Jon Sarriugarte's fire pit kits

BB readers may remember the amazing Golden Mean snail car and Boiler Bar, created by blacksmith and oilpunk artist Jon Sarriugarte. For years, Jon has also built beautiful fire pits, flaming zen gardens, and patio heaters. Sometimes he sells them, but he's always encouraged folks to make their own. Finding the right fittings, regulators, and tubes can be a hassle though, so now Jon is offering fire pit kits. They start at $95. From Jon's Form and Reform site:

(For a fire pit,) in addition to these kits you will need a container that is able to handle high temperatures and be fully sealed underneath (leaks or drain holes will also allow gas out). A 55 gal drum works good. The weldable coupler provided will need to be welded though the bottom, legs added, then simply attach the fittings, ring, hose, propane BBQ tank and add sand. Sand should be 3-4″ above the ring. This is a match light system and I like those plumbing torches to light mine. Light the torch, then turn on the gas with the flame above the sand. It will take several seconds for the sand to fill with gas and rise to the top. Once lit it’s time to play in the sand with simple tools. This works best after dark when you can turn the flame down very low tell you only see a blue flame.

Fire is hot! DO NOT TOUCH the sand.

Fire Pit Kits for Sale

[Anonymous August 7, 2009 11:43 AM]

Environmentally friendly! *cough*

[dculberson August 7, 2009 1:18 PM]

Wouldn't it be more green than a wood fire?

[Anonymous August 7, 2009 2:42 PM]

Jon's firepits are amazing! I own one for my backyard and it is way more green than *cough* *cough* a smokey wood fire!

[Brother Phil August 8, 2009 1:59 AM]

Gas is only greener than wood if it comes from biochar, fermenters or similar sources.
The carbon in wood has been there for decades or less, and so has little or no effect on atmospheric CO2 levels.
The carbon in natural gas or coal gas has generally been there for a few million years, and so raises levels on our timescale.
Gas produces less smog and soot in your garden, but heats up the planet in a way that wood doesn't.

[Mitch August 8, 2009 3:29 PM]

I'm skeptical about that. If I burn enough wood to produce 10 pounds of CO2 or burn enough gas to
produce 10 pounds of CO2, I'm putting 10 pounds
of CO2 into the atmosphere either way.

If I want to have a fire of a certain intensity
for a certain amount of time, burning gas from a
tank with a regulator will give me a lot finer
control over the amount of fuel burned than
guessing how many logs to put on a fire. I don't
have statistics to back this up, but I would guess
that a 3 hour gas fire is going to generate less
CO2 than a 3 hour wood fire, because the wood fire
is going to burn a lot more than is really needed
when the fire is first started and every time wood
is added, whereas the gas fire is going to burn at
a steady rate.

That's not even considering the particulate
matter, nitrogen oxides, and other emissions from
a wood fire.

[eti August 9, 2009 1:32 PM]

Gas fire, wood fire; BAD, BAD!

[Anonymous August 10, 2009 6:22 AM]

They're pretty cool looking.