Can You Use A Solo Stove Under A Covered Patio?

Learn whether you can safely use the Solo Stove under a covered patio or deck, and how to enjoy your fire pit in the safest way possible!

Whether you have the Solo Stove Bonfire, Yukon, or Ranger, we've got you covered.

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The Solo Stove is designed to be used outdoors, with plentiful ventilation and clear space around the fire.

Even though the Solo Stove is designed to burn with less smoke and burn quickly, this does not make it suitable for indoor or undercover use.

It is best NOT to use a Solo Stove under a covered patio or deck for several reasons. There is a high risk of fire if the deck covering is not high enough and a risk of inhaling toxic fumes that can accumulate under the patio cover.

Using the Solo Stove in a manner that it is designed to safely enjoy it has many benefits, but with any fire pit, using it under a covered roof poses serious risks to you as well as the people and buildings around you.

Thinking about buying a new Solo Stove Fire Pit or Camp Stove? 

Make sure to check out our Ultimate Comparison Guide to Solo Stoves first!

5 Reasons You Should NOT use a Solo Stove Under a Covered Patio

Having a blazing fire pit under a covered patio is a bad idea for several reasons.

Jump to:

• 5 Reasons You Should NOT use a Solo Stove Under a Covered Patio
• There Is A Real Fire Risk
• The Risk Of Injury Or Burns
• Smoke And Toxic Fume Inhalation
• The Risk Of Capsizing
• The Effect Of The Wind
• How and Where to Properly Set up a Solo Stove
• The Solo Stove Stand
• The Solo Stove Shield
• How to Use a Fire Pit Barrier Mat with a Solo Stove
• Key Takeaways

There Is A Real Fire Risk

First, there is the very real risk of your Solo Stove igniting materials nearby.

To put it simply. the best thing to have around your Solo Stove Bonfire is AIR.

Under a covered patio, there could be a variety of objects such as the decking, walls, wooden decorations and ornaments, and other possibly flammable objects.

The Solo Stove gets extremely hot more than 800℉, and that heat and any embers that may fly out of the fire pose a serious ignition risk to the surroundings.

You ABSOLUTELY do not want to deal with your decking or walls catching fire while enjoying your Solo Stove.

Not only that, but the patio roof could also see fire damage if it isn’t at least 20 ft above the fire.

Patio awnings made of canvas are highly flammable if exposed to flame and with an 800℉ fire underneath it; this is a recipe for disaster.

The Risk Of Injury Or Burns

Another consideration here is that the patio is an area that sees a lot of foot traffic as it usually leads in and out of the house.

If you’re not expecting to find a blazing hot fire pit on the deck in front of you when you walk out, you could easily touch the side of it and burn yourself.

If you have kids, especially toddlers or slightly older, the risk of burns is that much higher.

When people have been enjoying adult beverages, this is another potential scenario for risk of injury.

While the sides of the Solo Stove are designed to be cooler as they have a double wall to shield the sides from heat, when the fire is burning at its peak, the sides may still get hot enough to inflict serious burns.

Smoke And Toxic Fume Inhalation

Here is another very good reason to NOT have your Solo Stove under a covered patio.

When the Solo Stove is started and used correctly, the fumes and smoke are hardly noticeable in the open air as the Solo Stove is designed to burn with less smoke and send the exhaust fumes UPWARDS to the clear open sky above.

Undercover, however, especially if the patio is enclosed on any sides or all around, the fumes and smoke emitted from the Solo Stove will accumulate in the space around it as it has no place to dissipate.

All burning wood in a Solo Stove, or any type of fire pit, the emits chemicals like sulfur and nitrogen dioxide and acrolein – a highly toxic chemical found in tobacco- and formaldehyde, none of which are recommended for inhalation!

The effect of these toxic gases is even more profound if the patio is enclosed with little proper ventilation.

Any overhanging structure like covered patios, underdecking, awnings, or patio overhangs can also prevent the Stove from ventilating properly.

The toxic fumes can accumulate close to the Stove very quickly and create a toxic environment for all those around the fire pit.

The Risk Of Capsizing

While this is a nautical term, there is a possibility of the Solo Stove being knocked over and spilling burning wood and very hot embers over your deck and patio.

Again, this would be a serious problem as wooden decking or any flammable materials close by would ignite in a heartbeat.

Embers could fall through the deck and ignite leaves, twigs, and branches underneath, and if you don’t have a fire extinguisher handy, your bonfire on the patio could become a house fire.

When the Stove is outside on sand or concrete, there will be little risk of fire, damage, or injury even if it capsizes.

Still, in a location where people and materials are in close proximity to the fire, it could be very dangerous indeed.

The Effect Of The Wind

Having a blazing Solo Stove Bonfire on your covered patio may seem cozy, but the wind can change that scenario very quickly indeed.

Gusting winds can be magnified in covered areas as the wind bounces off walls and the coverings and down towards the Solo Stove.

This magnified wind can blow embers out of the fire and onto potentially flammable surfaces.

Not only that, but it could also blast burning embers onto people around the fire.

Even when properly setting up a Solo Stove in an open area, you can help eliminate this issue with the Solo Stove Shield, which is made from stainless steel and fits over the top of the Stove.

It has a fine steel mesh to help prevent large embers from flying, and this will go some distance to reduce the risk of injury or secondary fires.

How and Where to Properly Set up a Solo Stove

As discussed elsewhere, a Solo Stove CAN be used safely on a deck or concrete patio, provided you have plenty of open air around it for ventilation and you have the right accessories for safety.

Always keep a fire extinguisher nearby when using any fire pit.

See our YouTube videos How to Light a Solo Stove and How to Put Out a Solo Stove the RIGHT Way to watch exactly how we do it and see some of the accessories featured here in action.

The Solo Stove Stand

One option to help keep SOME of the heat away from your deck or concrete is to get the Solo Stove Stand.

The Solo Stove Stand fits on the bottom of the Stove and lifts the firepit off the surface so it is not making direct contact with the deck or concrete.

We recommend you still use a good heat deflecting fire pit mat below it though.

The Solo Stove Stand accessory does three things:

First, it allows proper airflow through the bottom of the Solo Stove for better burning.

Solo Stove’s core design revolves around their revolutionary 360° Air Flow and secondary burn vents, so when there is not enough airflow, your Solo Stove will make too much smoke and struggle to burn properly.

Second, it will stabilize it more safely than using say bricks or plywood , and third, it will prevent the base from making direct contact and burning or staining the deck or concrete as easily when in use.

Solo Stove themselves recommend ALWAYS using the Stand when you are burning a fire.

The Solo Stove Shield

Another very useful accessory that would reduce the risk of ejecting embers from the fire is the Solo Stove Shield.

It is constructed of the same 304 stainless steel as the Stove itself, the Shield fits the top of the Stove above the upper vents, and the stainless-steel mesh prevents the fire from throwing out embers, sparks, or other hot material that may damage or mark up your deck or concrete.

Combine this with the Solo Stove Stand, and your Solo Stove is a lot safer to use in any area with less risk of capsizing or eruption of embers onto ground.

How to Use a Fire Pit Barrier Mat with a Solo Stove

A good quality heat-resistant fire pit mat barrier will add another layer of protection to your deck or concrete.

They are many available from Amazon in various sizes and shapes from various manufacturers to suit your size Solo Stove fire pit.

After measuring the diameter of your Solo Stove Bonfire, Ranger, or Yukon, make sure to choose a Fire Pit Mat Barrier that is about twice this size to allow plenty of space for embers to land that may come out.

We especially like the ones from Fireproof Pros.  They come in a variety of sizes, have great heat resistant and deflection materials that deflect up to 1800°F, and also a non-skid surface to keep the fire pit from sliding.

Key Takeaways

The Solo Stove is an amazing fire pit, and when used properly outdoors, it will keep you warm and allow you to enjoy the experience of a fire pit without s much of the smokey smell.

Still, if used in an unsuitable environment, like a covered patio, it is inherently risky for multiple reasons.

Being safe around a fire is always the priority, and while the Solo Stove is safe when used properly, having a fire pit set up under a covered patio is just asking for trouble, so rather be safe than sorry and use it in an open, well ventilated area with plenty of clear sky above it.