Cheap vs. Expensive: Testing Tabletop Smokeless Fire Pits

[@hartleyhubbard3827]

this is what I like about youtube - when people do "product reviews".... we get to see comparisons on similar products, without having to spend money or time purchasing those same items. If there's no editing, or changing anything about the comparisons - then it's authentic. Thanks for the review. Greg (garden grove, CA usa)

[@Homedadgriff]

No problem thanks Greg

[@pzmcgowan]

Thank you for this! Incredibly helpful review. Straight into the burn, showing the flames, smoke and telling us about the heat. No faffing with how it looks against your fence or other nonsense. Helped me make a choice. 👍

[@Homedadgriff]

No problem, I am glad it was helpful. Thank you!

[@thisguy2659]

I just bought the East oak. Took it camping with me to the Grand Canyon. Worked really well at keeping me warm when I was cooking in the snow. And then again by our campfire in 24 degree weather.

[@Homedadgriff]

That's awesome! I'm glad it worked well for you.

[@ezrad5273]

I love the fact that you were not sponsored by either Solo Stove or East Oak. It makes your review unbiased, truthful, and sincere. Thanks for the video!

[@Homedadgriff]

No problem thank you so much!

[@RobinGriffin-r3t]

I enjoyed your video. Very informative! Thank you!

[@Homedadgriff]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Kevinw4040]

Alright I appreciate the in depth experiment with these three table tops. I was ready to pull the trigger on a cheaper one for 39$ but that East Oak sold me. Just put one in the Amazon cart. I like bigger size, that center piece, and the longer burn time. Just earned a new sub man.

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you so much. I know it will get a lot of use these cold months coming up soon.

[@G17-911]

I have the 21” East Oak and it’s great. I’m going to get this table top. Thanks for the review.

[@Homedadgriff]

No problem thank you

[@andrewschuschu3499]

Same here, had the big one, got the little for day trips, roaring hotdogs at the beach or the lake, or just for when I want something smaller. Works great, both have their place.

[@MWalfred]

I don’t know about the East Oak, as he only demonstrated pellets but the Mesa XL will also take firewood, twigs, pine cones, it doesn’t look like East Oak will do that with that center piece. I use Weber chunks in my Mesa XL

[@Homedadgriff]

The centerpiece is optional and it does burn wood chunks twigs pinecones whatever you want. I do a video on testing wood versus pellets in the East Oak and the Mesa XL you should watch it Link here Wood vs. Pellets: What Burns BEST In Tabletop Fire Pits? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIrNdnVnpc6Dh5o

[@toddm149]

Thanks so much for the review! I agree if I were to go purchase I would likely go with East Oak but to be honest I have an work anniversary gift choice and the Solo XL is an option I'm considering and given the accessories the XL has I'm probably going to go with it but will say if I need a second one I will go with the East Oak.

[@Homedadgriff]

Sounds good. Congratulations on your work anniversary!

[@Homedadgriff]

Also, you should check out the video where I cook with the Solo Stove Mesa XL and Ozark Trail camping stove: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2qmXoqInJemgKc

[@MWalfred]

Curious, does the East Oak burn regular wood? Sticks, Weber wood chunks, etc.? Or is it just pellets?

[@timothypeck3640]

Great video! Simple and to the point with soul!👍

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you so much!

[@cordsman]

Good stuff brother!

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you

[@Ghostrider-gm5wf]

Very good demonstration, that helped me a lot.👍🏼 So I chose the East Oak. 😊 What I'm missing would be a suitable heat shield. Do you think there will be anything else? Best regards ✌🏼

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you I’m glad it helped. I am keeping my eye out on East Oak. I am hoping they come out with a heat deflector. If they do I’ll be getting it and will let everybody know.

[@bucky716]

Bought a knock off on Temu similar to the one you have and it gets the job done, no complaints. Great for camping/outdoor trips at dusk to get a quick fire going to have something without starting a bigger fire and saves wood.

[@Homedadgriff]

Great to hear!

[@bucky716]

@@Homedadgriff good series of videos and content. 👍

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you!

[@maryhash2990]

Thanks, mine came today in the mail.

[@marcinmichigan2772]

curious if you put the same amount of pellets into each firepit? Would also be curious about how much ash/leftovers each model had. Good video, thank you

[@Homedadgriff]

The solo Stove Mesa XL holds about 2.2 pounds of pellets the cheaper one holds 2 pounds not much of a difference between them. The East Oak holds 2.75 pounds of pellets with air column installed more without. After all said and done and completely burned out not to much ash left.

[@Timmy8719]

10/10 review. This really helped me chose the obvious winner, East Oak

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you!

[@lilpopler]

Great video! Would you mind doing a cooking review using the 3? Something like breakfast to show if the flames are strong enough

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you! I will definitely look into that. Great idea for a video.

[@Stigmaru]

The East Oak was very tempting to me after this video, however it looks like the East Oak has that interior cylinder that takes up a lot of the volume for me to put in fire wood instead of pellets. The Solo Stove interior seems to look like it allows me to toss in my sticks of wood...? Current deals you can get a Solo Stove Mesa XL at $80 or you can get two Mesa XLs for $50 each from previous Costco deal.

[@Homedadgriff]

The center column is optional. It can be removed and use the same without. I have a Costco membership and I’ve never seen that deal if it comes up again I will pick it up where are you from the US?

[@MWalfred]

I have the MesaXL and you can use either pellets or wood or both. I like that flexibility. I pick up twigs around the yard, pine cones, etc. and put them in the Mesa XL. The smaller Mesa you have to use either / or wood or pellets. It comes with a pellet adaptor.

[@matth5237]

Very helpful thanks! Bought the east oak in blue using your link

[@Homedadgriff]

No problem, I'm so glad it was helpful. Thank you for supporting the channel using the link.

[@AniMAy27]

I’m choosing it as well TY

[@hauk3839]

Solo titan is the best. You can put out on it or other ways of using being just fire

[@Rad_B_OLand]

I wish you would have got the Ozark Trails for the cheap fire pit to compare.

[@Homedadgriff]

I looked into it, but the price was not coming in on the really cheap end. I could only find it around the $40 range. Maybe a future video though.

[@scupking]

One other thing. It seems the East Oak would use less pellets because of that center 3rd burn stack yet it looked to burn stronger while also burning longer.

[@Homedadgriff]

It actually holds a little bit more, even with the center column installed a lot more without

[@dbcrn859]

The Ozark Trail one is good, and has flip-up stands on top to put a skillet or saucepan on. $39US at Walmart.

[@Homedadgriff]

Awesome I need to check that one out

[@RashidahHasan]

I recognize that marshmallow dance. Here for it.

[@Homedadgriff]

Oh ya she loves those marshmallows and making s’mores

[@Strateegee24]

I’m glad that I watched this. Very informative!

[@Homedadgriff]

I am glad it was helpful thank you!

[@quantumofconscience6538]

With pellets ITS ALL SECONDARY burning. There is almost no primary burn. Air cannot rise adequately from the bottom unless it's wood twigs. The "cheap one" either has no outer and inner (2) channel in the walls or it's channel is very thin. It's probably not meant for pellets. The fair test is wood pieces.

[@Homedadgriff]

They are all meant or either wood or pellets and yes, the cheap one does have a channel.

[@eddiekytia]

I liked this video but I have a question... you gave the burn times but how much pellet did each take for that time. I did subscribe by the way

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you for the stub solo stove holds 2.2 pounds, the east oak holds 2.75 pounds, and the knockoff holds 2 pounds

[@jl3669]

can the east oak fire pit be used without the center piece? Would it enable a larger quantity of pellets or wood and longer burn time?

[@Homedadgriff]

Yes the center column is optional. It can be removed and make room for more pellets and wood for longer burn time.

[@MartzMimic]

Thanks for the comparison! I love my $80 Solo XL (also have a Bonfire with the surround). I do wonder if the extra half pound of pellets is responsible for the 10-minute longer burn on the East Oak. How easy was cleanout? With the XL, I rarely have to do more than remove the fire ring and dump the ashes. How does that work with the East Oak’s center tube? Lastly, I sometimes use wood chips in my XL; that doesn’t seem possible with the East Oak.

[@Homedadgriff]

It’s really easy to clean out you just pull the ashtray out and dump it. The center column is not mandatory when using so you could burn wood chips in it if you wanted to just take the center air column out. I have another video where I’m comparing wood pellets vs wood and I don’t use the center column for the wood.

[@scotlandsbest3981]

Great review. Thanks v much.

[@Homedadgriff]

No problem thank you!

[@Homedadgriff]

No problem thank you!

[@mariobarrientos6673]

In stick between the mesa XL and the east oak and I want to get one for when me and the fam are outside for the holidays and it’s chilly so Which one would you say has a better heat radius?

[@Homedadgriff]

The east oak it about 3 feet

[@MWalfred]

I have the Mesa XL his review did not mention the Solo MesaXL can run on both pellets and wood/twigs. You can mix them up too. I bought the heat deflector $39 for my MesaXL and it throws quite a bit of heat out.

[@TheGlatch]

Are you able to fill it back up after its almost burnt out?

[@Homedadgriff]

Yes, after you start seeing it kind of slowly dying down I put about a 1/2 cup to a 1 cup of pellets in it to get it back going or you can follow up with wood either will work I have a video on my channel called Wood vs. pellets explaining all of that.

[@MaxReckless99]

great video bud. keep up the good work.

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you!👍

[@danieljohnson6600]

You left the insert out of the cheaper model. Curious how that affects the test

[@brygreth72]

Thanks good video 👍🏼

[@Homedadgriff]

No problem thank you!

[@grahamthomas6381]

Did you use the same amount of pellets in each stove?

[@Homedadgriff]

The solo 2.2 pounds the cheap one holds 2 pounds and the Eastoaks holds 2.75 pounds

[@gm2256]

Solo is most known, but the price reflects all the $ they put into marketing. East Oak seems like a good way to go

[@TheHungaryPSB]

Amazing👍

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@mikey_mike]

Did you measure how much fuel each holds?

[@Homedadgriff]

The solo 2.2 pounds the cheap one holds 2 pounds and the Eastoaks holds 2.75 pounds

[@mikey_mike]

@@Homedadgriff thanks for the reply

[@mengkhang1037]

The no name issue is that it's not able to provide as much air as the others. Drill a few more holes and your good to go.

[@keithadamson491]

I mean in the cheaper ones defence, it didn't hold nearly as much.

[@Homedadgriff]

The solo Stove Mesa XL holds about 2.2 pounds of pellets the cheaper one holds 2 pounds not much of a difference between them. The East Oak holds 2.75 pounds of pellets with air column installed more without

[@DavidDavidsonvii]

You would like the ozark trail fire pit at walmart

[@Homedadgriff]

That’s what I hear. It may make an appearance at some point.

[@jcon2wheels49]

You really have done all. I was just wondering about this east oak vs solo mesa. And it was here already. My respect to the time and effort on this videos. 🫡 Now ….. can you do solo mesa vs solo mesa XL 🔥🔥

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you! Maybe so I will look in to that

[@michaeljohnson4695]

Try not to cover the center piece with pellets they don't need to be filled to the tip. The small one works good you just choked it out.

[@Homedadgriff]

The small one wasn’t choked out. It was burning fine if it was choking out, it would’ve smoked a lot. And you’re supposed to fill them up all the way to the bottom of the holes at the top.

[@boxedinfo]

Gud video thx

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you!

[@cobbler88]

So they basically went in order regarding flame control and burn time, based on their volume and cylinder height. 😅

[@Homedadgriff]

Ok

[@BigCreepySleepy]

Great Review. The End

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you!

[@mariesheppard3750]

Cotton ball with Vaseline best fire starter

[@Homedadgriff]

I will have to try that out.

[@chrisaskham5754]

From other videos I’ve seen, you overfilled all of them apparently you are meant to add fuel throughout the use

[@Homedadgriff]

Nope not overfilled according to directions you are supposed to fill them up to right below the top holes. If you would like to add pellets throughout use that would be fine too. I don’t see why not.

[@robertallen6710]

Thought it was a bongo vid at the beginning...lol

[@Homedadgriff]

lol👍

[@chrisballengee5746]

for $20 bucks I can handle the flame a little less controlled

[@Homedadgriff]

Completely understand, everybody has their own preferences.

[@RyanMcKenna-u1q]

those things could be dangerous

[@Homedadgriff]

Yes you need to be careful fire can be dangerous

[@hartleyhubbard3827]

lol... "that's pretty much, it."

[@Homedadgriff]

I was a little surprised since the Solo was $100

[@rogierius]

You need a drum. Or a directional microphone.

[@Homedadgriff]

Will look into it thank you for the feedback

[@militia318]

👍🏻🇵🇱

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you!

[@musician1000]

This video made me realise that no one really needs a table top fire pit. If it's that cold, maybe it's the wrong time of year to be sitting outside, or maybe you're wearing the wrong clothes. These fire pits are intended to keep their manufacturer warm, sort of like most fishing gear is designed to catch anglers.

[@Homedadgriff]

Good deal I’m glad I helped you with something

[@TheTorkerman]

Are they meant to be filled like that? If you run wood you can’t do that. I think they went out cause you suffocated them

[@Homedadgriff]

Yes, they are meant to be filled to the bottom of the top holes. They weren’t suffocated nothing but ash left. You should watch my video on wood vs pellets. Here’s the link Wood vs. Pellets: What Burns BEST In Tabletop Fire Pits? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIrNdnVnpc6Dh5o

[@LarsSveen]

I bought the solo stove about 6 months ago. It was in a two pack for $100, so $50 each. I think you got ripped off.

[@Homedadgriff]

Don’t know where you got it at but good for you. I’m glad you got great deal

[@LarsSveen]

@@Homedadgriff Costco

[@eric.brooks]

I'd recommend not slamming things in front of the microphone. the Audio is jarring and it seems brutish. Just some feedback.

[@Homedadgriff]

OK, thanks for the feedback

[@petert8931]

What a pity it culd have easily been a useful video , but instead it was a different capacity smokeless fire pits ie a apples/oranges/bananas 'comparision' waste of time video

[@Sara-Smile]

I found it quite useful, you should make your own video as a comparison because that’s a lot of money he spent.. I would love to see your contribution if you have more similar stoves !

[@Homedadgriff]

They are all small tabletop fire pits. The apple/Solo stove holds 2.2 pounds, the orange/East Oak holds 2.75 pounds, and the banana/knockoff holds 2 pounds. I'm sorry you feel that way.

[@chase3253]

Petey, I'm guessing you're a blast at family reunions... The review was perfect and def helped me make my decision.

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you! I am glad it helped👍

[@ericaw7207]

Very helpful review. Thank you

[@simonwkey]

Brilliant video, and greetings form 🇬🇧

[@Homedadgriff]

Thank you!