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How Do Smokeless Fire Pits Work?

The process of convection that drives our weather is what makes smokeless fire pits work so well.

Smokeless Fire Pits: So Hot Right Now

Do you ever notice how, when you’re sitting at a fire pit, the smoke is always blowing in your direction? Even when you switch the side of the firepit you’re sitting on, the wind shifts direction and the smoke follows you there.

I wish I could tell you this was a real phenomenon, somehow caused by the weather. It isn’t. That’s just your own bad luck.

When I was younger, my friends used to say “white rabbit” three times to get the smoke to change direction. It’s an old superstition that might date back to some English children’s books. Unfortunately, that isn’t real, either.

Smokeless firepits allow you to finally enjoy a cozy fire without getting smoke in your eyes.
(Getty Images)

(MORE: You'll Need A Firepit With This Frigid Weather On The Way)

If you’re tired of having bad luck around the fire pit this winter, there is one solution that can work. New smokeless firepits vastly reduce the amount of smoke blowing off a fire, without reducing the heat.

It’s a clever trick that’s created by the pit’s double-walled design. When air is drawn in by the fire at the bottom of the pit, it also travels through the hollow walls at the top of the pit.

This secondary area of combustion at the top of the fire burns off smoke before it can start blowing into your eyes.

That design uses the same convection process of rising heat that creates clouds and many other weather phenomena we see today. While many different brands make smokeless firepits, all of them use the same principle to reduce smoke.

It’s an innovation that makes a lot more sense than running away from the wind or mumbling about rabbits.