Nothing compares to the relaxing ambience of a fire pit, while you enjoy a peaceful evening with your friends, while watching the sunset, playing some games, or maybe just talking among yourself. But all this relaxing atmosphere goes away as soon as your fire pits start producing smoke that gets into your eyes, makes you cough, and ruins everything. But this doesn’t have to happen.
Here are 7 things that you can do to stop you fire pit from smoking:
- Use the correct type of wood
- Store your wood properly
- Keep a good airflow in the fire pit
- Clean the fire pit
- Use the correct fire structure
- Keep your wood together
- Remove the ash from the fire pit
Now let’s take a closer look at each point on the list.
- Use the Correct Type of Wood
One of the most common causes of the smoke is the wood.
If you are using treated or painted wood you will get a lot of smoke. And this smoke is more than a simple annoyance, it’s also toxic.
Another type of wood that emits a lot of smoke is green wood. Green wood is wood that has recently been cut. While this wood isn’t toxic or harmful in any way, it is full of humidity. When the wood is burned all the humidity inside will create a lot of thick smoke.
What you want to use in your fire pit is known as seasoned wood. Seasoned wood is green wood that has been splitted and left to dry for 6 to 12 months, depending on the type of wood.
Before we move to the next problem, I want to draw your attention to another important thing that you have to keep in mind when choosing wood for your fire pit.
There are two types of wood, softwood and hardwood. The main difference between the two is the density of the wood. Hardwood is a lot denser, and as a result it will burn for a longer time, but it will take longer to catch fire. Softwood is the opposite, it’s not as dense and as a result it will catch fire quicker, but it won’t burn for too long.
The main type of wood that you want to use is hardwood, but softwood has its role as a fire starter.
If you want to find out which is the best wood for a fire pit, and which you should avoid check out this article: Best Burning Wood for Fire Pit (and Wood You Should Avoid).
- Store Your Wood Properly
Another wood related problem that causes smoke is the way the wood is stored. Even if you bought seasoned wood, if you keep it outside and uncovered, it will absorb a lot of humidity, especially if it rains a lot or if you leave in an humid area. So just as important as choosing the right wood is how you store it.
Wood doesn’t have to be kept indoors, or need anything fancy to cover it, any impermeable material that covers the top should do a fine job. Of course that if you have the possibility to store on some concrete, or some kind of floor it would help a lot, but what’s important to keep it away from rain.
- Keep a Good Airflow in the Fire Pit
The most overlooked thing about fires, is the need of oxygen. Fire needs air to burn, without enough air the flames will die down, and black thick smoke will come out instead.
Unfortunately, in a lot of cases this can be a problem with the design of the fire pit. To make sure that fire pits have a good airflow, a lot of fire pits have ventilation holes on the sides. If your fire pit doesn’t have one you should return it, contact the person that built it, or make them yourself.
Overfilling your fire pit with wood can also have a similar effect, so try using your fire pit one more time, but with less wood this time and see if there is any smoke.
If your fire pit still produces a lot of smoke, you might have to do something about the ventilation holes, and this leads us to the next item on the list.
- Clean the Fire Pit
A dirty fire pit can create a lot of problems. One of them is that the ash, or some kind of debris could be blocking the ventilation holes, which as we just discussed can create a lot of black smoke.
A dirty fire pit could also be home to a lot of dust, which will melt and stick to the fire pit. And when enough dust has been melted it will start to smell bad and make smoke.
The solution for this problem is quite simple, you just have to clean the fire pit.
- Use the Correct Fire Structure
There are multiple ways to structure fire wood. But the most common and most efficient are the log cabin and the teepee stack. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about here is a picture of the two.
Both ways of arranging the wood will produce a fire, but they function in a very different way.
The teepee stack is probably what most people use for their fire pits, but this might not actually be the best. In the teepee the flame will start in the center of the structure, which is ideal for the fire to spread, but there is one small problem, the airflow is extremely poor. And as we just discussed a poor airflow will result in a lot of smoke.
On the other hand, the log cabin doesn’t suffer from the same problem. It actually has an excellent airflow, while still protecting the flame from wind. The only thing to keep in mind is that you will need to add a little more kindling (wood that catches on fire quick) in the center of the log cabin.
So I would suggest you try the log cabin method and see if you still have problems with the smoke.
Useful fact: the teepee is known as a water resistant fire structure, since the flame starts on the inside of the structure and the fire is basically covered by a roof there is no way for the rain to extinguish it. So if you ever find yourself in a need to make a fire and it’s raining now you know which structure to use.
- Keep Your Wood Together
This is what I would call a beginner mistake, but we were all beginners at some point so no point in being ashamed of it.
Even with enough airflow, even if you have the perfectly seasoned wood, if one piece of wood moves away from the rest, it will stop burning and start smoking instead. Just like you can see in this picture.
Without getting into too much detail the idea is that in a fire pit wood tends to burn when it’s near other pieces of wood, and it tends to smoke if it’s alone.
Using the log cabin structure instead of the teepee will drastically reduce the chances of this happening, but in either case you should have a fire poker nearby so that you can move any piece of wood that strays from the rest.
- Remove the Ash From the Fire Pit
One surprising thing that can cause your fire pit to smoke a lot is ash.
Ash has the strange property of being a good absorbent, it’s so good at this that if you let it in the fire pit for a couple of days that are more humid, they will believe that you have dirt in your fire pit, not ash.
But even if you don’t have excessive humidity in your area, the ash will absorb as much as it can, and when it gathers enough, and you start your fire pit, all the humidity from the ashes will transform into smoke.
Luckily the solution is just as easy like the rest on this list, just remove the ash from the fire pit. You can do this before you start the fire, but I would recommend you do this as soon as you are done using the fire pit, since ash can also damage your fire pit.
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Final Thoughts
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.