Volcano Grills 3-Fuel Portable Camping Stove/Fire Pit, Charcoal, Collapses Down to 5 inches; for Convenient Portability and Storage (VL-20-300)

This has been a superb grill for us for many years. It has tolerated a significant amount of abuse on multiple cross-country overlanding camping trips. We specifically like it because it works with a size 12 Dutch oven; in fact, not only does the pot of the (size 12) Dutch oven fit inside perfectly, the *lid* sits upside-down on top by itself, making a miniature skottle cook surface. The fact that we can cook with wood, charcoal, or propane means we almost always have a way to heat our food when the various fire bans are in effect here in the western USA; and the fact that we can fit a Dutch oven means that cleanup is really easy after cooking at camp. Both of these facts make carrying a Volcano 3 very appealing for our needs. I also recommend the Volcano Lid (https://www.amazon.com/Volcano-Outdoors-30-700-Lid-Grilling/dp/B004FGP07S) for those who like their food smoky!I haven't been able to find a replacement bag for my Volcano3 Collapsible Grill...every time I look, they've been out of stock. So, I found a different way. I found a pizza bag (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089NYY7J7) that works great! Also, to keep the bottom edges of the grill from damaging the pizza bag, I place the Volcano 3 in a shallow pan (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055Y14OM), which also makes it super easy to insert and remove from the bag. I also picked up a Camp Chef a carry bag (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002YUBR6) for the Volcano 3's removable top grill, bottom grate (for wood or charcoal), and the (heat) diffuser plate. I like this storage setup WAY better than what came with the Volcano 3.In summary, this is a versatile grill that has stood the test of time and heavy abuse. We've occasionally though about going to something more compact, but this thing is so darn useful and easy that it ends up going with us on every trip. My compliments to the folks at Volcano, they have produced a masterpiece that is a shining example of durability, maintainability, quality, reliability, simplicity, utility, and versatility....a space normally occupied by very few, such as Jeeps, A-10 Warthogs, KLR 650 motorcycles, and Swiss Army Knives. Highly recommend.

We've used the Volcano stove twice to make beans and wieners and roast marshmallows. It was quite enjoyable to 'camp out' in our back yard. The Volcano stove is very versatile with three different fuels. It is also quite heavy, so no backpacking though it would be good to take along in the trunk of your car. If you are headed to a location where dry wood is available, there would be no need to take any fuel along at all. One thing I did not like was that the grill became quite rusty after use. I rubbed it with oil so hopefully that will prevent further rusting.

works great and compacts easy for storage!! works exactly like the videos

just received the valcano 3 - this is my first impressions from un-boxing the product today.it's surprisingly heavy, feels sturdy and construction appears to be solid. One thing I was curious to see was if the accessories were the classic cheapo thin bendy grill grates and the diffuser plate especially. Well, I was pleasantly surprised that both the lower grill used for the fuel (wood, charcoal etc) and the upper grill used for the food that sits around the top, are nice and solidly built. The diffuser plate is a heavy gauge steel and solidly constructed as well.I pulled it out and put the handle on and gave it a little yank and out it popped, just as described. pretty cool, hopefully that little quick pop up feature will continue to function as smoothly as it gets used. As it is now, pretty cool.I love that you have the flexibility to use solid fuel or standard size LP tanks. I'll probably end up purchasing a smaller 1 or 5 gallon LP tank (expensive but much easier to pack up) for taking car camping with the kids or just little picnic outings.The burner seems to be well thought out and nicely made. It is rated to put out 19,000 BTU which is pretty nice - anything above about 12,000 is considered getting into commercial burner output but they don't have the outdoors to contend with, like wind. I haven't seen the flame spread or pattern yet so we'll have to check that out and see how well it cooks for my cast iron and carbon steel pans. 19,000 BTU should work well for firing my carbon steel wok - at least I can't wait to try it out.The storage bag is a welcome addition to the kit and works well to hold everything together. I wouldn't call it heavy duty since this is about 20 + pounds of gear you will be hauling but it is adequate, very happy that it is included and works well.I'll have to update after I get to try it out and work with some of the different cooking options but I can say so far I'm looking forward to firing it up.

The Volcano arrived amazingly quickly though somewhat flattened on one side likely due to shipping. Visually it was exactly as advertised. Upon initial use using wood, the Volcano heated up very fast. Smaller wood logs a definite consideration if using as a fire pit. I used about 16" and they were a tad large. The adhesive decals on the sides peeled off easily as the Volcano became warmer. The sides and bottom of the volcano also became too hot to handle so use caution about placing on combustible surfaces as some websites indicate is possible. Cooking/grilling with wood may be a challenge not just due to the size of wood used. Wood would be difficult to add if pots/pans/Dutch oven were in place. Charcoal and propane may not have this difficulty. Also it took well over an hour after the fire was out to be able to handle the stove barehanded. The bottom pan suffered discoloration and paint flaking but that was to be expected. I look forward to taking car camping as the newest cooking gadget but probably will be using in propane mode for temp control. I'll also try to see if I can master cooking with the Volcano using wood.