Gas Fire Pit

[bdbecker]

Ever since we bought our house, Wife has wanted a fire pit. Problem is, our city is pretty strict on woodburning fire pits, so gas is really the only option. After shopping around for some of the "off the shelf" options, I was really disappointed in the options. Either spend a few hundred dollars on some poorly built piece of super thin stamped sheet metal, or spend thousands on something that will actually last. The third option - build it yourself. So I pulled out some of the 3/16" drop from my workbench tops and got to measuring.

View media item 90196
I used my grinder with a cutoff wheel to knock the sheet down to size and then used my miter saw (cuts both metal and wood) to make the final cuts.

View media item 90197
I then welded the four sides together and blended the welds.

View media item 88582
View media item 90198
I then cut the baseplate. Note the nipped corners - these will provide both drainage and airflow.

View media item 90200
Getting the most for my money out of my cutoff wheels.

View media item 90199
Got the baseplate welded on and blended the welds.

View media item 88667
I then got busy building the wood base. I collected a bunch of hardwood pallets to make a pallet board accent wall in my office, along with that I had a bunch of 2x4 stringers piled up waiting to be used.

View media item 90201
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View media item 88771
Making sure the ergonomics are correct...

View media item 88772
I spent about $100 on Amazon getting a burner, adjustable regulator, mixer, and adapter. Besides the $8 I spent on wood stain, this would be the only money I spent on the project - everything else I had on hand.

View media item 90203
I did a test run to make sure everything would work as expected. Norma Jean wasn't going to let a good fire go to waste.

View media item 88957
Once I was happy with how everything was going to work, I did the final plumbing of the gas line.

View media item 90204
View media item 90205
I then used a wire cup brush on my angle grinder to clean up the outside surface. I also decided to grain the metal using sandpaper. The bottom would eventually get painted with high temp paint, so I used this as my test area.

View media item 90206
Once everything was grained, the fire box was pretty bright. I wanted to give it a dark grey/brown look. Something that would patina, but not be bright red. I ended up putting my kerosene heater under the box, heated it up to about 200 degrees, and then rubbed it with danish oil.

View media item 90207
View media item 90208
I then used a PPG deck stain to give the wood a nice, weather resistant coat.

View media item 89130
Final test fit before giving it to Wife on Christmas morning.

View media item 89131
On Christmas eve night, I waited until Wife was asleep and snuck outside to setup the firepit and filled it with lava rock. On Christmas morning, I woke up early and started it up and left it burning. When Wife finally woke up, she went to grab a cup of coffee and saw the fire outside the window. At first she panicked, but figured it out pretty quickly. She knew I had been working on making her Christmas gift, but had no idea what it was. I got some happy tears, which was the goal.

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[Marctrees]

Very nice work !!

Marc

 

[Kaizen]

Did you have to leave a space around the burner or just pile them on? In your research are the sand filled ones any different burner construction?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JRC3]

That thing is ugly.

Now why don't you just ship it to me so you don't have to look at it.

 

[nh_yota]

That's awesome!

I've wanted a fire pit for years but my yard is too small for a wood burning pit and unless you want to spend $5k the gas ones are garbage.

 

[bdbecker]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Here are the links to the actual items I purchased in case anyone is interested. Please note - do your own research before attempting this type of a project. Messing around with propane is no joke. There are details not mentioned in my notes that you need to understand and take into account with your design.

Burner - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0149D85MI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Highly recommend this brand/seller. The tubing they use is very heavy duty. Also, note how the outer perimeter ring is lower than the center inlet. This is so any rain that may get into ring won't drain back into your gas line. A lot of the burners you see don't have this feature.

Mixer - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01414T9M0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Blends air with the propane before it hits the burner. If you want a pretty, campfire type flame with propane, you need one of these.

Adjustable Regulator - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY5N2E7/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Gives you the ability to adjust the size of your flame.

Adapter - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041NPBYW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Lets you hook up your regulator to standard plumbing fittings.

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Did you have to leave a space around the burner or just pile them on? In your research are the sand filled ones any different burner construction?

Just pile ~1.5" of lava rocks over the burner (I bought a half dozen different length pipe ******* so I could dial in the burner height without having to make multiple trips to the store). The rock helps to give a more natural looking flame because the gas has to work its way around the rocks before it starts on fire. Its kind of weird to think about, but the flame doesn't actually touch the burner, it touches the rocks. You can move the lava rock around a little and change how the flame looks.

I didn't read much about using sand in the bottoms of the pits other than as a heat barrier/insulator, but then again, I didn't specifically search for information related to that.

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That thing is ugly.

Now why don't you just ship it to me so you don't have to look at it.

I'd hate to know what the shipping charges would be. The metal fire box weighs at least 50lbs, the wood base is probably closer to 75lbs (all hardwood). I have to use a mover's dolly if I want to change where it sits.

 

[matt_i]

Great job on the build I like the combination of wood + metal, nice finish on both to boot!

Do you use a standard BBQ tank or something bigger?

 

[HOTFR8]

Very neatly done.

 

[bdbecker]

...Do you use a standard BBQ tank or something bigger?

For now, yes. I estimate that I should be able to get 12-16 hours of burn time per tank at a low-medium height flame. One thing I did learn is that having tanks refilled is quite a bit cheaper than exchanging them. I might see how much we use the fire pit and maybe pick up a pair of larger RV tanks and have them refilled at the U-Haul down the road.

One thing to note - standard BBQ tanks can only handle so much flow before a safety valve kicks in and shuts them down. If I crank my regulator all the way up, I can overload the valve and it will shut down (the 10 seconds of a 5'+ tall flame is pretty awesome while it lasts though). If a larger burner is used (mine's 12") you can get to the point pretty quickly where you need a higher capacity regulator, and a larger propane tank. I think I read that 18" is about the biggest you can go on a standard tank and still get a decent flame.

 

[jeepinerdeep]

Nice!

 

[jamesly]

Really like this. Great job.
How do access the tank in your case.
I like the patina. surface treatment too, That makes a big difference. Clever you are.

 

[48RON54]

Very nice work!

Off topic, but I'm surprised any other state other than California would tightly regulate a fire pit

 

[bdbecker]

...How do access the tank in your case...

Deceptive photo staging... the tank is not inside the base, its sitting about 10' away. The piping actually comes through the side of the wood base (on the backside of the base in the photo) and I connect the regulator hose to that fitting. We're planning on replacing/expanding the concrete patio behind our house this year, so once we figure out where the fire pit will sit, and what size tank we're going to be running, I'll either build a box for the tank to sit in, or an end table to hide it in.

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...Off topic, but I'm surprised any other state other than California would tightly regulate a fire pit

Its not about the emissions, its about the fire risk. People are stupid and put their fire pits under trees or next to their houses. If it wasn't for my neighbor across the back of my yard, I probably would have tried burning wood, but I know Grumpy Bob (that's my nickname for him) would have called me in to the fire department in a heartbeat. Honestly, I won't be surprised if I get called in when we start using the gas fire pit this spring. (I really need to get that row of arborvitaes planted along the back to make it more difficult for him to spy on us)

 

[jamesly]

Deceptive photo staging... the tank is not inside the base, its sitting about 10' away. The piping actually comes through the side of the wood base (on the backside of the base in the photo) and I connect the regulator hose to that fitting. We're planning on replacing/expanding the concrete patio behind our house this year, so once we figure out where the fire pit will sit, and what size tank we're going to be running, I'll either build a box for the tank to sit in, or an end table to hide it in.

Got it. Thanks

 

[wkparker]

Great project! We have one of those cheap gas firepits and I've wanted something better for a while. You've inspired me.

 

[Notgrownup]

Does the steel bowl not get so hot to affect the wood base?

 

[az45]

Very nice,I just finished one as well. I was amazed how much info was online, its a big business becasue there's obviously a bunch of profit in them based on what my real hard costs were.

I went with a fire ring block kit, then converted it to propane with the burner/mixer/valve. 100 lb tank outside the wall. Works great!

 

[bdbecker]

Great project! We have one of those cheap gas firepits and I've wanted something better for a while. You've inspired me.

Sweet! You might even be able to rob some parts off your current pit and reuse them.

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Does the steel bowl not get so hot to affect the wood base?

That was one of the big concerns I had when I came up with this plan and the main reason for that initial test run. Without any lava rock to insulate the sides from the burner, the temp of the metal maxed out at 170 degrees running a pretty high flame for a few hours. Info on what temps are needed to ignite wood are over the place, but prolonged exposure at 350 degrees seems to be the minimum temp where wood will start to discolor or char - I'm not even halfway there at 170, and that is the worst case. With lava rock, the sides stay much cooler. We had some pretty mild weather after Christmas and we actually used the pit on a 40ish degree night for a few hours - the sides were warm to the touch, but not hot by any means.

-----

Very nice,I just finished one as well. I was amazed how much info was online, its a big business becasue there's obviously a bunch of profit in them based on what my real hard costs were.

I went with a fire ring block kit, then converted it to propane with the burner/mixer/valve. 100 lb tank outside the wall. Works great!

Nice setup! I'd love to do something more permanent down the road, but we've got some ideas for our backyard rolling around right now and I'd like to avoid installing something only to have to change it later. That's no joke about the price... I saw the same thing. Not even knowing what you spent, I'd still be confident in saying that you came in at 1/3 the cost of hiring it out, if not better.

 

[Notgrownup]

Looks really nice.

 

[Boosted1]

Nice!

 

[GeoBruin]

If you're in this thread, I assume making one is an option? We've done a couple with corten steel so it develops a nice patina and can sit outside. Here are some pics of the smaller one. I'll try to dig up pictures of the larger version.

 

[jskicet]

Ever since we bought our house, Wife has wanted a fire pit. Problem is, our city is pretty strict on woodburning fire pits, so gas is really the only option. After shopping around for some of the "off the shelf" options, I was really disappointed in the options. Either spend a few hundred dollars on some poorly built piece of super thin stamped sheet metal, or spend thousands on something that will actually last. The third option - build it yourself. So I pulled out some of the 3/16" drop from my workbench tops and got to measuring.

View media item 90196
I used my grinder with a cutoff wheel to knock the sheet down to size and then used my miter saw (cuts both metal and wood) to make the final cuts.

View media item 90197
I then welded the four sides together and blended the welds.

View media item 88582
View media item 90198
I then cut the baseplate. Note the nipped corners - these will provide both drainage and airflow.

View media item 90200
Getting the most for my money out of my cutoff wheels.

View media item 90199
Got the baseplate welded on and blended the welds.

View media item 88667
I then got busy building the wood base. I collected a bunch of hardwood pallets to make a pallet board accent wall in my office, along with that I had a bunch of 2x4 stringers piled up waiting to be used.

View media item 90201
View media item 90202
View media item 88771
Making sure the ergonomics are correct...

View media item 88772
I spent about $100 on Amazon getting a burner, adjustable regulator, mixer, and adapter. Besides the $8 I spent on wood stain, this would be the only money I spent on the project - everything else I had on hand.

View media item 90203
I did a test run to make sure everything would work as expected. Norma Jean wasn't going to let a good fire go to waste.

View media item 88957
Once I was happy with how everything was going to work, I did the final plumbing of the gas line.

View media item 90204
View media item 90205
I then used a wire cup brush on my angle grinder to clean up the outside surface. I also decided to grain the metal using sandpaper. The bottom would eventually get painted with high temp paint, so I used this as my test area.

View media item 90206
Once everything was grained, the fire box was pretty bright. I wanted to give it a dark grey/brown look. Something that would patina, but not be bright red. I ended up putting my kerosene heater under the box, heated it up to about 200 degrees, and then rubbed it with danish oil.

View media item 90207
View media item 90208
I then used a PPG deck stain to give the wood a nice, weather resistant coat.

View media item 89130
Final test fit before giving it to Wife on Christmas morning.

View media item 89131
On Christmas eve night, I waited until Wife was asleep and snuck outside to setup the firepit and filled it with lava rock. On Christmas morning, I woke up early and started it up and left it burning. When Wife finally woke up, she went to grab a cup of coffee and saw the fire outside the window. At first she panicked, but figured it out pretty quickly. She knew I had been working on making her Christmas gift, but had no idea what it was. I got some happy tears, which was the goal.

View media item 89315

Awesome! Beautiful work.