Dakota Firehole

The Dakota firehole is a very efficient fire pit; it uses less wood and produces more heat.  This little fire hole is easy to make and offers (after you dig it) you less work to get firewood because of its efficient use of firewood.  This fire pit may require more work than just having the fire on the ground, but it produces much more heat for cooking and warming.

Where to put it 
Now we need to know where to put the Dakota firehole.

• Don't put it in areas that are hard to dig.  Such as rocky areas or places filled with tree roots.
• Where soil is wet to where the pit might fill in with water.
• Dry soil such as sand because it might not hold its shape when dug into.

Digging the Dakota Firehole and Airway
Now that we know where to put it, now we have to dig it!

• First dig a hole that is about a foot deep and has an circle opening at the top about a foot across.
• Then find out the direction the wind is blowing. 
• Once the wind direction is determined, start digging a hole around 6 inches across about a foot away from the main pit.
• Angle the tunnel to where it will meet the bottom of the pit, this is the airhole of the pit that makes the firehole so efficient.

Now you have dug the fire pit start the fire and get warm and cook some food if you want too!




How it works

The diagram shows how the firehole is so efficient.  The hot air produced by the fire powerfully sucks in air though the airhole making the fire hotter. A cycle then develops: as the fire gets hotter, the more air gets sucked in making it even hotter.  This means more heat with less fuel.  This also means a hotter fire = less smoke.  The heat is concentrated in an upward direction because of the chimney where you can use the heat for cooking and warming yourself.