Realgar said:Charcoal is about the best - truly smokeless. Animal droppings will smoke a bit. Any well seasoned hard wood should give a very limited amount of smoke.
In my ( limited ) experience dry gorse does pretty well though it doesn't last long. The hazel I fuel the kiln with doesn't smoke once it's lit properly but for the first five mins you might as well be using tyres so I'd suggest getting a small fire burning hot and fast before fueling up with something more substantial.
An alternative is the old tin can brazier with a short chimney that allows the smoke to diffuse through wet moss before escaping, this can be done either using more can to make a chimney or more likely by cutting a groove into an earth bank and covering it to make a channel. The longer the chimney the less smoke.
The trick is to keep plenty of air circulation and let the fire burn as hot as possible. The difficult bit is getting it lit without too much smoke.
Planning on cooking somewhere you shouldn't?
Realgar
Gary said:I would say animal droppings unless totally dry would be very smokey!
Moine said:Gillmacca,
As it's forbidden to light fires around here most of the time, I've been practicing those ancient indian scout things regarding smokeless/invisible fires.
It truly is an art more than a science, and it does requires a lot of experience (which I am only slowly gaining...), but here are a few tricks that can speed up your learning:
- Any moisture in your wood will create vapor, which looks very much like smoke... Pick standing dead, bone dry wood only, and remove all the bark. If you're on a river, wood from old log jams usually are good, as they are clean from any bark and ca be found super-dry. They can be hard to ID correctly though (see below).
- some woods will produce very little smoke WHEN DRY. The three first that come to mindmind are maple, green oak and tannin-free oaks (4-5 years wash/dry wash/dry cycle) and beech/birch (but those tends to "pop" a lot when burning and each time it does, it creates smoke).
Stay clear from all conifers, as they can contain pitch that will burn well and very hot, but will produce black smoke that is highly visible (especially over snow).
- if you want your fire undetected, you need to hide the flames too (especially at night). That's why I use a fire hole (basically you dig a 15-20cm pit vertically, and then a perpendicular feeding tunnel that goes downwards like a tunnel and joins the main pit. Like a chimney and a stove door, if you want. This hides the flames pretty well and it also concentrates heat a lot so you get less smoke, as the wood burns completely. It's great for cooking, if you're not the proud owner of a billy can But you won't get much heat from that on cold nights (unless you sit over it or somthing ).
HTH, and I'm interested in any tips & tricks regarding this. I still often fail miserably to light that smokeless fire...
David
Hey brother (cousin? ),RovingArcher said:Good info David. I have trouble too, especially if all I have to work with is fuel that doesn't lend itself to that type of fire. If I would have to sneak a fire and know that the fuel isn't the best, I'll forgo the fire unless I really need it.
I find that it also depends on how the wood is presented to each other and it's size. I was taught to start with small twigs that are very dry and have been debarked. Place the fuel in such a way that it resembles a tipi. This maximizes the amount of air. If the fuel is carefully chosen, there is very little smoke to be seen from a distance and the flames will be hidden from view, because of the Dakota hole, which David described. Build the fire up in the same manner (tipi), gradually increasing the length and diameter of the fuel until the fire has reached the desired size.
Try not using a fire during the day. Even a smokeless fire puts off smell as the exaust of the fire travels on the wind and it is much less likely that someone will travel after dark to find a bit of fire smell. Placing a shelter around the Dakota hole will help to confine the warmth thrown by the small fire, as well as help to conceal the reflected light.