Biolite FirePit+ Review and Test – Great Smokeless Firepit and Grill

Updated July 1st, 2023

The BioLite Firepit+ is a new smokeless firepit designed for cooking or just enjoying a fire. It can use both standard firewood and charcoal. It has an built in battery powered fan and jet system for controlling the fire and reducing smoke. It isn’t completely smokeless but it produces a lot less than a conventional fire pit. Keep reading to learn all the details in our BioLite Firepit+ review.

Features of the BioLite FirePit+

The FirePit+ is designed to be a firepit that uses a battery powered fan system. It can’t generate power like other Biolite devices. It uses the fan to control the level of heat and to reduce smoke. It has a battery that powers the fan for up to 30 hours on low and 7 hours on high power. It has a mesh side so that you can see the fire inside the pit while keeping sparks contained. The power pack can be removed for charging or to power other USB devices. It burns firewood or charcoal.

We got a Firepit+ and also their smaller CampStove 2+ to try out. In this review, we will be focusing on the Firepit+. As with all our reviews here, we will give you all the details, good and bad.

Click here to see our review of the BioLite CampStove 2+ to learn more about that option.

Price

The FirePit+ runs $224.96 from BioLite.

Where to buy BioLite FirePit+

You can buy the Firepit+ directly from Biolite. It is also available from a number of different retailers. You can get it from Backcountry, REI, Moosejaw, and Amazon.

How big is the BioLite FirePit?

The Firepit+ is 27″ x 13″ x 16″. It weighs about 20 lbs. It can easily fit in the trunk of your car and in your garage and basement at home for storage.

Construction

The Firepit+ is made from enamel coated steel with stainless steel handles and grate. Overall the construction looks very clean and well made. The sides are made from a steel mesh so you can see the fire through the sides.

There is a stainless steel fuel rack that can be placed in 2 positions for cooking and general fires.

A battery pack module gets attached to one end. It has a metal latch for holding it on.

Assembly

There isn’t much to do. The only assembly required is attaching the 2 handles. The longer handle goes on the side with the powerpack. 2 of the mounting bolts were laying free in the bottom of my firepit and not attached to the handle.

How does BioLite FirePit+ work

The Biolite Firepit+ has patented airflow technology using battery powered fan and jet system to create hyper efficient flames. This makes the fire burn more efficiently. This means less smoke than a normal wood or charcoal firepit. The jets blow air into the top of the fire and also into the bottom of the fire.

The air jet level can be set from 1 to 4 levels to control the intensity of the flame. If you want the fire to burn hotter or to burn out faster use the higher fan speeds. If you want a steady slow burning fire use the lowest fan speed.

The air jets are what sets the BioLite Firepit+ apart from a normal portable fire pit. With a regular fire pit, you have no control over the air going into the firepit. It really does make it easier to start the fire when you have a steady flow of air going into the bottom of the fire.

The firepit has a built in adjustable fuel rack. The fuel rack adjusts from a high position for charcoal cooking to a low position for burning firewood.

How to use the Biolite FirePpit+

Let’s talk about how to use the Biolite Firepit+. There are a few details that work a little differently than the average firepit.

How to control the fan

The fan speed can be controlled using a free phone app. It links with your phone using Bluetooth. It will give you accurate information about how long you can run the fan on the current battery level at each power level. You can control the fan from some distance away. If you are sitting back in a camp chair and don’t want to get up to adjust the fan speed, you don’t have to.

The app will only show a battery percentage when you first start using it. It has to run the fan for a while to determine the battery life remaining in time. After a few minutes, it will automatically switch to show time instead of percentage.

Can I control BioLite FirePit without a phone or Bluetooth?

Yes. You can control the firepit without a phone or Bluetooth. The fan speed can be controlled with a button on the side of the fan module. You hold the button in to turn on the fan. Press the button to change levels. Hold the button in again to turn off the fan.

Recharging the battery

The rechargeable power pack is recharged using a micro USB cable. It does not recharge or generate electricity when burning as the small camp stove does. I think this is a bit of a miss for this product. That is the best feature of the CampStove 2 and what really sets it apart.

Biolite does sell the Solar Carry Cover that has a built in solar cell. It can recharge your biolite fire pit while it’s being stored in sunlight with the cover on.

What can the Biolite FirePit+ burn?

The Firepit+ can burn either charcoal or wood. It can use standard 16 inch firewood pieces. It can hold up to 4 standard pieces of wood at a time. You should not stack wood so high that it sticks out from the body of the firepit.

You can’t use liquids such as lighter fluid, gasoline, kerosene, etc… in the Firepit+ In addiiton to being dangerous, they will damage or corrode the body of the firepit.

How to light BioLite Firepit

Charcoal – Lay down a bed of charcoal in the fuel rack. If you are going to be cooking put the fuel rack in the upper position. You can use crumpled up newspaper or small twigs or kindling to help light the charcoal. Set the fan speed to low for starting a fire. Once the charcoal is burning you can set the fan speed higher to help the charcoal burn faster and hotter.

Firewood – Put the fuel rack into the lower position. You will need to start with tinder and kindling wood. Build a stack of kindling with some tinder underneath it. Light the tinder. Use it to light the kindling. Set the fan speed to low for starting a fire. Once the kindling is lit and burning you can put progressively larger pieces of wood into the firepit+. It’s important not to put too large a piece of wood in too fast before there is enough heat to burn it. Once the fire is going you can turn the fan speed higher to help it burn hotter.

The firepit makes a decent amount of smoke when lighting a fire. The smoke reduced a lot once the fire got up to temperature and the larger logs were burning. This could also have been due to our tinder and kindling wood. We collected small branches and twigs nearby. They weren’t as dry or clean as our fuel wood.

Expert Tip – If you are cooking with charcoal first, you can use the hot charcoal to light regular firewood. After you finish cooking, drop the fuel rack to the low position with a set of tongs. Add firewood onto the burning coals.

Where can you use the BioLite Firepit?

You can use the firepit any place that allows open fires or charcoal grills. The firepit legs will still get hot. It can still emit hot ashes and sparks. It doesn’t produce as many as an open fire. It does still produce some.

Can you use BioLite Firepit on a deck?

Biolite recommends that you only use the Firepit on non-flammable surfaces such as rock, concrete, tile, dirt, etc.. You can lay down a fire safe mat to protect the ground if you want to use it on other surfaces. Use caution. Pay attention to where any ash is going to make sure you aren’t catching anything else on fire. Make sure your fire safe mat insulates from heat in addition to flames. Biolite sells a mat specifically for use with the Firepit+

Cooking with the BioLite Firepit+

The firepit+ has an included grill grate you can slide on and off the top for cooking on. You can use it for grilling burgers or brats directly on the grate. You should not put heavy cookware directly on the grate. The grate is designed for food use and will bend if you put something really heavy on it. You can put a small pot on it for boiling a little bit of water. Don’t throw a large dutch oven onto it.

See our guide to the best camping cookware for open fires for some suggestions. We are using the Yodo Aluminum Cookware set for this review.

Biolite sells a griddle that is designed to work with the Firepit+ if you want to cook something that can’t go directly on the grate.

Use the jets to control the heat

The jets are very effective at controlling the temperature of the fire. If you want more heat turn up the jets and let them do their job. Do this before adding more fuel. Adding more fuel can leave you with a hotter fire that you have less control over. I found that fan setting 2 and 3 produced the most heat. Setting 4 makes smaller flames and will burn out coals and ash faster. I didn’t find the heat to be more.

Grease dripping off of food will collect in the bottom of the firepit if it doesn’t burn. If you use the firepit to cook burgers or other greasy foods a lot, be sure to take extra care cleaning the grease out of the bottom.

How to clean BioLite Firepit

Once the fire has gone out and cooled down. Open the easy cleaning ash door on the bottom of the firepit. Dump the ashes and coals into a fire safe container. Let them cool down if they are still hot. Dispose of them in a safe manner.

You can use a paintbrush to help brush all the ash out of the bottom of the firepit. You can use grill cleaner along with a damp cloth to clean out the inside. You can use a wire brush to clean the grate like you would clean the grate of any grill. Don’t use a wire brush on the enamal coated body of the fire pit. That will scratch away the coating and make it prone to rust.

FirePit Carry Bag

BioLite makes a storage and carrying bag for the Firepit+. It will work with or without the optional cover. It is made from heavy duty materials. It uses metal G-Clips to close the top. The Firepit+ fits in it with the legs folded. The bag doesn’t have any holes or vents in the bottom so it will contain any mess you left in the firepit.

BioLite FirePit+ Carry Bag

BioLite Firepit vs Solo Bonfire

The Solo Stove Bonfire is another large wood burning stove similar to the BioLite Firepit+. The Firepit+ has several advantages over the Solo Bonfire.

• The Firepit+ can burn charcoal or firewood. The SoloBonfire can only burn wood.
• The SoloBonfire does not come with any cooking accessories. You can cook marshmallows or hotdogs on a stick. If you want to do any more than that you have to buy a grate or other cooking top to use with it.
• The Solo bonfire doesn’t have a fan to control the heat. Heat is controlled by how much wood you put in the fire and then how high you put your cooking surface above the fire top.
• No door for emptying ashes. The SoloBonfire has to be turned upside down to empty the ashes and coals out. The Biolite Firepit is much easier to clean.

Solo Bonfire

The Verdict

The Biolite FirePit+ is a good firepit for both cooking and enjoying a fire. It doesn’t generate power like their smaller stove. It does make less smoke and a more controlled burn for cooking. If you want a portable firepit, check out the Biolite Firepit+.

See our guide to the best wood burning camp stoves for other good options.

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