A ‘one size fits all’ fire pit doesn’t exist anymore.
If you’ve never owned one before, all the features, types of burning, and styles of fire pits can be tense.
You should really know whether or not it needs ventilation holes, for safety if nothing else.
Fire pits really need some type of ventilation underneath. It is not true for every type of fire pit, but for most, and depending on the design and functionality of the fire pit, it is going to need vent holes somewhere.
Ventilation under a fire pit is advantageous for a fire pit because it creates those vents right under the fire nice and cherry hot!
Fire needs three things, just like a combustion engine:
- fuel
- spark
- oxygen
The ventilation underneath the fire is purely for oxygen purposes.
Benefits of Ventilation Holes in an Open Fire Pit
In addition to the most evident benefit of having a lot extra oxygen beneath your hot bed of coals, there are certainly some other benefits to having proper ventilation under your fire pit:
- Allows oxygen to sustain the heat of the coals, and in turn helps better burn the fuel that is above.
- Vent holes prevent your plants from being burnt by the hot base they are sitting on.
- Vent holes help mitigate windy conditions from blowing hot embers from your fire pit.
- Helps to get your fire ignited quickly.
Regardless of what type of fire pit you have (more on types below); you are going to want some decent ventilation – and the rule of thumb is: if you have a bigger fire pit, create bigger holes and/or more vent holes.
Types of Fire Pits and How They’re Ventilated
Many different kinds of fire pits, at least in terms of materials, all have or maintain the same or similar shape, whether it is round, octagonal, or oval.
You have the open upper half, where the fire burns, and vent holes located half way down the structure of the pit or on the bottom.
Iron Fire Pits
For the most part, iron fire pits have some of the craziest and prettiest aesthetics to them, although most of them are still either circular, or an octagonal shape.
Besides extravagant iron fire pits that are quite rare, an iron fire pit will be one very well ventilated piece of fireplace.
Although you may buy an iron fire pit that has a solid bottom half with a few vent holes in random spots, you may want to think about vent holes to be drilled, depending on how well your fire pit burns.
Many of your iron fire pits that you can buy come with a fairly thick, iron screen, which would easily be enough for ventilation.
Brick and Stone Fire Pits
These are wonderful fire pits.
They are somewhat pricier than the iron style, but if you have a few extra bucks or a lot of bricks or stones laying around and want to make your own, it’s a great investment.
Brick and stone fire pits typically have large vent holes, as though they just happened to skip some bricks odd while constructing and mortaring the bricks together.
With great venting, the stones hold a lot of heat and provide a nice ambient warmth.
Iron gets extremely hot whereas brick and stone fire pits are a much safer option if you have pets or kids running around.
Don’t Worry Though–Those stones will hold way more than enough warmth to spread the warmth around the immediate area.
Standard Metal Fire Pits
Despite the fact that your cheapest fire pit options are mostly good fire pits, if it is not aluminum, you have to worry about the metal overheating and giving you a dangerous burn.
It is rather difficult to tell how many ventilation holes you will need ultimately since it really depends on how the fire pit was engineered.
Some of them like their iron brothers have a thick screen and throw off good heat.
Most of your metal fire pits are very portable and easy to use, although they will probably not last long compared to the heavier iron, cast iron, or brick and stone.
Designing and Creating Your Own Ventilation Holes
It’s possible you bought a fire pit that either doesn’t have any ventilation or simply doesn’t have ventilation enough.
Regardless, it’s fairly easy to create you own ventilation holes, regardless of the materials the fire pit is made from.
Iron Fire Pit Ventilation Holes
Generally speaking, the easiest hole that you will be able to make is a hole that you drill.
Drilling through metal, even iron, isn’t hard if you have the right size bit to fit the diameter that you want the hole to be.
Remember, not every fire pit is made the same or the same size, so we might be recommending you to drill 8 holes and have a good distribution around the bottom of your fire pit is too many holes or too few holes.
That said there is always the principle of starting small and always being able to drill additional holes later on as long as you start with a couple of holes.
If you drill, let’s say two holes, activate your fire pit, and then you feel that your fire pit needs more holes, you can drill two more holes and so on. Drilling a hole through metal, especially if it is steel and iron, will be much easier if you are using a carbide or titanium drill bit.
A good brand is Drill America which manufactures an outstanding drill bit that is also black oxide tipped for a little bit more longevity and works extremely well with metals such as steel and iron.
Another good option is the Neiko 10194A Titanium Step Drill Bit. It’s a little bit archiac looking aesthetics wise but it works wonders on metal.
Brick and Stone Ventilation Holes
You can approach brick and stone demolition in two ways.
The first method is to simply excavate the mortar from the joints and remove a brick or stone each time you go through that process, however many times – without compromising the structural integrity, of course.
The second method is to attack a brick or stone with a masonry drill bit. You can even drill with carbide tips, as you would if you were drilling to steel or iron.
An example of such a masonry drill bit set is the Bosch BM5000 Fast Spiral Masonry Set. These bits are a handy assortment with a wide variety of different sizes so that you may drill a hole whatever diameter you need.
For example, if you want to take a brick out and the mortar joint appears easy to access, take a steel file and place the corner in the mortar joint between the bricks, then scrape back and forth until you remove enough mortar.
Your task here is to simply gouge through the mortar you are excavating – the glue that holds the bricks together. It would be best to scrape back and forth evenly so that it is almost like a cut.
After you have removed enough mortar around the walls of all four sides of the brick you want to remove, carefully tap the brick or stone out with a hammer.
After you have removed the brick, simply use the same file to smooth out the all the surfaces that were mortared to maintain a good look. When you’re done, it will look like it was intended this way.
All Things Considered
Fire pits are great for a large family get-together or a friendly barbecue, but when it doesn’t burn very well, it can quickly ruin the gathering.
With a carefully placed a few ventilation holes, and the methods to make them – you should be burning hot, in no time.