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used to say it's a lot nicer than any fire pit you've seen for sale in stores, but now that 10 years has passed since I originally made this fire pit a lot of stores are carrying ones that look - how do I say this - completely identical.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.
Derek
I have just found you - how did I manage until now. I lurve it, your a really kewl chick xx
Karen
Glad you found me ... not sure how you managed until now ... thank you very much. :) ~ karen
bunty
Lol i was talking about 8 inch glass planter too early here....i found the glass planters at walmart plus a heads up for ppl who cant find the gel fuel....its at walmart for i think 4 bucks
bunty
Hi quick question i cant find metal planters....if i used 1 of the glass 8 inch squares do u think its doable with that....thnx
Karen
Hi Bunty - I'm not sure what 8" glass squares you're talking about. But don't worry too much about not being able to find a metal planter. You can use terra cotta, ceramic or anything else that won't burst into flames. ~ karen!
BRIDGET
Personal firepit :)
shass
Was wondering if you could use the firecrystal rocks instead of the stones. That way you could have a different color and nice reflection.
Karen
Hi Shass - I think the firecrystals are a great idea. I may search them out myself. ~ karen!
Chris
I'm in the process of making one right now for my fiance to surprise her, she's going to love it! One question, when I've glued the two panes of glass on, it feels REALLY wobbly still. Does it stabilize better once all 4 sides are together?
Karen
HI Chris. Yes. The silicone is flexible so it will feel wobbly. Even after all 4 sides are together. But trust me. It'll never fall apart! Everything will be stable once you get it onto the planter. ~ karen
Danny
Thank you for the idea Karen! Mine is drying (silicone) right now and then I am finished. I tried the idea of gluing the rocks to the screen and realized that it actually makes it harder to pull the screen out because of the weight on the thin mesh. I am using mesh exactly like yours that I found at a Garden Ridge here in Texas. So it might take a minute more but for the sake of saving the mesh, I will pull the rocks out first.
Karen
Good to know. Thanks Danny! ~ karen
Scott
Where did you get your rocks? I went to Home Depot but all they sell are the big big bags for your garden which is way more then I need for this project
Karen
Hi Scott - I got them at Dollarama. (the dollar store in Canada) ~ karen
Scott
What are the dimensions of the planter? If you could email me that would be great! Thank you.
Karen
Scott - It's approximately 12" square, but the dimensions of my planter don't matter. Buy a planter and then find the glass size to fit. Remember you can use either the length or height of the glass. So if you have an 11 x 8 piece of glass for instance, you can use it for either an approximately 12" or 9" across planter. As long as there's a 1" lip around the planter you have plenty of room to make your glass work. ~ karen!
Tony
This is impossible to make! No ones knows or have seen a planter like the one you used, Do you know the name of the manufacture of the planter box. I have looked all over the internet and found nothing that looks even close to the one you used. Your planter box just works right with the size a the lip, Please help
Thank you
Tony
Karen
Tony - It's not impossible to make. You don't need to use a planter exactly like mine, you only need to use one that won't burst into flames. Buy a planter that's square and then find glass to fit it, that's all. Most garden centres sell a huge variety of square metal and terra cotta planters. You don't have to limit yourself to it being a table top version like mine either. You could do it on a tall planter as well. If you stop worrying about it looking like mine, and just focus on finding any square planter that's somewhere in the range of 12" across it'll work just fine. ~ karen!
kate
Do you have to keep it in a covered area, what happens if it gets rained on? Does it ruin the gel fuel?
Karen
Hi Kate - I usually burn up a whole gel can in one night so it doesn't matter in terms of it getting wet. I've drilled holes in the bottom of the metal planter so if it does rain the water just drains right out of it. Another reader came up with the *brilliant* idea of gluing the rocks to the screen to make lifting them out to change the gel can easier. I'd suggest you do that. I plan to this spring. I'm not sure the rain would ruin the gel fuel anyway. I suspect it would just sit on top and you could pour it off and let the wick dry. Hope that helps. ~ karen!
jayde
hi I just wanted to ask you where you got you planter I love in Cleveland Texas so I most likely won't find one like that but what is the store name?
Marissa
Just wanted to say, awesome Pinterest. Actually this is my favorite pin, EVeR!!!!!!
Karen
Wow. That's quite impressive with the number of Pins out in the world, LOL. Thanks. ~ karen!
Brittany
Hi, you mentioned that you can use this fire pit indoors also. Is there no risk of carbon monoxide poisoning with gel fuel?
Karen
Brittany - I suppose if you lived in a teeny tiny room with no windows and you lit 50 or so of these at a time there might be, but no. The can says safe for indoor use. ~ karen!
Angi
Just found this blog and LOVE this idea! It will go perfect on my screened-in porch. Thank you so much!
Karen
Thanks Angi. I'm glad you found my blog! Good luck with your fire pit. ~ karen!
Andrew
Hi, Karen. So nice idea and so heart touching because of it's simplicity! I couldn't resist to share it with russian internet readers. Would you mind if I translate it to Russian and post on my blog? You can check it here, and, of course, I put backlinks to your blog there.
Thenks for your creativity. Let's spread your ideas worldwhide! :)
Andrew.
Karen
HI Andrew - Thanks! I don't mind of course that you share my idea, but you're really not supposed to put up my entire post. You should put up a picture of the final product and talk about it a bit. Then you link to my site for your readers to get the entire instructions. I've written a post here on how blog etiquette and how to link to others posts. https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/how-to-properly-re-post-something/ Glad you like the fire pit! ~ karen
Andrew
Karen, sorry for reposting your post completely, I'm quite a newbie in blogging. The only reason was to make it clear for non-english speaking readers. I believe your precautions about exploding stones, glass thickness, fuel type etc. are very important (I've checked it with my wife - she didn't noticed this, just staring a pictures). But if you insist - I can cut the post. Thanks again and best wishes from Russia.
Andrew.
Karen
No problem. Leave it up as is. Just letting you know how it's all done. ~ karen!
mer
Mission accomplished! I had to modify a bit but I got it!
Karen
Holy crap! I am impressed! Good for you! ~ karen
mer
Its Christmas Eve and I just found this. I have been struggling to find a gift for my boyfriend. I hope I can find everything and get it assembled in time! We won't exchange gifts til tomorrow night so iif I can find everything I should be good. If this fails he's getting a r shirt or something lol THANK YOU for this tutorial!
Karen
LOL, omg you'd better hurry! Don't forget you can use a terra cotta planter too. Anything that won't burst into flames. ~ karen
Mari
That actually looks very Romanesque outside! I think I may actually give this a go - I have a repro Roman firebox, but I use that for cooking at reenactment events. This one is far prettier! Thanks.
Karen
You're welcome Mari! ~ karen
Abby
thanks so much for sharing this! making my mom one for her birthday, she has been wanting one for ages but not willing to pay the price of the ones at the stores. also, excellent tutorial.
Karen
Thanks Abby! ~ karen