I’m going to build a 4 foot wide fire pit this spring using manhole block on a cement foundation. Anything special I should know about the foundation?
I want to use firebrick to line the inside wall, anything wrong with that?
Is there any kind of a cap stone or block to use over other kinds and what would be the best way to attach it to the cinder block?
Replies
Greetings pwrcal,
As a first time poster Welcome to Breaktime.
Thought you might be interested in the link at the bottom of this post. CheersView Image
41063.1
Peaceful,
easy feelin'.
Edited 1/30/2008 4:27 pm ET by rez
Ooooh you're good!
Gord
Seeing something like that's makes you kind of want one, aye?
be fire in the hole
Peaceful,easy feelin'.
Naaah, the firepit makes me want to drink beer, coupled with the sound of running water....
I don't think the fish in the fountain would stand a chance.
Gord
I want to build one too. What's manhole block?
"What's manhole block?"blocks used to make manholesyou know what a manhole cover is?the blocks have a curve to them.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
Now wait a minute!
I thought all manholes were from a paint can. You know, like the ones Wiley Coyote puts down in front of the Roadrunner....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
they're available at most brick and masonary suppliers but I haven't seen them at Lowes or Home Depot. they come in two different sizes. I found the plans in Better Homes and Gardens
One thought.
Make sure you have some drainage in your fire pit.I have also seen some fancy ones with a sort of key hole shape to let air in (and helps for cleaning.
I'm wondering how you decide the fire pit to bench distance?
I'll be doing a nat gas powered fire pit at my place soon and am having trouble figureing out the distance. I want it to be close enough to keep folks warm but not burn the hair on their legs....
Daniel Neumansky
Restoring our second Victorian home this time in Alamdea CA. Check out the blog http://www.chezneumansky.blogspot.com/
Oakland CA
Crazy Homeowner-Victorian Restorer
The NG ones are not nearly as hot as a log fire. Not as much radiant energy.
Some patio shops have demo models to feel.
So we like fire, a lot.... We've been puzzling over our fire pit for a while because it just wasn't 'good enough'. The flames kinda shot up high and wild from it and it burned the propane way rich leading to a smelly, sooty fire that didn't produce enough heat for all the propane it went thru. What to do what to do....until we hit on an idea...View ImageI found this wonderful turkey fryer on close-out at Sears for only $30! That's what the used ones were going for on Craig's List. And we got the huge pot to boil corn in for when we have our bbq's!
View ImageOutta that big box of stuff this is the only thing we wanted. The cast iron high-powered burner!!
View ImageHere's a closer look at that lovely 20,000 BTU burner. You see, correctly carburating the propane is kinda tricky but this handy dandy all in one unit does it all for us. Why re-invent the wheel we say.
View ImageJust like a Bunsen burner in high school chem lab this burner has an adjustable orifice so we can fine tune the flame to a nice blue.
View ImageHere's a shot showing how it adjusts the mixture. This feature should be really handy when we switch to nat-gas which has a different air-fuel ratio.
View ImageOur fire pit version 1.0How ho-hum...
View ImageHere's what the guts of it look like. That coiled snake thing sitting in the bowl is our first attempt at making a burner. Its just 1/4" copper tubing with holes drilled into it.The grate goes down over the tubing and then we pile the rocks on top of the grate.
View ImageHere's a closer view of the 'burner' We drilled holes in the bottom of the pan to help air enter in an attempt to get the fire to not burn so rich.You see all the leaves and dust from the rocks falls down and plugs up the works leading to an overly rich flame.
View ImageWe have to try to make the new burner fit the pan and work with the old burner.The idea is, that the new burner will burn blue and heat the rocks up nice and hot while the old burner is going to be adapted to give flames and light but not do the bulk of the heating.
View ImageWe wanted the burner to sit down below the grate and be spaced up off the rocks. We cut a hole for it and using plumbers tape and self tapping sheet metal screws made a 'mount' for it.
View ImageHere's the burner shown mounted. Right in the center of the pan and nice and low.
View ImageWe skipped a couple of steps and forgot to show the connections under the pan..We added a valve just for the home made burner so we can fine tune the height of the flames in comparison to the heat produced by the new burner. We also cut some expanded metal as a secondary grate to keep the lava rocks up off the bottom of the pan. We mounted the old burner so the jets face downward also to keep them from getting filled with crud and to hopefully tame the flame height a bit.
View ImageAnd Wow fire pit version 2.0 is off and running. This picture doesn't do the flame color justice but its nice and blue-white at the rocks and going to light yellow out at the tips. The flame is burning much cleaner also with not really any sooty smelly black smoke being produced.
View ImageThis shot shows the blue white flame at the base a bit better. The new burner really heats up the rocks around it and the entire pit radiates a lot more heat than it used to. That and the fire height is shorter so less chance of wind whipped fire singing someones toes.
View ImageHere's a shot of the pit in the dark just after I turned off the flame. This shows that the rocks are not being heated completely evenly...The camera makes it look like its white hot but its not really but those lava rocks were a glowing something fierce.
All in all a pretty darn good result for version 2.0. Its high-time for BBQ season and I'm not sure I'm going to have the time to re-jigger the home-made burner to even out the coal heating pattern....now wheres the marshmallows and chocolate and graham crackers???
Daniel Neumansky
Restoring our second Victorian home this time in Alamdea CA. Check out the blog http://www.chezneumansky.blogspot.com/
Oakland CA
Crazy Homeowner-Victorian Restorer
Glad to see you can still find time for R&R amongst the extensive reno you are doing.
be a hat tip to ya.