Enthusiast III
As humans we have are innately wired to congregate around a warm fire, to share stores, to share food, to sing, to connect, it’s in our DNA. Our human connection to fire is foundational and imprinted from our early human ancestors. By having a fire at night it kept predators away and dramatically improved their chances of survival to the next day by building communities. Enjoying a wood fire is proven to lower blood pressure, produce a calming feeling and produce an increase in social behaviors.
A recent Nature Conservancy poll found that only about 10 percent of American teens spend time outside every day. According to research by the Harvard School of Public Health, American adults spend less time outdoors than they do inside vehicles—less than 5 percent of their day.
Since we all have day jobs having a fire pit at home let's you have the camping experience anytime you want and head inside when it gets too cold. Plus you can test out recipes before an excursion and if you have teens you can have them come to your house to keep an eye on them.
A wood fire pit is the real deal, a few of my friends have a gas ‘fire pit’ in their back yard and they’re cute but to be honest; gas fire pits suck.
A gas fire has no snap and pop of wood, they barely throw any heat, the unnatural hissing sound and the fact that you can’t cook over them are all deal breakers in my book. Gas fire pits are fine in restaurants, hotels and for those poor people who live in a rule happy town that doesn’t allow a real fire. But if you’re going to build a fire pit, build one that burns real wood! Besides, it’s less expensive to build and you don’t need a permit or have to run a gas line that you may hit some day with a shovel. Plus, in the event of a natural disaster and your gas is shut off you’re not screwed, just burn wood in your fire pit to cook and stay warm.
A fire brick lined stone fire pit is the best for the following reasons:
1. The fire brick is the crucial component in a real fire pit. They absorb the heat from the wood and reflect it back into the fire and radiates out through the stone sides for warming toes and a wide circumference around the pit. It’s like compound interest with heat.
2. You can use it as an oven to cook whole turkeys, whole fish or other food items. The brick and stones retain heat all night and into the next day which makes them perfect for slow cooking food. Like a turkey http://bit.ly/piturkey
3. Food grilled over hardwood coals just tastes better, the natural wood smoke flavors infuse your creations with rustic flavor. Use a grill grate or a Cowboy Kabob to skewer meat vegies, sausage etc. and grill South American Churrasco style! http://bit.ly/CowboyKabob
4. The heat produced is 10x more than a gas pit, a little smoke adds authenticity but as it gets hotter it burns more efficiently and there’s very little smoke
5. You can burn yard scraps, scrap lumber cut offs and misc stuff in your pit.
6. Fire is hypnotic and going back to the DNA thing it will make you happy.
7. It’s fun to burn things and to hang out and talk, have a sun downer, laugh have fun and play music.
For between $300-400 using the below plans you can build one. If you can use a level, grinder and a mortar trowel then this is a couple weekends type of project. For full how to instructions with pictures download here: http://bit.ly/FirePitInstructions or the attached.
I Just thought I'd share the pit plans I drew up based on one I built in my yard with the overlanding crew since we all get how important adventure and nature is and it's a part of who we are. So if you feel inspired you can reference my plans and modify them however you want to build your own back yard pit. Or share pictures of your back yard pit with this thread !
Cheers
Hans S. OB 8595
Last edited:
