Background:

A smokeless pit works by air coming in from the bottom and feeding the fire. Some air gets trapped in between a metal ring and the stone blocks. It gets heated and forced up, which shoots it out of holes in the top of the ring for “secondary combustion”, burning off the smoke.

Materials:

A. 34 curved wall tumbler blocks ($2.28 each)

B. 3 bags of gravel ($6.00 each)

C. Fire pit ring ($100)

D. Landscaping fabric ($30)

E. Landscaping edging ($28)

Optional:

A. Cement caulk or quick set ($10)

B. 36 misshapen blend pavers ($.78 each)

C. A bag of decorative stone for the border

D. Polymeric sand ($30)

Tools:

A. Shovel

B. Tape measurer

C. Wheelbarrow

D. Drill

E. Metal borer drill bit 1/2 - 1 in. diameter

Steps:

1. Buy supplies

2. lay out the stone in the spot you want it

3. Dig a circle 1-2 inches wider than the stone line

4. Remove the stone and dig out ground

5. Tamp it down and level it, slightly away from your foundation

6. Lay landscaping fabric

7. Lay landscaping retaining wall

8. Lay 1-2 bags of gravel. Level and tamp

9. Lay ring again and border around the ring. Polymeric sand the border if you would like.

10. Stack the stone blocks. Remove 1-2 (I changed my mind from 1 to 2) blocks from the bottom row for air intake

11. (Optional) cement caulk or quick set gaps in the top rows

12. Assemble the metal fire pit ring

13. Drill holes in the top of the ring, about 2” from the top lip. I did 1/2” diameter holes every 2 inches. I’m not sure if that is too few of holes. We’ll see.

Conclusions:

We’ll see if I have enough holes in the ring. I think that it will burn fairly cleanly from the big holes in the bottom and the less holes will help shoot the air further into the center of the fire.

I don’t believe I made enough of a gap between the ring and the stones but time will tell.

Overall I like how it turned out!

Hey everyone,

I just completed my first gravel pit area in my backyard. I also made a diy smokeless fire pit that I think went pretty well overall. I next time need more holes around it I believe and maybe a smaller ring. I would love some feedback! I'll do my best to answer any questions as well. I have detailed description of what I used below. Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irJOTJJAIsQ

Things Needed:

Agfabric Weed Barrier $50

Fire Ring HONYTA 36 In Dia (Amazon) $125

Pea Gravel .5 Cu Ft 60 Bags ($3.50 per bag) + delivery = $300

Fire Retaining Stones 12 In L X4 In H $2x40 = $80

Gravel Barrier Stone 10In L X 2 In H $2x50 =$100

Landscaping Staples 50PK -$5-10

Tiller

Shovel

Wheel Barrow

Rake

Construction Adhesive

Drill with 1/2 Inch-1 Inch Metal Drill Bits

String

High Temp Spray Paint

Wooden Stake

Timeline 3-4 Days 1 Person

1-2 Days 2-3 People

Around $750 all said and done (could be cheaper)

1. Planning- First step is to figure out how big you want your area and pit. After you figure out how big for both, this will help you figure out how much stone and gravel you need. Take your time on this step to make sure to get enough. You should find out how many cubic feet of gravel you need for the pit area, how many stones you need for fire pit area, how many stones for gravel barrier border, and then color/design as well. I don't have a truck so delivery fees made more sense for me but finding a local gravel company would be cheaper as well. I had trouble finding a good one so just went with Home Depot for most.

2. Measuring - Measure out your area with a wooden stake in the middle of where you want. My diameter was 18ft so I measure 9ft of string and attache it to the stake at the bottom of it. I stretched out the string and put it on the edge of the spray paint can. Using the string as a guide I made a perfect circle while spray painting the line needed to know where to start digging.

3. Removing Grass and Dirt - After spraying my circle, I used a combination of my tiller, rake, shovel, and pure dedication to get all the grass and roots up in this circle. I was told not to use the tiller but it was the best thing I did. My ground here (Near Lake Livingston, TX) was impossible to use a shovel on. This was the toughest part by far of the whole operation. I cleared about 2 inches of top soil and grass from here all around to make my 2in H stones fit perfect. I would remove a section with tiller, rake up some, then use the shovel to get everything else up.

4. Weed Barrier and Gravel Barrier Set Up - I laid out weed barrier over the pit area and started to pin it down with landscape staples. I would cut pieces with a simple box cutter. I starter to go around and form the border for the gravel area using my stones I chose for it. I would kind of back fill any parts that were uneven with my hand to make the stones fit more in the pocket of the dirt and themselves. I could have took it a step further before the weed barrier and used a compactor or tamp to put the dirt down more evenly. My land was pretty even but in hindsight I should have down this step for added detail to the project.

5. Firepit Area and Smokeless Design - I start to stack the stones I bought for the firepit retaining wall. The bottom layer of stones needs to have about 2-3 inch gaps in about 4 places around it to allow air flow at the bottom of the stones. The second middle layer should be all connecting with no gaps. My top layer of stone was all connecting as well. I placed my metal fire ring inside after getting about 30 1inch holes drilled around the top part of the ring. I'm far from a scientist and know there is alot of info out there on smokeless fire pits but they basically work when cool are comes in at the bottom then heats up. It rises to the top of the metal fire pit ring and with tiny holes allowing for a second combustion to happen which helps eliminate some of the smoke that happens. It's extremely hard to get a completely smokeless fire but you can get close.

6. Final Stages - Next steps is I begun to lay gravel down everywhere and spread it out evenly with a rake. I used about 60 bags at .5 Cu Ft per bag to do 18 Ft Diameter circle (about 255 sq. ft area). I used construction adhesive to set my fire pit stones in place and high temp spray paint to make sure the holes I drilled didn't rust. I added some black gravel inside the fire pit and had a completed project!

My tips:

Measure and take your time!

The digging is the hardest part. Get some help or better equipment

Plan stones wisely using measurements

Maybe look at a smaller ring that 36 inch for better smokeless results

Rent a compactor (I should have)

Let me know if you have any questions or feedback! TIA