Thanks for the video! Was about to build my own firepit and will definitely be using this smokeless method. The only thing I may adjust is spraying some high-temp paint on the drilled holes so the exposed metal doesn't rust as easily since the rest of the ring is treated with high temp paint already.
That's not a bad idea, dude, since there's going to be a lot of oxygen going through them, along with a lot of heat absorbed by them, which is going to promote faster than usual rust.
Thanks for creating this video! I’ve enjoyed all kinds of fire pits over the years while camping and I’ve found the best way to cut down on smoke it to scout for dry hardwood (usually from storm damage) and split it into smaller pieces allowing more air to mix with the fire as opposed to burning large logs. I’ve also noticed that fire pits with high sidewalls block radiant heat so you have to stand almost over the edge of the fire to get warm which can be hard on the eyebrows 😬
That's what I was thinking. Could you not space each bottom stone out about 2 or 3 inches? Can you have too many air channels on the bottom ring? does it affect how this works?
The metal jacket is essential for the effect he is trying to achieve - not merely better general ventilation at the bottom of the fire, but the heat/convection-powered forcing of fresh air into the superheated exhaust stream at the top of the fire, to duplicate the "afterburner" smokeless design of the expensive stainless firebowl shown at the beginning. Merely adding more vents at the bottom helps burning generally, but it does not create the afterburner effect that completes the burning of the exhaust gases.
Commenting for your channel's sake, love what you're doing here. Thank you for the intelligent and massively practical video, no excessive American waffle either, very much appreciated you have no idea.. Good luck from Australia!
Great video! I appreciate that fact that you were able to cut the stones with your hand, but also showed us without your skill and training how to do it. Very well done.
Wanted to say Thank you for this video, Got a fire ring, hole sawed the 1 1/2” holes, sprayed both sides with heat resistant paint, 12 -1’ x 2’ x2” pavers over sand for the base, used bricks that were on the property for the outer ring, 4 layers of the brick raised the ring 3/4 of an inch up which lets more air underneath, works like it’s supposed to!
@@HowToHomeDIY Your Rock Kwan Do skills are certainly good.. I think I tried with my head once, but now I dont remember.. :-) Seriously though.. Awesome project.. I didn't know this was possible - I hadn't looked into it, but I thought the "smokeless" was all about the fuel being used, and not about creating the draft.. I'll definitely be doing this
Getting ready to start mine hopefully this coming week, got all the materials and assembled the ring and also drilled my holes.. i found a small starter drill bit followed by a step bit worked amazing.. i did 20 1/2" holes in mine (5 per quarter piece of ring) Just gotta prep the ground area and get it built. Just been busy in the new house with other projects that take higher priority.
Was this hike size effective? I was thinking that more smaller diameter holes could create a little more back pressure allowing the air to flow out at a quicker rate? Does this sound logical at all?
7:45 no joke getting metal in your eye! When I was a teen I was using a Dremel and got a "tiny" flick of metal in the corner of my eye and LORD did that hurt like hell! Super lucky it didn't do any real damage! One way you could improve this design and add more airflow is to look up a "Dakota fire hole" and combine that with what you already have to provide even more rushing cool air to the fire. Make a small tunnel down into the middle of the pit and out one side with something like cinder blocks, bricks, or a pipe ETC. Then cover the end of the tunnel inside the pit with a metal grate, maybe do the same on the inlet end of the tunnel to keep from stepping into or tripping over it if it's not tucked out of the way?
Yeah I would like to avoid that at all cost! Glad your eye was ok! I actually made a video doing pretty much exactly what you are suggesting. Feel free to check it out on my channel. It definitely made a difference!
Dude! You said 'expound'!! That's the right word! Everybody else says 'expand'... as though they could inflate like Violet Beauregard (Blueberry Girl in Willy Wonka) just because they flesh out an idea. I can't believe proper use of the language got me excited. OK, now back to the video, which I'm sure I'll find equally interesting!
You can build the ring with stones as well leaving a gap for the air to travel up, although metal is a better heat conductor once the stones heat-up the effect will be the same.
Actually it won't. A Solostove does not work by increasing draw generally, but by using heat-powered convection to force heated fresh air into the exhaust stream for an afterburner effect.
Got one of those fire rings and now know that previous home owner was clueless about how to make it smokeless! They very reason I stopped using it! Starting my modification tomorrow !!!
This was a most excellent video, very well done! I just have to share this with a family I know. who've been having the smoke problem with their current pit. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas!
You are welcome. Glad you liked it! Some modifications I would do differently, I would make the holes quite a bit smaller and maybe more of them. If you don't have larger fires, maybe go with a slightly smaller ring so the holes are closer to the fire. Both of these should just make it even better. Also, I have a 2nd video showing part 2 of this, would recommend doing that install as well! Thank you for the feedback!
Absolutely! I think too often we wait too long or when we are getting ready to sell our homes before we do the things that we wish we had all along! We really have enjoyed this. Thank you for the feedback!
I have no idea why this video popped up in my list but I started watching anyway and realized I know you haha. Good content and hope you're doing well.
That is funny! Yeah man, everything is good here. Hope all is good with you as well. Is good hearing from you. I am glad this video came across your screen.
I subscribe to your channel and you gave me some hope with this video for which I am grateful. You see, I am 61 and have never really built things or taken on big home improvement projects; mainly from a lack of confidence perspective, sadly. My wife & I recently bought a house that has a firepit in the backyard but it needs to be redone. I was able to follow your video very well and I liked how you explained each step very thoroughly as you did not hurry through it. Thank you for that! I even watched your follow up video where you answered folks’ questions on this topic. I subscribe to your “How To Home” Channel and look forward to seeing more of your videos. Keep up the good work to teach us how to get things done around the home. :-)
Hey Ron, I really appreciate the comment. That is one of the big reasons I enjoy doing this channel is trying to help folks and also to help give them the confidence that they can do it too. It is very common to feel unsure. So thank you again for reaching out to me and for the feedback! Take care!
I did an experiment with the same ring technique. What I found was if I dug a hole the same depth that the fire ring was high I got the same result! The difference was that the one surrounded by stone blocked most of the heat. The one in the ground did a much more better job at projecting heat to people sitting around the fire pit. My seven yearold son said " it heats us up more because we can see the light of the fire more, the other way you can just see alittle bit of the light" He was absolutely right; we are warmed by the Inferred light from the fire.
That is a great point and makes complete sense. You have a smart boy! I really appreciate the insight and feedback Rodney! Some may want to follow your example. 🙂
Now that was fun to watch. Quick question, instead of drilling all of those holes in your nice new black ring, why not let the black ring rest on top of the 3rd level of stone giving space at the bottom for air? I've been building camp fires all my life up at the river and it's usually a no, no to bury it in the ground like that because it kills the draft flow, doesn't burn wood as well and it makes more smoke.
What influenced your decision regarding how high to drill those holes - I was expecting them to be lower? Would pre-drilling on your bench have been significantly easier?
I looked at the smokeless firepits in stores and that is where they are. The idea is to get that fresh air into the top of the fire to help burn off the excess smoke. I don't know that on the bench would have been easier as I was able to sit on the fire pit and lean into it to cut the holes.
Great video.. I’m going to try this this weekend! I do have a few questions though.. what is the diameter of the holes you drilled, how far apart did you space them, and how far down from the top did you drill them? Are you at all worried about the bricks moving with people putting their feet on it?
😂 Well I actually bought a really expensive carbide tipped hole saw that was supposed to just cut through all kinds of metal without any issue. It cut one hole and was done. Then I went back to my run of the mill hole saw and it cut all of the rest of the holes it. It did however break off a couple of the teeth towards the end but was still able to finish the job. Enjoy the build! Hope you like it as much as we do.
Man I loved this video! This is currently my exact situation. Have an in-ground fire pit. Not trying to spend the money on a Breeo if I can make this work. Having the existing fire pit makes a little less work for me. Thanks!
Will give this a shot. I agree with the comment below on the top row of stone. I think a one inch thick curved flat cap stone on top and this put the top row of stone so the angle is laying into the fire pit. Great Video.
Great video thanks. A few questions 1) would it be OK to create space between bottom layer pavers rather then having to cut them at all? 2) Are the retention pavers 12" wide & 12"deep? (I'm trying to figure which size fire ring I should buy if I want the total size of my firepit with pavers to be no larger then 55" diameter) 3) the hole saw kit link you provided is not available is there another you recommend or should I just shop Amazon for cheapest price? #diy girl here that's the reason for all the questions. Thanks!
1) Yes you can, I just didn't want that look personally and wanted only a few opening instead of small ones all the way around as I believe it creates a better vacuum affect but others have said they have had success doing it the other way too. 2) The retention blocks I bought are 4.75" x 11.75" x 6.75". 3) Yeah they sold out of them recently but think they should restock but I also have had luck with my craftsman hole saw kit. Make sure you are getting a kit capable of cutting metal. Even then some of them wear down really fast. I hope I was able to answer all of your question! Glad to hear you are a DIYer, that is what this channel is all about is trying to inspire folks to try to fix and create things on their own! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!
The smoke almost seems to follow where people are sitting. I think I’m going to price out fire rings and try this method. I need to make a cover for the pit since it is a town ordinance too. Looking for videos on that and I came across this smokeless video. Professional and easy to follow video and I could hear you. So many videos skip steps and the sound is terrible. Thank you!!!
Hey Bradley, I started out with a 1 3/4" but felt the hole was too large so I ultimately ended up using a 1 1/2" and I measured down 1 1/2 inches from the top as well. Hope this helps! Thank you for the feedback!
@@andyid7440 "Stack"? Two layers are stable enough I think. An item not discussed: fire rings and stones are variable sizes, and thus spacing is uncertain. The gaps serve to deliver air horizontally at the lower level of the combustion, so if the ring/stone combo fits too well, you end up with irregularities being imposed. It's a fire pit, not a piano.
Just avoid bumping them with the deck of your riding mower (if you use one). My pit is made of standard brick-sized pavers just free-stacked, no mortar. And that's the only problem I have had with leaving it unmortared (read: removable and rebuildable). But my bricks weigh a lot less per piece than the retaining wall blocks used in this video. It would probably take a pretty solid hit with a mower to really cause any problems with a pit built from those blocks.
We’re FINALLY about to set up our canvas tents for AirBnB, & this video really REALLY helped! It’s going on my watch later list so I can use it for reference when we start building next week lol We’re gonna build 3 fire pits (one for each of the tents), but they will be smaller versions of this one. We already have the platforms for each tent completed, so all that’s left to do are the fire pits & throw the furnishings in :) You’re awesome!!❤️
That sounds awesome! Would be nice if they would allow you to upload pictures on here, I would like to see that! Thank you very much for the feedback! Let me know how the builds go!
Well done! My only regret is that I didn't see this earlier. I have no doubt that the popularity of your video raised the price of the fire ring you recommended 😉
