The Best Things About Burning Outside In The Summer...

I was kind of hoping that was the case . . . but you never know . . . every year come Spring and Summer there is some fool in the news who tried to get their brush pile or camp fire going by tossing on some gas . . . only to get horribly burned when the gas vapors ignite and travel back to the gas can.

I actually have a pretty neat model that I sometimes use in the high school to show students why you need to be concerned with flammable vapors and how you can have a heat source several feet away from an ignition source.

Here's the pic of the aforementioned item. What I do is dip the rag in some Coleman fuel (white gas) and talk a bit about how you may not see or in some cases even smell flammable vapors depending on what the fuel source is . . . but how vapors can travel until they reach an ignition source and then travel back to the source. I then take a lighter and hold it at the end of the tube and a fireball then travels back to the rag . . . where it briefly bursts into flame . . . before hopefully going out.

You have to click on the pic to see the entire thing.

On cool, rainy summer nights I like to bring the charcoal grill inside the house. Provides some heat and still smells like a summer evening with grilling.

[At this point, I'm just trying to give firefighterjake a heart attack.]

Mission accomplished . . . I was reading this and just about fell over in my chair . . . thanks for getting a rise out of me.

I honestly can't say that there have been any calls that I've been on or even heard about where folks brought their charcoal grill inside the house (other than a guy a few years back who did so, but this was a suicide attempt) . . . but I did have one person in a class once tell me how he brought his propane gas grill inside the house to cook.

Than you have never visited the great state of Florida. There are usually at least a few reported injuries or deaths after every hurricane due to people doing this.

Just keep an eye on the walls and clean off any creosote buildup; That could be dangerous.

Can't wait to try out my Swedish candle down to the beach. It won't be this weekend that is for sure, no way would I even try driving onto the beach this weekend with all the crowds. So it will sit and get more seasoned for another weekend.

we like to play (with my 9 yr olds) do you think that'll burn. They are learnin everythng burns eventually!

My pit is an ever evolving beast. I only have a few pictures from last year, when we got the basic one set up.



6' across, centered in a 24' OD circle. Used to be an above ground pool here... but a bear took it out. Not the prettiest thing... but its function over form. I will probably tear it down, and pull all the sand out to put grass around it... then rebuild it.

Seems when theres a story of some bear wandering into someones yard or town its in your area, Barre has had quite a few over the years too.

That'd look great with a bunch of flagstone laid around it! Hell the base is already down, just flag and sand that! That's what I'd do if it were mine.

There are many bear around here.... well all sorts of wildlife, since we border the Quabbin Reservoir. Late last fall, we saw 6 bears within a 10 day span (three 1-2 year olds, 1 mature mother, and 2 cubs)

This ring is actually circled with stone already... you just can't see it in that shot well. I would like to replace it with a nicer stone. I actually though about taking my tractor out to remove all the sand, and let grass retake right up to the pit... then doing a circle in the grass to still give definition to the site (probably in the original footprint of the stones there now).

Here is another shot of mine with grass all around it, only problem with all the grass is when the fire pit gets alot of use with chairs being pushed back and forth on the lawn. only a major issue if your anal about your lawn.

I have been thinking of finding some flat field stone and recessing it in the ground around the fire pit.

love the stone wall! Beautiful yard and firepit, too!

Thanks!