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I built a firepit in my backyard a long time ago. Was learning how to lay bricks for fun, so I made a square pit about 8x8ft, with a brick chimney at the back side of it. Had the air feeds from ports at ground level. Just used fire bricks. Held up for a decade (I moved, haven't seen it since). The only comment I got was "are you building a blast furnace?" I have to admit, when feeding in air under the fire, the thing really heats up. Firebricks will hold up fine, even in the northern New England weather.
8-20" sides and dig the pit out but no more than 8" is that correct?
18-20" (I got a little happy with the shift key in my other post) overall height. The pit floor is 4-8" below the top of the sides.
Wh line the pit with brick? Dirt seems to work well. THat is a big cost for something you never see and for which I do not see any advantage. What does it do?
You're lining the fire area with fire brick- that protects the rest of the structure from the heat. The problem with dirt- it absorbs and hold water- deteriorating the brick.
CMUs better than stone? Stone is free, but it keeps breaking or exploding. Any particular type of CMU? They will not explode when they get real hot?
The CMU's are the structural element. A cross-section should be something like: decorative stone on the exterior, CMU wall, then the firebrick on the interior and floor.
Vents? Made of pipe? Are they necessary? We have not had any problem getting a bonfire going. We usually stack brush then logs maybe 3' - 4' high, douse it with charocal starter and light it.
Vents can be constructed by careful placement of the CMU's in the floor of the pit and the placement of the fire brick on top of them. Remember, the floor is only 4-8" lower than the top of the hearth.
I like the idea of putting in drains that can also bring air to the bottom/inside of the fire. We somtimes get water inthe pit and usually just pile up cardborad and brush until it is high enough to burn. The water eventually evaporates, but it makes a lot of steam and is a PIA to deal with.
This is where you also contribute to the exploding stone/rock- they are heavy with moisture. The heat makes the water expand- exploding rocks! Or the rock is getting saturated with the lighter fluid (not a good idea). By starting a fire correctly, you shouldn't have a need for an accelerant.
We have a lot of fires during the summer. The fires are usually pretty large. The ash builds up quickly and makes a mound. We should probably remove it more often.
The combination of the ash and dirt holds a lot of moisture- results^^^
With a brick floor and vents, ash can be easily shoveled/scooped out- the rest can be washed out through the vents, killing two birds...
A properly constructed pit will last decades with little to no maintenance.
I'm not much for a fire-roasted hot dog- and I don't do marshmallows. So, have a beer for me and here's a toast to "many a good bonfire party!"
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Bear
I am going to hijack the thred...or at least turn it in a different direction.
I grew up in the country.....real country...small town...couple hundred people. On special occasions...Fourth of July...we sometimes had a fire outside...toasted a few marshmellows, etc.
Now, the population of the country has more than tripled, and people live closer together than ever. Our air is arguably at the poorest levels ever. And we seem to have an explosion in the number of back yards with fire pits of some sort.
I just don't get it. You can't have a wood stove with something more than zero emissions. Supposedly the population is more aware than ever about the fragile state of our environment. And yet, on any given spring, summer or autumn evening, the air in many suburban neighborhoods is filled with disgusting stench from people buring crap in their back yard fire pits.
Whats up with this? Why the disconnect? Why the 'i don't give a crap about the environement?" Why the lack of even modest concern for the neighbors who have to smell the stench? Where did the breakdown occur between caring people, and the splurge in fire pits which seem to be the recent fad for 'must have' homeowners?
Please enlighten me.
TY
Burning local deadfall would be an activity with a net carbon signature of zero. There may be some irritating particulates and compounds in wood smoke and you probably don't want a lot of ash fines in your alveolae - but I have a hard time seeing that fire pits are anywhere near the top of the problem list.
Call me crazy, but I actually like the smell of people burning crap in their backyards (unless that crap is a stack of old tires or something like that).
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I have to admit, when feeding in air under the fire, the thing really heats up. Firebricks will hold up fine, even in the northern New England weather.
