You probably don't think you need a personal fire pit. And you're right. Although come to think of it, fire is an essential element. I'm rethinking this - it's possible you really DO need a personal fire pit. You just don't need a massive expensive one. A little tabletop cheap fire pit? You could probably use one of those.
My name is Karen and I haven't lit anything on fire in 5 months. I'm sure I deserve some sort of a chip or something for that.
You see ... I'm a bit of a pyromaniac. Technically I'm not a *real* pyromaniac I guess. I mean, I only light things on fire that should be lit on fire. Like kindling and hardwood and pretty much anything with Hello Kitty on it. And of course all of Rush's 1980's albums where they dabbled in "New Wave".
I light fires in the fireplace every night here in the old Casa de Karen from October until April. 6 or 7 face cords go flying up that chimney every year. But as deep and strong as my love of the log runs, I couldn't bring myself to buy an outdoor firepit when they first came out.
They were hilariously expensive at the time and really in my climate not all that useful. In the last decade or so the weather in Canada has changed.
We used to get Spring. Spring is now a fleeting moment that takes place between the hours of 4 and 5 p.m. in late May. When we wake up the next morning our guts have liquified and the garbage cans have maggots crawling out of them.
Once the season for fire rolls around it happens almost as instantly. And by then I want to be inside laying on the sofa with a hot chocolate and a plate full of cinnamon toast on my chest. Not outside being bitten by the limp stingers of aged mosquitos.
But still. There are 3 or 4 weeks when it makes sense to have a little personal fire pit outside.
So what was a pyromaniac girl like me to do when it's cool out, but not cool enough to trap myself in the house all night with my cat, tv remote and fire tongs?
The Answer ... The Personal Fire Pit. (as designed by my sister ... I saw hers and then immediately came home and made my own exactly like the one she made.) It's easy and inexpensive to make. I used to say it's a lot nicer than any fire pit you've seen for sale in stores, but now that 10 years has passed since I originally made this fire pit a lot of stores are carrying ones that look - how do I say this - completely identical.
Here we gooooooo ...
How to Make a Personal Fire Pit
Materials you Need
- Marine Silicone
- Small rocks
- 4 pieces of glass (I bought 4 cheap picture frames from Dollarama and used the glass from those)
- Metal Mesh
- Gel Fuel (recommended) or 70%+ isopropyl alcohol
- Square planter (with a bit of a lip on it)
Step #1 - Making a Glass Box
You need to make a glass box. To do that just run a bead of silicone around the edges of your glass, and place them together.
Do two sides first and hold them in place somehow until they dry.
Position them so your final side will be easy to silicone.
Run another bead of silicone and place your last piece of glass.
When you're placing your glass, try to be a bit careful about it. You don't want to smear the silicone around on the glass because it's a HUGE pain to get off. Just take your time.
Run a final bead of silicone all around the bottom edge of your newly created (because you're kind of great) glass box.
Flip the box over then place the siliconed edge on top of the metal planter, making sure there's enough edge in the middle left over for some metal mesh to rest on it.
Update: Everyone seems to be in fits over the fact that the glass will EXPLODE from the heat. It doesn't. I'm not going to say it never will but 1) only tempered glass EXPLODES. This isn't tempered glass. 2) Glass breaks through stress either from dropping it or by extreme, fast temperature changes. Neither of which you should have with this project. 3) Thin glass is less likely to break from stress than thick glass. ** I know that seems counterintuitive.
Step 2: Making the pit.
Your box is made so now you move onto cutting your mesh that will fit inside. The only purpose of the mesh is to support some rocks, which in turn hide the fuel can beneath.
Once your piece of mesh is cut your structure is complete and you just have to "build" the fire.
Put an opened can of gel fuel into the centre of your fire pit. If you're using Isopropyl Alcohol pour some into a leakproof metal container like an old, clean paint can.
Rest the mesh on the inside edge of the planter.
Finally, start putting down your rocks to cover the hideous mesh. If you're using rocks that you aren't sure about don't put them directly over the flame. Rocks with moisture in them can explode as can shaley rocks.
Cover mesh loosely with rocks (you need some space in between the rocks to allow for oxygen so the fire will stay lit).
Update: since writing this post originally, fire pit rocks have become available. They're 100% safe so you don't need to worry about keeping the rocks away from the flame.
You're almost done
Firsty ... admire what you've done for about $25.
Step 3 - Light your fire
Clear the rocks away from above the gel fuel can and carefully light the gel fuel. I use an advanced technique. I light the end of a piece of spaghetti. Whole wheat of course.
I would rule on Survivor, provided I'm allowed to bring a piece of spaghetti. Push the rocks away from the flame a bit (even a bit further than I show here) because some rocks can shatter when they get too hot. Or buy the fire pit rocks that are now available.
There you have your fire pit! $25. Plus as an added bonus, depending on what type of fuel you use, you can also use this fire pit *indoors*!!!
What makes this fire pit so amazing is the glass. The flames reflect against it creating dancing flames all over the place! Before I get to the final pictures with the fire pit in it's rightful home in my back yard I wanted to let you in on a few tips.
1. Make sure you buy gel fuel that's meant for gel fireplaces. Gel cooking fuel will not work because it usually only creates heat, not an actual visible flame.
2. Like I said, if you use a proper gel fuel (Real Flame for example) you can actually use this fire pit indoors. Be careful to place it on heat resistant fabric so it doesn't scorch your furniture. The metal conducts the flame heat a lot!
3. Make sure your rocks are heavy for their size. Rocks that are light are full of air and may explode!
4. You can use any metal planter for this. This was on sale, so this is the one I got for this little fire pit experiment. Black metal square planters that are probably on sale at garden centres right now would look fantastic with white rocks.
5. The gel cans last for about 3 hours, if you'd like to stop the flame earlier, just place something non flammable over the glass box to snuff out the flame. Cans can be relit at a later date or time.
.
WARNING
Use common sense. Don't wander off, leaving this burning and never EVER try to refill it when it's still burning. Snuff out the fire and make sure that it isn't hot or burning before refuelling. Otherwise you can create a firebomb. You can see that here.
That's it! That's all it takes to make your own personal fire pit. $25, about an hour, and a piece of spaghetti.
Update: A lot of people are having trouble finding a metal planter similar to mine. Remember you can also use terra cotta or ceramic.
Cynthia
I'm in total love with this idea and your site! Where the heck have I been? I have a built in area in my living room that is meant for one of those large screen tv's that were popular several years ago. I've been dreaming of turning the space into a faux fireplace. Not sure how to pull it off, but this post is great inspiration.
Karen
Thanks Cynthia! I have no idea where you've been, but I'm glad you found the blog. I can use all the readers I can get. Thanks for stopping by! ~ karen
Los Angeles Bankruptcy Attorney
awesome mini firepit
mark
This is well cool, bet its not that easy to build... i wish i had that in my house. so cool
Karen
Thanks Mark. And no. It's not that easy to build. Considering it's just a series of boxes, really. Plus, well ... I've never built something to "structure"-like. Planter beds and decks are one thing. A building is something else entirely! ~ k
Sharon
OMG! Thank you so very much for sharing such a cool and unexpensive idea to create a small fire pit that can decorate both indoor/ outdoor home. I can't wait to start, and I'm sure that when my friends see it they're gonna want one too! LUV IT :)
John
I really want to make this, it looks amazing
Carol-Anne
Great job Karen! Do you leave yours outside all the time? If so, what do you put over it to keep all the rain we've been having out of it? I made one yesterday. I made a complete mess of the silicone and I'm not thrilled with my container; I think it's a bit too high :-( This one will be my practice piece until I find a better planter.
Karen
Carol-Anne - Water is a pain. For now my pit is under a covered porch. You have to take it in like you would cushions outside. I actually don't leave mine outside all the time, I bring it in and out. ~ karen
Jaime
Hey Karen...I'm wondering if you could use recycled glass instead of the rocks. Any thoughts?
Thanks, Jaime
Karen
Jaime - I'm gonna have to be honest with you here. I have no idea! Regardless of whether you use rocks or not, you have to be careful with whatever you use. With the rocks I make sure to keep them away from direct flame. I leave a rock free circle in the centre of the grate. I really have no idea about the properties of recycled glass. Normal glass only breaks with a change in temperature, I'm not sure about recycled glass. Sorry! ~ karen
Bill Grigg
Hey, they featured this article on Lifehacker!
http://ca.lifehacker.com/5810805/make-an-awesome-diy-firepit-on-the-cheap
You've been Lifehacked. Well done!
Sanjay
I am a bit of a pyro myself - I WANT ONE!!!
(also forwarded it to my brother - he is going to love this as a cheap fire safe option)
Kim Tucker
Love this idea. I'm thinking i may make these for Christmas Presents this year..... shhhhh don't tell anyone.
Karen
Kim - Shhh. Your secret's safe with me. If you're thinking about Christmas already you should look at my old posts on Bows. The light up ones are pretty darn good if I do say so myself! This is the basic bow ... https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/let-it-bow-let-it-bow-let-it-bow And this is the pimped out bow ... https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/pimp-my-bow Thanks for visiting my site! I'm going to have a variation of the "Personal Fire Pit" in a few weeks! ~ karen
Jessica
Uh...this is AMAZING! I'm SO going to do this! Thanks for the awesome tutorial.
Karen
You're very welcome Jessica! It is fun thing to have around! I plan on doing a variation on it this summer! Watch for it. :) ~ karen
Julie Cucinotta
thank you for the input! Nope its not for food and does make a flame so Im going with it..hopefully i do not burn anything down..Im a but of a pyro myself!
:)
Jules
Hi Karen- I am finally attacking this- took me a while to find a container I liked! Question for you- do you think I could use the gel fuel that comes in a bottle and just fill up an empty sterno container to burn it in? just wanted to get your take..thank you for ALL your inspiration!
Jules
Karen
Hi Jules - Yay! Glad you found a container! Chances are the gel fuel that comes in a bottle is meant for heating food. It probably won't have any flame. If it is designed specifically for fireplaces, I don't see any reason you couldn't put it in a sterno container though! ~ karen
Rachel S.
Love this!
Karen
Thank you Rachel S.! ~ karen
Rob
Hi Karen, greetings from Ireland. I was wondering if these planters would give off much heat? Say you had one in the garden on the ground with 5 people sitting round it comfortably, without crouding it, do you think there would be much warmth?
thanks Rob
Karen
Hi Rob! Um, no. I'm afraid these things wouldn't give off much heat, especially outdoors. If you want something to give heat, you'd have to have a "real" wood burning firepit. This is more of a *pretty* firepit, as opposed to a roast some marshmallows firepit. Great. Now I'm thinking about roasted marshmallows. ~ karen
Jennifer
Wow! That is so much better than the expensive ideas/pre-made ones I've seen! Genius!!!!! Definitely making this when we will hopefully start renting a house this summer :D
Jacqueline
I absolutely love your idea Karen and can't wait to try it!! I'm such a pyro too! I didn't know it was so simple to create a glass box. Now you've got my wheels turning with all the possibilities of what could be put inside of a glass box. Very creative!
Karen
Thanks Jacqueline! The glory of a plain glass box is pretty irresistible, LOL. ~ karen
Jane
Hi Karen, I love this and am planning to copy it a.s.a.p - so thank you:) Do you know if it's possible to burn alcohol in a metal container inside, rather than use the real flame gel? I would like a cheap substitute and don't think that RF is all that different from isopropyl alcohol - though, I can't find squat about it on the net, so I am probably way off. Thanks!
Karen
Jane - I did all kinds of research on what else you could burn if you couldn't find Real Flame and I do remember something about isopropyl alcohol. However, I also remember it wasn't a good idea to burn it for some reason. In fact ... now that I think back on it ... I tried it. It burned a little as I recall, but for some reason it was "bad". Can't recall exactly why other than ... it was bad. Sorry! LOL. If you can find it the Real Flame is worth the $2 or $3 a can. It isn't like isopropyl alcohol. It's a gel. It doesn't smell too bad, plus it crackles! ~ karen!
Jane
Thanks for your sage advice:) I will very likely follow it even though I am am sorely tempted* by this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ8qb38brtE
*No idea why, since chemistry was never my thing!
Karen
Jane - I watched the video! Now I wanna try it! However ... like he said, it ends up being around $2 a can so it'll end up costing around the same amount of money as buying a can of the real stuff. Looks like fun to try though! ~ karen
John C
great idea, thanks for sharing. I like the idea of an indoor fire.
Karen
John C - You're welcome! ~ karen
Soraya
Hi! thanks for that idea, i was earning for a little gel fireplace, but now I will have a nicer and cheaper fireplace. Thanks for your post!!