Smokeless fire pit introduction

I wanted to go over features that I built into my smokeless fire pit. I used several design features of the commercial smokeless fire pits such as the Solo and Brio.
Using refractory mortar to seal up the cracks in-between the retaining wall blocks is something I did that I don't see others doing. Sealing up the cracks helps make the fire pit smokeless because air is channeled from the bottom intakes so it creates good air flow so it heats as it rises.
Using a double wall in my smokeless pit also directs air from outside through the fire pit intakes around the sides and out of the fire pit metal ring holes. Most people I see don't do this. You can literally see smoke being re-burned. Most people leave the bottom of the metal fire pit ring open as they aren't made deep enough to go to the bottom. Ideally it would be best to weld more ring to the bottom of the metal fire pit ring, but I opted to put fire brick there so that when the fire pit ring eventually needs replacing, I don't have to add more to it. I also have the bottom on a slope, so using the firebrick here made more sense to me.
Having a center air inlet with diffuser in the smokeless fire pit helps it be smokeless in that air flows upward so that what smoke there is tends to go straight up. It also feeds the fire so that you get a very hot bed of coals which also helps with the smoke. The smoke also doesn't tend to follow you around the fire pit. This is a very important smokeless feature that is usually not done.
Rutland refractory mortar : www.homedepot....
Rutland refractory cement for around the base of the metal smokeless fire pit ring : www.homedepot....

[@HowToDoStuf]

Sounds like you are welI on your way. I used refractory mortar for everything in the fire pit as regular mortar can't take the heat. I used retaining wall cap blocks on top. If you can do the intake in the middle also I highly recommend it. The double wall and the center intake are what the Brio and Solo pits do. They also go tall and not too wide. Take a look at one and you'll see what I mean.

[@brianmorrison9937]

Thank you... I just decided to order the fire brick mortar. I'll get my fire bricks from Lowes. Do you have a video of how you sealed the bottom under the fire ring? A link to the video? I know I have to leave space between the fire brick and the fire pit retaining wall and mortar in between the bricks. I will not have a double wall, so I'm a bit worried how I'm going to seal it at the bottom with mortar. What size fire brick did you use?

[@HowToDoStuf]

The fire brick I used I got from Tractor Supply: www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/us-stove-single-firebrick They are 4 1/2" x 9". I have a video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKbXm5aXqZZqns0) where I talk about how I measured and cut the bricks under the metal ring based on the slope of the bottom (as the entire pit is sloped with the paver patio for drainage) so they would evenly touch the bottom of the metal ring. I first tried high temp silicone to seal between the fire bricks and the metal ring, but it didn't hold up. I went back and simply smeared Rutland refractory mortar where they join. It has held up just fine. I didn't put mortar in-between the fire bricks on the bottom for drainage purposes. I'm curious what you mean when you say you are not going to have a double wall? The whole point of sealing where the fire bricks meet the metal ring is for directed airflow through the double wall. That double wall with holes in the top of the ring works great at reburning the smoke.

[@brianmorrison9937]

@@HowToDoStuf thank you brother! I just miss worded what I planned to do… sorry about that. Yea I will have the double wall. I ordered my fire block sealant and mortar, It should come tomorrow. I’m picking up my retaining wall stone also. One guy used stainless steel at the bottom, but I’m going to do what you did. I’m thinking about cementing the bottom, then it will be easier to clean up after each fire. Thank you again.

[@HowToDoStuf]

@@brianmorrison9937 You can cement the bottom together, but there really is no need to. With the firebricks bedded in sand right next to each other, I literally just use a small whisk broom and dustpan and sweep out the ashes, which takes less than 10 min total. I didn't mortar in the bottom in case water got into the bottom of the pit because otherwise the bottom is going to be like a small swimming pool. I think the fire brick is a better idea than a stainless bottom as with an inch or two of sand and the fire bricks in the bottom, heat getting under the pit from coals isn't going to be a problem. I don't want the heat getting to the gravel underneath that. You could use a stainless steel bottom I guess with a few inches of sand under it to insulate, but you would need to make an extension to the metal fire pit ring to have metal against metal to seal the bottom edges. I didn't want to try to make an extension for the metal ring because when the metal ring eventually rusts out, I can simply take it out, put a new one in, and just put more mortar as needed to seal the firebrick/metal ring joint. I'd like to see the final result once you get it done. The weather is about to start cooling down so we are looking forward to having fires this fall.

[@brianmorrison9937]

@@HowToDoStuf I'm getting it done a little at a time. I got all three layers sealed with fire brick mortar and sealer. My fire ring sets on top really good. I got a 2" air gap between the wall and fire ring. I'm cutting the 1" holes at the top of the fire ring tomorrow. I cut the fire bricks in half the long ways cause I only had 2" of air gap under the fire ring. I'll have to bury the fire brick just a little bit and the fire ring will sit on top of them. Did you use regular mortar or fire brick mortar to seal the fire brick around the bottom? I'm trying to decided on my pavers for the center and how to align them. As you mention, I probably will not mortar them so water can seep in between them. But as you done, I will mortar the pavers to the fire brick. I think I will forgo creating a center vent and just put 2" holes at the bottom of the fire ring. I plan to put another layer of retaining wall brick on top of the fire ring to help seal the top. Plus a 4th row will look nice.