Gear & Reviews ·
Cheap DIY Fire Pit: Four Builds and What Each Really Costs
A block fire pit costs under a hundred and lasts years if the base and the liner are right. Four builds compared, plus the clearances that keep it legal.
Fire Pits
37 guides in Gear & Reviews.
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Propane vs Wood Fire Pit: Which One Suits Your Yard
Gas gives you instant, controllable, smokeless fire with no ash. Wood gives you heat, crackle and smell. The decision is really about frequency, rules, and patience.
Gear & Reviews ·
Firepit Bench Ideas — 8 Builds and the 7 Ft Rule
Firepit bench ideas fail on distance, not design. 8 builds compared on cost and heat, plus the 7 ft setback that decides whether anyone can sit there.
Gear & Reviews ·
Ash Firewood: Why It Earned Its Reputation, and the Catch
Ash burns hotter than most hardwoods and seasons faster because it starts drier. The rhyme about burning it green overstates a real advantage.
Gear & Reviews ·
Firewood Moisture Content Chart: Seasoning Times by Species
Dry firewood is under 20 per cent moisture. Here is what each species starts at, how long it takes to get there, and how to check without guessing.
Gear & Reviews ·
How to Start a Bonfire: Build, Light and Keep It Legal
A bonfire lights from the inside out with dry kindling and air. Check local rules first — and never use petrol, which is how people end up in hospital.
Gear & Reviews ·
Is Poplar Good Firewood? Burnable, But Only Half the Heat
Poplar gives about 13 million BTU a cord against oak's 24, burns fast and leaves little coal. Where it genuinely earns a place in the woodpile.
Gear & Reviews ·
Rick of Wood Dimensions: What You Actually Get for the Money
A rick is a face cord — 4 ft by 8 ft by whatever length the seller cut. That third dimension is the whole price, and nobody states it.
Gear & Reviews ·
Can You Burn Cedar in a Fire Pit? Yes, With a Screen On
Cedar smells wonderful and lights instantly, but it is the sparkiest common firewood. Outdoors that means a screen; indoors it means caution.
Gear & Reviews ·
Can You Burn Pine in a Fire Pit? Yes — It's Chimneys That Mind
Pine is fine in an open fire pit as long as it is seasoned. The creosote warning that follows it everywhere is a flue problem, not an outdoor one.
Gear & Reviews ·
Can You Use a Rusted Fire Pit? Surface Rust Yes, Holes No
Light surface rust on a fire pit is cosmetic and normal. Flaking scale, a soft base or burn-through means the bowl can fail mid-fire.
Gear & Reviews ·
How Big Should a Fire Pit Area Be? Work Outward From the Bowl
A 36-inch pit needs about a 12-foot circle once you allow seating depth and a walking lane. The pit size is the smallest decision in the layout.
Gear & Reviews ·
Is Beech Good Firewood? One of the Best, If You Wait
Beech burns hot and clean with excellent coals, around 27 million BTU a cord. The catch is seasoning — it holds water and rots in the round.
Gear & Reviews ·
Is Cottonwood Good Firewood? Usable, But Near the Bottom
Cottonwood gives about half the heat of oak, soaks up water, rots fast and leaves almost no coals. It burns — it just does not burn well.
Gear & Reviews ·
Is Eucalyptus Good Firewood? Very Hot, Very Hard Work
Eucalyptus burns hotter than oak and holds a long coal bed, but it is brutal to split dry, slow to season and prone to popping sparks.
Gear & Reviews ·
Is Locust Good Firewood? Black Locust Is About the Best
Black locust tops almost every BTU table at around 29 million a cord, burns with little smoke and stores for years without rotting.
Gear & Reviews ·
Is Hickory Good Firewood? Yes — Top Tier, and the Best for Smoke
Hickory matches oak on heat at around 27 million BTU a cord, holds coals longer than almost anything, and is the classic barbecue smoking wood.
Gear & Reviews ·
Is Mulberry Good Firewood? Hot and Long-Burning, But It Pops
Mulberry burns hot at around 25 million BTU a cord with good coals and a pleasant smell, but it sparks enough to need a screen on an open fire.
Gear & Reviews ·
What Is a Rick of Firewood? A Stack 4 ft by 8 ft, Any Depth
A rick is a stack four feet high and eight feet long. Its depth is whatever the log length is — which is why the word tells you almost nothing.
Gear & Reviews ·
What to Put in the Bottom of a Fire Pit: Sand, Gravel or Nothing
A metal bowl usually needs nothing. A built-in pit wants a drainage layer of gravel or lava rock — and never ordinary river stone, which can explode.
Gear & Reviews ·
Are Solo Stoves Worth It? Depends on Your Complaint
The double-wall burn genuinely cuts smoke and ash. Whether that justifies the price turns on whether smoke, or something else, is what bothers you.
Gear & Reviews ·
Can You Roast Marshmallows on a Propane Fire Pit? Yes
Propane burns clean enough to cook over safely. The real problem is dripping sugar on lava rock and glass beads, which is a cleaning job, not a health one.
Gear & Reviews ·
Can You Use a Solo Stove Under a Covered Patio?
The maker says no, and the overhead clearance is why. Smokeless does not mean heatless, and a roof traps both heat and combustion gases.
Gear & Reviews ·
Is a Fire Pit Considered Open Burning? Usually Not
Most rules exempt a contained recreational fire from open burning, with limits on size, fuel and distance. Four conditions decide which side you are on.
Gear & Reviews ·
What to Put Around a Fire Pit: Surfacing and Seating
Gravel, pavers and decomposed granite all work; mulch and artificial grass do not. Plan a 7-foot clear radius before choosing the material.
Gear & Reviews ·
What to Put Under a Fire Pit: Match It to the Surface
Grass, a wooden deck, pavers and gravel each need a different answer. Radiant heat and ember fall are two separate problems, and only one is obvious.
Gear & Reviews ·
How Far Should a Fire Pit Be From a House? 10 to 25 Feet
Most codes set 10 to 25 feet from structures, but overhead clearance catches more people out. What to measure from, and why local rules decide it.
Gear & Reviews ·
How Long Does a Propane Tank Last for a Fire Pit?
A 20 lb tank holds about 430,000 BTU. Divide by your pit's BTU rating and you have the answer — usually four to ten hours. The arithmetic, worked.
Gear & Reviews ·
How to Dry Firewood Fast: What Actually Speeds It Up
Splitting small does more than anything else, and a tarp over the whole pile undoes it. Realistic timescales, and why there is no shortcut to under 20%.
Gear & Reviews ·
How to Extinguish a Fire Pit, and Know It Is Actually Out
Spread, soak, stir, repeat until there is no hiss and no warmth. Why dirt is the worst option, and how long embers stay hot enough to start a fire.
Gear & Reviews ·
How to Stack Wood in a Fire Pit: Four Lays Compared
Teepee, log cabin, top-down and lean-to each burn differently. Which one to use for heat, for cooking, for a long evening, and which needs no tending.
Gear & Reviews ·
How to Get Rid of Mold on Firewood (And Whether to Bother)
White or green fuzz on logs is a storage problem, not a wood problem. Why bleach is the wrong answer, and when mouldy wood is no longer worth burning.
Gear & Reviews ·
How to Start a Fire in a Metal Fire Pit (Without Smoke)
Metal bowls choke fires because air cannot get under the wood. Why a grate changes everything, and the top-down build that lights clean and needs no tending.
Gear & Reviews ·
Fire Pit Ring: Building a Permanent Pit That Lasts
A steel ring is what stops a stone fire pit spalling and collapsing. Sizing, drainage, which blocks are safe to heat, and the clearances that keep it legal.
Gear & Reviews ·
Firewood: What to Burn, and How Dry It Has to Be
Moisture matters more than species. How long each wood takes to season, how to tell when it is ready, and the things you must never put on a fire.
Gear & Reviews ·
How a Smokeless Fire Pit Works (and Its Real Limits)
A smokeless fire pit burns the smoke rather than venting it, using a double wall and a second ring of air. Here is the mechanism, and when it stops working.
Gear & Reviews ·
Fire Pit on a Deck: What Is Safe and What Is Not
A wood fire pit on a wooden deck is a bad idea whatever you put under it. What actually works on decking, and the clearances that make it survivable.
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