# Fire pits are half off at rural king...why do I need one?



## mldollins (Jun 21, 2008)

I know that they are good for sitting around on a cold day when making a fire outside. But, can you cook on them? Are they fore warmth only?


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Because you can't find any rocks to make your own? 

I dunno. Why DO you need one?


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## Pam6 (Apr 9, 2009)

We use a tire rim for our fire pit.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

We had a neighbor build us one years ago, it was fun to sit around and roast marshmellows. When we build our house we just decided to build a fireplace outside on the back porch.


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## mldollins (Jun 21, 2008)

This is a cast iron one that sits above the ground. I guess my question is whether you can cook on this type of one. I am readily familiar with those made of stone and all and planned on building one. However, I kind of like the idea of moving this thing around if I can cook on it.

thoughts????


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## Pam6 (Apr 9, 2009)

We cook over our tire rim all the time. We kept the grate part off of and old grill and use that on it. We also have hot dog sticks and do kabobs and marshmallows all the time too.


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

You can move a tire rim around too ... just roll it.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

I have one and I love it. I cook over it all the time. Since I'm in town this is a better option than rocks in a circle.


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## LonelyNorthwind (Mar 6, 2010)

The inside rim of a broken washing machine makes the best fire pit ever. It's made of steel, is full of little holes to let the air in and heat out, has a round flat top perfect for putting an oven rack over for cooking. And, like the rocks, it's free.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

mldollins said:


> I know that they are good for sitting around on a cold day when making a fire outside. But, can you cook on them? Are they fore warmth only?


Fire rings can be used for warming fires or for cooking fires. I'd suggest one like this:









Or, you can make one out of rocks and get just a grate like this one for cooking:


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

the nice thing about a metal fire pitis that most jurisdiction that do not allow open burning have exceptions for fire rings/pits that are above ground.....

yes you can cook on any of them but you might have to have something special built to get it tall enough to fit properly depending on what pans you are cooking with.... you can use charcoal briquettes in one also not just for firewood, broken furniture pieces and old boards..... but you still need to get to coals for even heating of your cookware.... 

William
Idaho


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## Bluesgal (Jun 17, 2011)

GrammasCabin said:


> The inside rim of a broken washing machine makes the best fire pit ever. It's made of steel, is full of little holes to let the air in and heat out, has a round flat top perfect for putting an oven rack over for cooking. And, like the rocks, it's free.


LOL I thought we were the only ones to do that!!!! We used it for staying warm but more for cooking when we used to go to Rocky Point, Mexico. I could make an awesome Scrimp Scampi on one of those.


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## Rainy (Jan 21, 2010)

I had a Friend call me the other day and said she couldn't wait till we could use our firepit so she could smell breakfast cooking outside on the weekends..Love sitting out on a fall night with a fire in the pit.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

Here, the don't allow outside fire RINGS...part of the rules so we got a fire pit thing up off the ground that we use on our covered patio so we can use it even if it's raining out  I cook on mine about once a week. I use it to burn weeds that have gone to seed so can't go into the compost but I refuse to waste the nutrients by sending them to hte landfill ( weeds that are poss. poisionous for chcikens to eat too, get burned so they are not wasted, like nightshade) then the ashes used around the lilacs , in the compost and where ever I'm rotating broccoli and cabbage to each year. I burn some shredded junk mail and old magazines and boxes and things....(I guess I'm hoping that global warming thing keeps us warmer this winter?!  )
Mine was a cheepie and didn't come with a cooking grate that some do...BUT at wally world and other outdoor stores they have a tripod thing with a cooking grate on it that you can use over one. Also, a dutch oven works fine in the coals too.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

We made a pit using leftover bricks from our house. We love to sit out there & roast marshmallows. Or just sit.


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

Blu3duk said:


> the nice thing about a metal fire pitis that most jurisdiction that do not allow open burning have exceptions for fire rings/pits that are above ground.....
> 
> 
> William
> Idaho


Yes, that seems to be the case here too.
The laws on open burning, such as ground level rock rings and rim type fireplaces vary from state to state and town to town.
Some research on the issue here(wouldn't want to get busted for an unauthorized fire would we?, LOL) suggests that many locales permit cooking over an open ground level fire pit without a fire permit if the pit is small, say less than 36" in diameter and the fire ring is surrounded by a mineral strip of a couple feet or more and no woods within 15'.

So the above ground metal fire pits mentioned by the OP have an advantage 
in many locales when it comes to legal issues regarding open burning and fire permits and properly constructed fire pits for cooking w/o a permit.

We cook over an open rock fireplace in the field w/o a fire permit but because of the grey areas in the open burning laws we tend to be discreet about it, conditions favorable ,wind blowing away from road, no fire bans etc... .


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## Just Cliff (Nov 27, 2008)

I also use a rear tractor tire rim off of my Ford Jubilee. It does work very well. Looks almost like the first pic Cabin Fever posted. Some good memories with my family sitting around that old thing.


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