Controlling Fire Smoke

[comanighttrain]

Hey guys,

What techniques do you guys use to control the smoke from a fire?

had a bit of a problem as we had pretty chaotic wind so the smoke was constantly changing direction and getting us all choked up.

T^

[Marvell]

Very hot fire and very dry, hard, low sap wood.

(insert Steve style, detailed, scientific answer)

[comanighttrain]

Very hot fire and very dry, hard, low sap wood.

Hmm... we were in a pine forest..that may have been the problem?

which wood types would you use as an example?

[Martin]

Doesn't matter what type of wood you use Dave. If you are the smoke magnet it will follow you wherever you go and whatever you do. Just accept that's the way it is mate. ;)

Martin

[AL...]

Better the smoke than the midgie's :D

Cheers
AL

[comanighttrain]

Doesn't matter what type of wood you use Dave. If you are the smoke magnet it will follow you wherever you go and whatever you do. Just accept that's the way it is mate. ;)

Martin

Haha luckily it was my German friend who was the magnet :P

Also AL would you believe there was no midges this weekend? even in the sheltered bits next to the water...it was weird!

[Marvell]

Hmm... we were in a pine forest..that may have been the problem?

which wood types would you use as an example?

That would be it. You'd be in a soft wood and sapsville.

For a smoke free experience, I'd favour a raging fire of oak and beech.

[comanighttrain]

That would be it. You'd be in a soft wood and sapsville.

For a smoke free experience, I'd favour a raging fire of oak and beech.

Thanks dude I'll bear that in mind

[Hushwing]

Mr. (Cap'n) Marvell is totally on the mark.

Luckily I have been ignoring TV and reading again!
Mor Kochanski covers it from page 42 of Northern Bushcraft (as recommended to another member by JEEP - so as good a recommendation as you can get methinks) - it is helpful book but basically get your fire so hot and feed it frequently if you have poor firewood and that will help reduce the smoke. Also if you make a tightly neatly stacked waist-high wall of arm length wood and build the fire next to it - 1. the wall wont burn through quickly 2. the wall will eventually fall in to fire keeping it going, but 3. it will have a drawing action that causes the smoke to be dissipated overhead.

(I had typed the full quote down for you but unfortunately in trying to do spellcheck managed to lose the complete text!!) but the book is worthwhile getting. The version I have even has a colour cover! :-)

[AdrianRose]

I've used a Dakota fire pit successfully to reduce smoke.

Don't know all the science behind it, I just know it has worked well on numerous occasions.

Ade.

[Ben Casey]

In Cornwall I had a wind break close to the fire we had to stop the wind that was a bad idea as it caused some sort of down draft and the smoke hung around it was a terrible idea :)

[Adam Savage]

Firepits are ok, as long as you're not relying on the fire for heat, as most of the heat goes up, rather than out.

Reflectors (wall of logs, etc) tend to make the smoke roll up them, and over the top, which works quite well, and reflects the wasted heat back at you (like the name would suggest:))

If you build a tepee fire, the heat will tend to make a column, taking the smoke straight up, which also helps keep it out of your face.

Ideally you would want the wood that Steve states, but it's not always possible.

Keep as low as you can. Either sit on low logs, or even lay near the fire. The lower you are, the more of the smoke will go over you.

Another fire building method, is lay two large logs parallel, about 1 1/2 - 2 feet apart, with the wind blowing down the "channel" between them. Build your fire inside, so the wind will feed the flames with oxygen, and carry the smoke out the other end. This method works if the wind is constantly coming from one direction, but not so much use in swirly winds :).

[AL...]

Also AL would you believe there was no midges this weekend? even in the sheltered bits next to the water...it was weird!

Went to watch some Ospreys this evening and we were hammered by midgies lol
sorry off topic
Cheers
AL

[Wrighty28]

Dakota fire pits work excellent. However you really need to keep an eye on them as they go through wood so quickly.

The tunnel you make next to it for an air channel sucks oxygen down and at its peak you can hear it whistling slightly. But as said it just eats up the wood. However I found a misconception with the 'no good for heat '. I had mine raging a good 4 inche below the ground sitting next to it about a foot away and I was toasty.

[JonnyP]

I have the fire under the the edge of my tarp usually.
I set the fire on the down wind side of the tarp, so I can sit in the dry and out of the smoke..


.. In theory



Of course the wind will often swirl about and then change direction, so I am sitting in the smoke with my eyes streaming.

[Adam Savage]

Dakota fire pits work... I found a misconception with the 'no good for heat '. I had mine raging a good 4 inche below the ground sitting next to it about a foot away and I was toasty.

I guess it can vary with different circumstances and conditions. I've never been able to get a good radiant heat from a fire pit, but I must admit, ours are normally 6 inches or so down, so maybe we should try a little shallower :)

[Bastoss]

I guess it can vary with different circumstances and conditions. I've never been able to get a good radiant heat from a fire pit, but I must admit, ours are normally 6 inches or so down, so maybe we should try a little shallower :)

I would, I've only ever dug a fire pit to about 3-4inches deep but with at least a foot around the intended fire size to prevent scorching the "carpet". keep the edges moist and it makes for a faultless replacement of the sods at the end of the camp. This is obviously dependant on the soil you're digging in though.

[nat110732]

Doesn't matter what type of wood you use Dave. If you are the smoke magnet it will follow you wherever you go and whatever you do. Just accept that's the way it is mate. ;)

Martin
so true, just wear goggles

natT^

[Hushwing]

so true, just wear goggles

natT^

The wee lad did exactly that on our recent camping trip - seemed quite a good idea. had a certain romantic Rommel desert Fox look about him also!!

[Adam Savage]

The wee lad did exactly that on our recent camping trip - seemed quite a good idea. had a certain romantic Rommel desert Fox look about him also!!

If you want to keep the theme more outdoor, then in swimming pool, ski goggles work well, and are more comfortable to wear too :D

[FishyFolk]

Why exactly do you folks dig a fire pit?
On here is the first time i have ever heard of it being done. Here we always make a ring of stones, and thats usually it with few variations.

Don't mean to critisize, just wan't to learn a few new tricks.

[Hushwing]

If you want to keep the theme more outdoor, then in swimming pool, ski goggles work well, and are more comfortable to wear too

LOL - in fact he used my work 'goggles' (which are slightly posh ones which look from a distance like ski goggles):

4705

[Adam Savage]

Why exactly do you folks dig a fire pit?
On here is the first time i have ever heard of it being done. Here we always make a ring of stones, and thats usually it with few variations.

Don't mean to critisize, just wan't to learn a few new tricks.

Can't speak for everyone else, but for me a fire pit does a couple of jobs. One is it creates a good base, that won't burn, and can be easily covered over when you leave.
And it also does the blocking of wind, like stone/rick circles.
It is also quite tricky to find just the right stones at times. Most of my local stone is either flint, quartz based, or from riverbeds (or old riverbeds), which will all explode when heated too much.

Fining the right stone can be done, but often involves a bit of digging about, which isn't exactly in keeping with the "leave no trace" ethic, or involves a great deal of "scavenging" lol.

[Marvell]

As well as those things mentioned, fire pits also stop the fire spreading, much like the rocks. The woods I frequent aren't littered with rocks, so it works for me.

[FishyFolk]

Okay, Norway is just a big rock with trees clinging on , so most places you'll just hit stone or roots if you try to dig, or end up straight on bedrock 2 cm under the surface...so stone circles it is.
We do try to use existing ones, and most places you'll find one.

[nat110732]

had a certain romantic Rommel desert Fox look about him also!!

priceless:happy-clapping:

[Wrighty28]

Why exactly do you folks dig a fire pit?
On here is the first time i have ever heard of it being done. Here we always make a ring of stones, and thats usually it with few variations.

Don't mean to critisize, just wan't to learn a few new tricks.


because you can build a nice little fire without alerting the world haha if its below the floor line the line of site is broken.

[Adam Savage]

because you can build a nice little fire without alerting the world haha if its below the floor line the line of site is broken.

That is only true if you don't have trees around you ;). When I was in the inf, we tried that to conceal the light, but it throws all the light straight up and onto the canopy of the trees :D

[FishyFolk]

That is only true if you don't have trees around you ;). When I was in the inf, we tried that to conceal the light, but it throws all the light straight up and onto the canopy of the trees :D

Thus making you stand out like a beacon...

[Adam Savage]

Thus making you stand out like a beacon...

Precisely, which isn't a good thing at all, when you're trying to keep a low profile :)

[Basha72]

That is only true if you don't have trees around you ;). When I was in the inf, we tried that to conceal the light, but it throws all the light straight up and onto the canopy of the trees :D

Hence the hard routine ! Eating your rations cold

On another note sometimes it's just the weather conditions that effect the passage of smoke change in pressure etc

Dave

[Adam Savage]

weather conditions...passage of smoke...change in pressure

You're not getting all technical on us are you? :p

[Basha72]

T^. I've read a few books and sat round a few fires lol like Martin said, I usually become the smoke magnet ;-)