Fire pits and chimineas gain in popularity

by Joan Eliyesil  ·  Friday, October 18, 2013

It's October in Harvard, and before you know it, most of us will be hibernating in our houses for the next few months. In the meantime, we've still got some beautiful sunny fall days beckoning us onto our patios and decks. When evening comes, however, there's a chill in the air. For more and more people, the answer to that annual drop in temperature is an outdoor fire pit or chimineas. Whether it's in a built-in stone fire pit, a portable metal fire pit, or a clay chimineas, more and more homeowners are turning to contained outdoor fires, once relied upon for survival, to extend the outdoor social season.

Mark Saydah of Whole Earth Landscape and Design has seen the growing trend in sales of all three types of outdoor fire containers: "They're fun, and it's about creating outdoor living spaces." Sean P. Bilodeau of Acorn Tree and Landscaping agrees: "We've installed everything from rustic stone fire pits to outdoor kitchens, quite of few of them in Harvard."

The least expensive and probably most portable option is the metal fire pit. A variety of these can be found at Home Depot and Lowe's,  as well as local hardware stores. Acton Ace Hardware at 210 Main Sreet in Acton carries about six varieties, ranging in price from $80 to $150. "They're pretty popular," said Ben Fleischer, a department manager at Ace. "They're convenient, contained,and safe." Mark Saydah mentioned that he has a portable fire pit at his home in Harvard, and one at a home in Maine. "They have nice designs around the perimeter, and they look great illuminated at night. In Harvard, we have one with stars, and in Maine, wehave one with moose, bear, and antelopes." In addition to being portable, most outdoor fire pits come with a removable grill for cooking, as well as a cover, and a domed screen to keep hot ash from escaping.

At Harvard Outdoor Equipment at 289 Ayer Road, owner Steve Walz has chosen to sell only fire pits from Fancy Fire Pit, a Middleboro, Mass. company. They're handmade from recycled carbon steel, which develops a dark patina but doesn't rust. 

"It's the only one I sell, because I want to sell the best," said Walz. There are two models displayed outside the store, one with flames, and one with stars. "People come in every day and ask me about them. I don't sell a lot, though, because they're expensive."

Chimineas: a Mexican solution

Another portable option is the chimineas. Chimineas, which look like small pot-belly stoves, originated in Mexico. They were made from clay and were designed to keep rain off the fire and to generate heat with a small amount of fuel. Fires in chimineas start quickly and burn hotter than those in outdoor fire pits because of the amount of air that is drawn in through the chimineas. This high heat makes them ideal for cooking and baking, and many chimineas come with cooking grates. Opinions vary on whether or not charcoal should be used in a chimineas, but if it is used, it needs to be lit without an accelerant, since the use of

accelerant in the closed cooking space could cause an explosion.

These days, chimineas are available in clay and cast iron or aluminum. Clay chimineas are cheaper, but more fragile. The neck and the body are made separately and fused together, so it is easy to accidentally separate the neck from the body. Clay chimineas also require maintenance. Most require sealing to keep moisture from seeping in. If the clay gets moist and doesn't dry out sufficiently before a fire is lit, the chimineas can crack. In addition, clay chimineas should be "seasoned" with a few small fires before burning a large fire. Many manufacturers recommend putting a layer of sand in the bottom of the bowl to keep the fire from coming into direct contact with the clay.

Providing ambience, deterring bugs

Lancaster County Road residents Heidi and Don Siegrist bought their clay chimineas in 1998 from the Plow and Hearth catalog."We bought one for my dad, and I liked it so much, I bought one for us. You didn't really see them around much back then," said

Heidi. The chimineas sits in the corner of a patio near a dining table, providing heat and ambience for outside dining on chillysummer nights. It also keeps the bugs away. The only modification that Heidi remembers making to the chimineas is the additionof a small piece of screen on top of the chimineas to keep hot ash from coming out. "It has a little crack where the chimineas meets the belly, but it still works," said Heidi.

At the high end of outdoor fire options is the more expensive built-in stone outdoor fire pit. These are often used as a focal point of a patio or outdoor seating area. Recently the Press visited the home of Glen and Pam Frederick on Willow Road to talk about 

their outdoor fire pit, built last fall. It was designed by Pam Durrant of Durrant Design in Harvard, and built by Dan Grimes, a stone mason with Acorn Tree and Landscaping. Glen talked about what inspired them to build it: "We stayed at this great hotel in Arizona

where they had four or five outdoor fire pits for guests to sit around in the evening." Glen and Pam loved the idea and decided to build a seating area with a stone fire pit as the focal point in their backyard. "We have family gatherings and neighbors over here. 

You don't need to provide much. It's a wonderful community sort of thing. The fire is mesmerizing, and it gives people a contented feeling." Mark Saydah agrees with that sentiment: "On the weekends, it's something to do with the kids and the family-go outside 

and have s'mores or talk around the fire and get away from all that digital stuff in our lives."

Unlike chimineas and portable fire pits, stone fire pits need no protection from the rain. The Frederick's fire pit is built on a bit of a grade with a drain underneath to keep water from pooling in it. As far as cooking over a stone fire pit, you can opt for the traditional 

long fork, but free-standing cooking grates are also available.

'An intergenerational spot'

Heidi and Don Siegrist also have a stone fire pit, built in 2006. At that time, their two children were teenagers, and Heidi and Don wanted a place where their kids could be at home but have their own entertaining space. The fire pit was built by Pinard's Landscaping,

 using a design that Heidi found in a magazine. It's almost surrounded by a stone sitting wall. Where the chimineas is used mostly for ambience, the fire pit is more of a destination. "It's become an intergenerational spot," said Heidi. "Don's dad likes sitting out there with 

us. And one year, both my daughter's and my son's soccer teams were in the state finals, and both teams were by the fire pit the night before the game making s'mores." The Siegrists enjoy spending time using both the chimineas and the fire pit. The chimineas gets more 

use on cool summer evenings, the fire pit more in early spring and late fall. "This time of year is my favorite time to use the fire pit," said Heidi. "It's kind of bittersweet-you know the cold weather is coming, but you're still enjoying dining outdoors."Stone pits require more vigilance

Since fire in a stone fire pit is not typically as contained as fire in a portable pit, more vigilance is required when the fire is burning. The Fredericks take that seriously. Glen has a permanent water source installed close by and keeps two buckets of water near the fire. Last August, when the weather was very dry, Pam turned on the sprinklers to make everything in the vicinity of the fire pit wet. The Siegrists also keep buckets of water by their fire pit.

'Keep a pack of hot dogs close by'

As far as fire regulations go, according to the Harvard Fire Department permit fee schedule, there is no permit required for "cooking" fires, but you must call into dispatch when you are having one. In addition, the size of the fire is "not to exceed three feet long by

 three feet wide by three feet high." Harvard Fire Department dispatch operator Trish Rouvel said that "people do call periodically during the summer and fall, but we don't get a lot of calls." She makes a note of the address and asks what time the fire will be out by. 

What if you're not actually cooking? Steve Walz joked, "Keep a pack of hot dogs and a stick close by."