Like many of you, I can't (actually don't want to) smoke in the house. Fortunately, I live in the Mid-South so the climate is generally warm enough to sit on the porch or at one of the fire pits I have around the yard. But for the few months of winter (or what they call winter in Arkansas, which being born and raised in the snow-belt on the shore of Lake Superior, is not really a "winter" :lol: ) and when I don't want to trudge out to a fire pit or tree house to smoke my pipe, I've found a cheap, suitcase stove works great on the porch.
I've seen them at WallMart and other similar stores, they sell for about $20 during the summer, but often go to $15 in the fall, come in a box (some assembly required, like a lot!). The legs fold in, so I usually take in on canoe/camping trips (fill with dry kindling, they fit in the front of my canoe perfectly). But it's really become my primary way to smoke my pipe with coffee in the morning or other libations in the evening during our cold season.
This one is almost 5 years old, starting to rust and fall apart (kinda like me? :roll: ) but still works great. I've probably had 600 or more large, hot fires in this one and it might last another year or two. They work great in a small area, (even on a wooden porch and under a roof) are easily to control and extinguish, and easily movable to work with the prevailing breezes and sun options.
It can burn any scrap wood or branches you pick up around the yard. I heat the house with a wood stove and have the ultimate "man-toy" (a 27 ton wood splitter!) so I have an abundance of wood to work with. We also have eastern red ciders growing like weeds throughout my woods, so I get to sit by a wonderful cider fire when ever I want. But I've given these to friends that live on the 12 floor of an apartment with a patio, and they just pick up fallen sticks at the local park when they take their dog for a walk.
The lid not only reflects the heat back to the front, but because of it's concave shape, it creates a bit of a vacuum (OK, really a slightly lower pressure vortex, if you're a canoe camper you might understand this through using an aluminium canoe as a backdrop to your camp fire) that tends to pull the smoke away from the front more than just a flat wind break would do. If you're out in the woods, you can fold the legs down, sit on your ground pad, and be below any smoke that might waft your way. Even for car camping where you have a fire pit, I prefer this as it's cleaner, much more efficient in amount of wood burned and heat/flame gotten from that wood over an open fire pit. The one down side is it's just about a perfect one person, personal fire, two can sit side by side in front, but it doesn't work for a group.
You can also put your feet under it and they stay toasty warm!
A couple bits of advice if you decide to get one (and I can't recommended them enough):
Get an old hearth skirt or scrap of rug to put underneath so you don't scorch the porch if it's wooden;
Buy a roll of 1/4" or 1/2" wire screen and put it on top of the bottom great. It keeps the coals up higher and produces a much cleaner burn, allowing air from below. It will eventually burn out, but I can usually get about 50 fires or so before I need to replace it. You can see the 1/2" wire mesh starting to burn out on the pix above.
As with any warming fire, it's the back side (yours, not the fires!) that gets cold, so I use an insulated sitting pad at present, but have had great luck using an old, cheap Ensalite sleeping pad clamped to my old rocker. It keeps the butt warm, blocks the wind from the back side, and adds padding for the old bones.
You can close the lid (keep the vent closed on top) and it will go out and you'll have charcoal left for your next fire. It's also a great emergency way to shut down the fire if a gust of wind comes up, or you're going inside to refill the pipe or grab that next brew. :lol:
Sitting by a crackling fire under a crisp, starry, winter night, puffing on your pipe and solving all the world's problems (or just ignoring them for a time) is a wonderful way to enjoy your pipe during cold weather.
Natch
I've seen them at WallMart and other similar stores, they sell for about $20 during the summer, but often go to $15 in the fall, come in a box (some assembly required, like a lot!). The legs fold in, so I usually take in on canoe/camping trips (fill with dry kindling, they fit in the front of my canoe perfectly). But it's really become my primary way to smoke my pipe with coffee in the morning or other libations in the evening during our cold season.
This one is almost 5 years old, starting to rust and fall apart (kinda like me? :roll: ) but still works great. I've probably had 600 or more large, hot fires in this one and it might last another year or two. They work great in a small area, (even on a wooden porch and under a roof) are easily to control and extinguish, and easily movable to work with the prevailing breezes and sun options.
It can burn any scrap wood or branches you pick up around the yard. I heat the house with a wood stove and have the ultimate "man-toy" (a 27 ton wood splitter!) so I have an abundance of wood to work with. We also have eastern red ciders growing like weeds throughout my woods, so I get to sit by a wonderful cider fire when ever I want. But I've given these to friends that live on the 12 floor of an apartment with a patio, and they just pick up fallen sticks at the local park when they take their dog for a walk.
The lid not only reflects the heat back to the front, but because of it's concave shape, it creates a bit of a vacuum (OK, really a slightly lower pressure vortex, if you're a canoe camper you might understand this through using an aluminium canoe as a backdrop to your camp fire) that tends to pull the smoke away from the front more than just a flat wind break would do. If you're out in the woods, you can fold the legs down, sit on your ground pad, and be below any smoke that might waft your way. Even for car camping where you have a fire pit, I prefer this as it's cleaner, much more efficient in amount of wood burned and heat/flame gotten from that wood over an open fire pit. The one down side is it's just about a perfect one person, personal fire, two can sit side by side in front, but it doesn't work for a group.
You can also put your feet under it and they stay toasty warm!
A couple bits of advice if you decide to get one (and I can't recommended them enough):
Get an old hearth skirt or scrap of rug to put underneath so you don't scorch the porch if it's wooden;
Buy a roll of 1/4" or 1/2" wire screen and put it on top of the bottom great. It keeps the coals up higher and produces a much cleaner burn, allowing air from below. It will eventually burn out, but I can usually get about 50 fires or so before I need to replace it. You can see the 1/2" wire mesh starting to burn out on the pix above.
As with any warming fire, it's the back side (yours, not the fires!) that gets cold, so I use an insulated sitting pad at present, but have had great luck using an old, cheap Ensalite sleeping pad clamped to my old rocker. It keeps the butt warm, blocks the wind from the back side, and adds padding for the old bones.
You can close the lid (keep the vent closed on top) and it will go out and you'll have charcoal left for your next fire. It's also a great emergency way to shut down the fire if a gust of wind comes up, or you're going inside to refill the pipe or grab that next brew. :lol:
Sitting by a crackling fire under a crisp, starry, winter night, puffing on your pipe and solving all the world's problems (or just ignoring them for a time) is a wonderful way to enjoy your pipe during cold weather.
Natch
