outdoor firepits

I agree about not burning on a deck. Pieces can fall out, things get tipped, etc. But if you have to, , you might consider buying one of those galvanized auto trays. They are about 2.5' by 5'. That will give you a crude hearth pad.

I have a good pit in the ground. I raked out about 10 cubic feet of gravel, so there were no fines. Dug a 4.5'x4.5' hole, filled it with the chunks, then put two concrete manhole extension rings (6" high by 2.5' inner diameter) on top. The rings came from the local brick/block store. Finally, I throw an old BBQ grate in the center. The fire gets going and it draws fresh air from below.

The system is much better than the old ring of rocks on the dirt. It burns healthy and completely. The manhole extenders have a nice flat top to rest smore sticks or feet

Finally, I bent a half inch rebar into a U shape and use that to hold a BBQ grate for grilling.

There's nothing like stories around the campfire, and when things get a little slow, go round the corner and get that 8' fir tree saved from last Christmas. Plant it in the middle of the ring. Makes for a good demo on fire safety and warms folks up so well, and so quickly, that they are up moving backward in just a few seconds.

Stax said:

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Stax, I really like your fire pit! How the heck do you keep it so clean? What type of bricks did you use? I might just have to try to make one like that!

Some great ideas here. I will be reviewing this thread again next year when I build a new fire pit in the spring.

That Maverick firepit is gorgeous, and I am a fan of Travis products, but $2,700 is a lot of money for a ring of steel and some laser-rust artwork.

CT-Mike said:

That Maverick firepit is gorgeous, and I am a fan of Travis products, but $2,700 is a lot of money for a ring of steel and some laser-rust artwork.

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I hear ya.. I was just throwing it out as an extreme. It better last a lifetime.

I made the mistake of showing it to the wife, that Maverick firepit may be in my future whether I like it or not.

I was gifted one of those store bought fire pits.
https://www.plowhearth.com/steel-dancing-bears-outdoor-fire-pit-with-cooking-grill_p10002.html

I haven't used it as much as I thought I would. I only have a small yard so keeping it far enough from the deck, vegetation, and wood piles took a lot of figuring. I see some of the pics posted here and I'm extremely jealous. Wish I had much more land to be able to tinker with stuff like that.

Thanks Melissa71. Pit is still relatively new. That pic is after it was just built.

Wood Duck said:

When we say fire pit that is exactly what we have - a low spot with rocks. The fire burns the weeds back, and some day I'll empty the ashes. The boys are all in scouting and so we camp enough to get our fill of campfires while we are out in the woods. We don't have many fires in the backyard.

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Off topic, but scouting with a good troop that hikes a lot is great, can be life changing. Dad was a King Scout, road a bike from Ormstown, PQ to Washington DC and carried the Canadian Flag at the opening ceremony at the jamboree in 1937 (think "37 - got delayed a year because of a polio epidemic...FDR was at the opening ceremony, have photos Dad took..)

All the boys in our family of 13 children active scouts.

Four of my nephews and my two sons Eagle Scouts; eldest son worked Philmont Trail Crew, youngest worked at Buckskin, was a regional OA Chief and the National Eagle Scout Scholarship winner. They all spent tons of time in the outdoors, and performed a lot of service. Great way for a boy to grow up, IMHO. (I'm not a proud parent, oh no....)

melissa71 said:

Stax, I really like your fire pit! How the heck do you keep it so clean? What type of bricks did you use? I might just have to try to make one like that!

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Scotty Overkill is the inventor of the "Key Hole" pit. Lots of us installed one this year.

Although I must say, Stax is the Chit! Makes mine look amateur

Yes, kudos to Scotty. Thanks brotha.

Stax said:

Yes, kudos to Scotty. Thanks brotha.

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And thanks to you, for making all ours look bad

Just kidding. But yours is a true work of art. I have $15 in mine (5 bags of sand @ $3.00 each). The rocks and firebrick came from my neighbors. They wanted it all gone from there Landscaping (rocks) and barn (firebrick and pavers). So the price was hard to beat. Oh and add a few hours of my labor.

We have our pit (englander) at the top of about a 30' cliff here on the property. We built hiking trail style rock steps down to it from the back of the house.

Looking at the pics posted here for ideas to make a new pit next spring. I had a clay chimnea- while cruzin' the backyard with the Kubota tapped the thing slighly with the bucket and it shattered like a piece of glass. Turns out the third eye in the back of my head was broken so I did not see what was going on behind me. Gotta get that fixed too.

WellSeasoned said:

We have our pit (englander) at the top of about a 30' cliff here on the property. We built hiking trail style rock steps down to it from the back of the house.

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That is so awesome to have it up and away from the house.