, barely any ash and stay hot after flame dies down. Bonus thing with small Ozark Walmart stove, if pellets hot enough and no wind, after secondary burn of flame, you get kind of like an invisible hot smaller butane burner like flame coming out from the heat level of dry hardwood pellets turning into charcoal and ash.. doesn’t happen on Mesa xl stove but does on Walmart camp stove because of design and huge slanted vent holes on outside, inside bottom and top side.. it’s awesome… me and my son hate camp fires because of mess, keeping it going and smoke and wind here in PNW…
Now we can have much more fun with these things..
I’m enjoying it… we are planning a cold winter camp out after thanksgiving to try out the stoves out in the woods….
Nice video 😊 as far as I have seen on the solo stove channel ( it was a live stream video) the did not fill the pellets to the top, only to cover the pellet insert and lit it from the top, then they added the pellets a bit at the time (don’t know how much but i guess like half a cup) and it lasted a long time, they also made a fire wood comparison and at some point they added pellets with the wood, and it worked to revive the fire for then adding other wood. Just see if it works and keep to enjoy your mesa. Take care
Thanks for that!
When refilling with (too much) pellets and the flame goes out, you can use a battery air pump (flextailgear or similiar) to get the flame back. That´s what I do.
Yeah that’s what I’ve now been doing too. Thanks! I appreciate the watch!
@@TheMidweekEscapeArtist I love your channel and content. Greetings from Germany
@@BlackwoodHinterlandVibes360 awesome! Thanks so much for the support!!!
Similarly, I've found that when you've added pellets, smothered the fire, and it's just smoking, I just take a deep breath then blow firmly into the top opening (from the side a bit, not from directly overhead), it'll reinvigorate the heat and ignite the smoke to make it smoke-free again.
cotton balls smeared in petroleum jelly and placed in an altoid tin to carry into the bush.
Does it generate much heat?
Hardwood is way more expensive though. This method is cost effective. Gonna have to try it myself next time.
I get about min per inch of pellets after it starts gasifying. I have several knockoff pits in various sizes. Doesn't seem to matter what size of fire pit. I did try adding a couple of big sawdust bricks the last time I used our 15" pit and it seems to have lasted a bit longer but I need more trial to say for sure.
Next time try putting tree pieces of that fire starter around the top of your pellets will start a helll of a lot quicker than the way you do it on your film 😊
think ill put a pellet layer in then a fire starter than another layer and bury two starters on the top
Better experience with wood? Exactly how?
If you’re using this for COOKING…possibly with a grate or pan above for burgers, steaks, etc. …you not only have to tend to your food, but deal with uncontrollable flame height when using wood and keep feeding the fire!
The steady, consistent burn of pellets blows wood away.
Now, if you’re using this little thing as a campfire, that’s kind of ridiculous. It’s tiny and throws off no side heat. Yes, if you put a heavy cast iron pan on it, it can kind of do that. Better yet, a grate about a foot above (either from tripod or staked type) with a pan or the grate wrapped in foil, wood would work just fine.
But that’s not what this thing is designed for.
Sir, this is a Wendy's. Are you sure you're at the right location?
That's the companies name. The product being used is a tabletop accent fire for ambiance and heat. Not intended for cooking, they make cooking models on their website. Do some research 🤔