When browsing for fire pits it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the different features that they have to offer. One of the features that some fire pits seem to have but others don’t are air vents. But why is that? Are air vents needed or is it just one of those extra fancy features?
As a general rule all fire pits need air vents to maintain a proper flame. If the flame doesn’t get enough air the fire will die down and the wood will start to smoke.
Fire can’t survive without proper airflow. So it’s important to make sure that your fire pit has enough air vents. But not any hole in the fire pit will do, they have to be a certain size, and positioned in the right place, otherwise your fire pit might not get enough air, or sparks will come out of the air vent. So let’s see how a proper air vent looks like.
Table of Contents
How a Good Air Vent Looks on a Fire Pit
There are 2 different types of fire pits that use wood, metal fire pits, that look similar to a bigger bowl, and brick fire pits. Each one of them needs a different type of ventilation hole.
Brick and Stone Fire Pits
Brick fire pits need a bigger air vent that is usually positioned at the base of the fire pit and it looks like this.
Or sometimes they can be a little higher like this.
Normally you don’t want to go too high with a vent. The idea is that you want the air to get to the base of the fire, not the top.
But if you want to add some sand or some dirt in your fire pit you could make the vent a little higher like in this case.
If your fire pits don’t have those holes you should contact the manufacturer and ask them to solve the problem. But if you are the one that built it and forgot to add them don’t worry you can still add them even now. But before we talk about that let’s take a look at metal fire pits.
Iron Fire Pits
In the case of metal fire pits, the holes look a little different. They can either be simple hole, or they can be with models, like those:
This type of air vent is a lot more efficient, than a simple hole and can look a lot better.
If you got a fire pit that looks like the one in the picture below, that doesn’t have any air vents, don’t worry you can always drill them yourself.
How to Drill an Air Vent in a Fire Pit
Drilling a hole in a fire pit isn’t anything special, it’s like drilling any hole.
Metal Fire Pits
In the case of metal fire pits you want to make as many holes as possible, but you have to take a couple of things into consideration. Will sparks fly through the hole, and will ash fall through the?
The forest problem would be solved if you don’t drill large holes. So my advice is to use half an inch bit, or even something a little smaller. But by doing this, you won’t get that much air through them, so you will need to drill quite a few holes.
How many holes you need will be hard to say. There are too many things to take into consideration, but in most cases 8 holes distributed like this should be enough.
The idea behind this is that you don’t want to be dependent on the direction of the wind, so no matter from where the wind is blowing your fire pit will be properly ventilated.
And don’t worry about trying to get the holes in the perfect position, as long as you cover all possible directions things will work out just fine.
If you see that your fire pit still doesn’t get enough ventilation then you can add a few more, but those 8 holes should be enough.
How low or how high you should make them depends on how much ash do you think you will gather during a single use. But in most cases you shouldn’t gather that much, so making the holes 2 or 3 inches above the bottom should be the ideal position
Brick and Stone Fire Pits
For brick fire pits the process is more or less the same, it all resumes to drilling a hole. The difference is in the placement and the size of the holes.
The holes should be drilled at the bottom of the fire pit, as close to the ground as possible.
As for the size, this time you want to go bigger, a good size for the hole is 3 inches in diameter. I know that this sounds like quite a lot , but those kinds of fire pits are also bigger than the iron ones.
Now, you might be worried about drilling a hole in the fire pit, but you shouldn’t be. FIre pits are built to last for a long time, and drilling a couple of small holes in them won’t affect their integrity. If you are still worried you could always look for a metal circle to insert in the place you drilled the hole. This way you will still get your vent, and get rid of any worries, but as I just said there is no real need for this.
Final Thoughts
Fire needs air to burn, without enough air the flames will die down, and black thick smoke will come out instead. So fire pits definitely need an air vent, to get oxygen to the fire.
In the end of the article I will leave you with some of the most common questions and problems that people are faced with when owning a fire pit. Hopefully this will help you avoid some of the biggest mistakes people make when owning a fire pit, and save you some money.
Common Questions
How do I prevent rust from appearing on my fire pit? In order to prevent rust you can:
- Move the fire pit in a dry room, or any place with a roof should prevent most rust from appearing.
- Cover your fire pit using a metal or wooden lid, or a synthetic cover. But make sure that the fire pit has cooled off before you cover it.
- Removing the ash from the fire pit is also very important, as ash absorbs a lot of humidity from the air.
- The most important thing that you can do is to regularly clean and inspect the fire pit.
How do I remove rust from a fire pit? To remove rust from a fire pit you can use:
- Vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Soft drinks
- Baking soda
- Potatoes
- A mix of them
- Commercial products like: WD-40 and CLR
After you remove the rust you should get some Sandpaper, Spray Sealant, Spray Paint. After that you should remove all the paint using a coarse grit sandpaper, then use a finer sandpaper and remove all scratches. Apply a thin coat of sealant, after it dries apply the pain, and then another coat of sealant. Make sure that you try to make the coatings as even as possible, otherwise the paint will come off.
How long do fire pits last? A fire pit can last anywhere from one year to a lifetime. It all depends on how well you maintain it.
In the case of wood burning fire one of the most important things that matter is what you are burning. Things like magazines contain chemicals that can damage the fire pit. Wood that has been painted or treated in any way will also damage the fire pit. So only burning firewood will increase the lifespan of your firepit.
Removing the ashes is also very important. Ashes absorb humidity from the air, so letting them sit in the fire pit for long periods of time is like having your fire pit filled with water.
In the case of gas fire pits it’s extremely important to dust them off. Dust doesn’t only leave an unpleasant smell but over time it can damage the interior of the fire pit.
For both types of fire pits it is also extremely important how you store them, leaving them uncovered year round, will drastically reduce their lifespan.
What is the best wood for a fire pit? The best wood for a fire pit is hardwood, which one you choose is up to you. If you choose one from this list you shouldn’t go wrong:
- Oak
- Ash
- Mapl
- Walnut
- Mahogany
- Hickory
- Beech
Just make sure that the wood you choose is seasoned and not green, if you get green wood you will have to leave it to season for at least 6 months.
While softwood is not a great choice for a fire pit, it can be a great addition as you can use it to light the fire or add pleasant smell.
And remember to stay away from driftwood, construction wood, wood with things grown on it and vines.
How can I successfully start a fire pit every time? Every successful fire is built using 3 layers:
- Tinder – burns quickly and ignites the kindling
- Kindling – the middle layer that will will get ignited by the tinder, and will help
- Firewood – the wood that maintains the fire
The tinder is what will start the hole fire up. As tinder you can use newspaper, tree bark
fatwood or leaves. The tinder doesn’t have to burn for long periods of time. It just has to burn long enough to light the kindling.
The kindling is the part that makes or breaks the fire. Most unsuccessful fires don’t light up because they lack kindling. Softwood is usually a good choice for kindling, some of the best and most common options are: Pine, Poplar, Cedar and Spruce.
Tinder on it’s own doesn’t have the ability to light the firewood, this is why you want to use kindling which can light up firewood, but can’t maintain a fire pit on its own.
Firewood is what you use to maintain the fire in the fire pit. Hardwood is the best choice for firewood. Just make sure that what you are getting is seasoned wood, not green wood. Green wood is wood that has been recently cut, so it still has a lot of moisture inside of it. Seasoned wood has been chopped up and left to dry for 6 to 12 months, which makes it perfect for any fire.