Pellet Fire Pits

[djc290]

Im Looking for opinions on the pellet wood fire pits, anyone tried them ?

[Mr_D]

I bought one, haven't had a chance to try it out.

[Neverhome]

About ten years ago, a local inventor came up with a fireplace pellet system that basically used small hole chicken wire about 4" X 4" x 16", with a welded seam on one end and a trap door on the other to load it. I purchased three of them and they worked very well in the pit, instead of wood. Started quickly and burned high and bright. Only problem was after a couple of dozen fires, the heat weekend the metal and they distorted. Concept was great but a much stronger metal is needed. I have not seen the new units so cannot comment on them but the in principal, the concept worked, there was no unburned pieces left in the pit and very little if any smoke.

Neverhome

[Roger G]

I've had one for several years. The pros are that it makes a beautiful fire once it gets up to temp, pellets are clean and readily available ( TSC is the best place to buy for me ) , it leaves very little ash. The cons are that you have to constantly add pellets to keep the pit hot and enough fuel to burn like the pictures you see of them. You need someway to add small amounts of pellets throughout the burn. I have a metal electrical box attached to a 4 ft piece of conduit to dip pellets out of a rubbermaid tub and pour into the pit without getting out of my chair. It's cleaner and easier than wood with limited smoke for a real fire. It will drop burning ash out the bottom while burning so you need something to keep ash off concrete or grass. I use a big metal pizza pan as a base that allows me to use it almost anywhere, even used it on a wood deck. A fire proof dipper for the pellets is a must because in order to keep an optimal flame, you must constantly add more pellets. A 50 lb bag of pellets will last me 4-5 nights of fires, it doesn't take many pellets to keep it burning once it gets hot.

[Polyian]

Given so many fire bans these days we bought a propane fire ring...works great, instant heat, instant off, adjustable flame height and cooks weenies just like a wood fire. No downside except getting the BBQ tank refilled pretty much every week. They burn about 12 hours on a 20 lb tank of propane.