I’m looking for a fire pit to put out on the patio. The use is mainly as a fire pit burning wood. I’d also like to do grilling on it occasionally and perhaps charcoal only.
Follow-on question: You have a fire pit. You have a grille. At what point is it OK to start cooking? I think one should wait until the wood (we have a wild cherry tree that was cut down) has burned down to coals, because if there is flame there is soot. But I’m basing that on having used a charcoal grill with briquettes. How’s it work with actual wood?
Sorry, I didn’t see your post last night, because I was on my patio with a fire in the firebowl, cooking a brat on a camping fork. We do this often.
Our patio firebowl looks roughly like this one, but without the grate in the bottom. I’d be skeptical of the one you linked to just because of the tall sides. Ours is much more shallow, so you can see the fire better. That’s a personal preference, though.
Also, ours is copper, and has held up for maybe eight years now. We’ve abused it, often leaving it with water in it. We do have a cover, but don’t always remember to put it on. Not sure if the steel will hold up as well.
I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a separate grill that hangs from a tripod, something like this. So that’s another possibility to consider.
This is a portable fireplace/grill from Coleman. I have an older version of it that I really like for camping trips. It’s not clear to me if this is still available, as I don’t find it on Coleman’s website.
On mine the legs can be extended (as shown) for using as a grill or shortened for using as a fireplace. The grill is essentially like an 18" Weber style but with no bottom bowl vents. Leaving the lid on when using as a fireplace reduces heat loss going up and redirects a lot of it sideways, which is a big plus over a typical open fire. The full circle screen makes sitting up close to it less worrisome than with an open fire. Wood needs to be “fireplace cut” to get the lid on.
In sum, it’s adequate as a grill and very good as a fireplace IF it’s big enough for your needs.
Reasonably well. Not quite as good/easy as a Weber, but good enough. I usually hitch the lid over sideways an inch or so to leave a gap for air, making up for no bottom vents. It does have a Weber-style top vent.
There are probably others that are better suited for patio use, though this would work there.
For camping, it’s a gem. It uses less wood than a typical ground-based fire to produce a given amount of practical heat, largely because the lid sends more heat towards people rather than towards the sky. It can be used where open fires are banned (while grills are still allowed) because of the screen. It packs up to the size of the bowl, as the legs detach. I consider it a delightful luxury – don’t really need, but sure appreciate it.
We got one like this. Add a couple of layers of landscaping bricks around the outside, and you have a nice looking, sturdy firepit+grill for a little over $100.
Now if you want something to watch the fire and occasionally roast a marshmellow over, I’ve been drooling over Grate Wall of Fire’s fire pitsfor a while now. They do offer a barbecue grill attachement.
The Landmann is pretty nice after just one use. Easy set up, really warm, looks good, and the kids roasted marshmellows.
Only one drawback I see is that when it rains, which it will here in Seattle, is that it needs to be covered. There’s no drainage. So, I’ve got to figure out a good rain cover, and even better if it an do double duty as a grill cover.
Thanks for all the recommendations and feedback. I’ll revisit after we grill, but looks like that will be fine. I’m going to add more than the 5 pounds of sand in the bottom to raise the level a bit.
We do this often.
