Wood Burning Fire Pits

If you are a fan of wood burning fire pits and have one for your outdoor space, you will need some other items to make it more comfortable for you and your guest.  I will outline several popular items that I have and see what will work for you.

Storage and cleanup are very important to for me.  Event though the fire pit is outside, I think as my outside area as an extension of my indoor space. Having proper and neat storage of your fire wood is important.  Having the proper tools for cleanup after the fire can save you money on having to replace things.

Now lets look at what I have put together, and see what will fits your lifestyle.

Ash bucket with shovel

Close to my home a homeowner left her ashes on a wooden deck in a plastic container.  The ashes started a fire that destroyed their home.  Having a proper ash bucket is very important to anyone who burns wood inside or outside.

I got mine at a flea market with the shovel for under $20, it does have a couple of pin holes on the sides.  Getting a new one would not have cost much more, about $40.  This is a sound investment whenever you clean out where you burn before your next fire.

Mine does have a shovel included, some do not come with shovels. If you look at the picture you can see that I use mine a lot and it is dirty.  It does do double duty, as I use it when I clean ashes out of my fireplace.  If you have a fireplace also, this would be a good investment.

This is an item that can save a lot of time and money if used properly.

Log rack

Having a storage rack for your fire wood off the ground is a great way to have clean fire wood.

I have several styles of wood racks that I use around my house.  I have one for the garage, one for a side deck and a smaller one that I keep in the house in the sun room. This gives me clean and dry fire wood any time, using the log cart below I can move the wood to any area around the home where I want a fire.

Covers are available for any of these wood racks if you have to store your fire wood outside.  This will keep your wood dry and ready to burn.  Look at some of my storage and cover ideas in this post.

Log cart

I own one of these as my wood pile or log rack is not close to where I have a fire in my fire pit.  Just load it up with fire wood and move it to any area close to where I am setting up my fire pit.  I can put enough wood on the log caddy to burn for an entire evening.

I have written a post with information on the log caddy here for those who would like to move their wood pile closer to their burn area without a lot of work.

I have moved and stored my fire wood on one of these carts for the last four years.  I keep mine in the shed when not in use and it still looks like new.   If you are trying to move a big pile of wood or just enough to burn for a couple of hours, I find this log caddy saves my back and time with little effort.

Lighter

Every one knows that a great fire starts with a small flame.  A good lighter is all you need to get your fire started.  Having some fire starter logs will help if you have some green wood or hard to burn wood.  I like to start with some newspaper on the bottom with a few twigs from the yard.

One flick of your lighter and you are ready to go.

Hot dog sticks

I have several hot dog metal sticks that look like forks.   I have a long set and a short set, both work well if the using in a fire pit or fire place.  If I cook on an open fire at the lake, I use the long ones as the fire is generally a lot bigger.  I keep them on a rack out in the garage.  We also will use them on occasion in the fire place to cook hot dogs or marshmallows during the winter.

Don't make the mistake of trying to clean off the marshmallow remains by burning it off in the fire.  The welds on the end of the forks is not able to withstand the heat of holding it in the fire until it is cleaned.  Do the right thing, clean with soap and water or with a scouring pad.

Do you have a favorite tool to cook on your fire pit, let me know in the comments below.

Get this protector for your deck

Deckprotect for wood and composite decks

Have a wood or composite deck that you would like to have a fire pit to sit around, you have two choices.

One is to get a gas burning fire pit that will not put out any heat out the bottom.  The fire of a gas fire pit does not put out the heat and does not have the visual appeal of the wood fire pit.  To see my ideas on gas fire pits look at this post.

Two is to look at the Deckprotect system.  This is a pad that is made from volcano ashes that will give heat protection for your combustible surfaces.  Need more information on the Deckprotect system look at my post here.

Conclusion of what you need for your wood burning fire pit

I have all of these items around my house except for the deck protect system.  I burn on a paver patio or in the grass and have not needed to use one.  Having the log cart to move the wood to any location around my 1 acre yard here and 3/4 of an acre at the lake saves my back a lot.

The ash bucket and shovel saves a lot of trouble when cleaning up after my fires.  I can carry the ashes to my garden area to help with the growing soil for next years veggies.

What is fire in a fire pit in the fall without hot dogs and Smore's.  The hot dog sticks have been used for many cookouts, in the winter we even cook hot dogs in the fire place indoors.  What better way to get family and friends gathered around your fire for a great evening for a great time.

What do you have around the house to help make your wood burning fire pit easier to use, leave me a note in the comments below.