How it works
A fire pit burns either wood or gas, and the two kinds share almost no parts. The first view is a wood-burning fire pit with its spark guard lifted off. The second is a propane fire pit with its base cut open.
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A wood-burning fire pit
The fire bowl holds the fire and stands on legs. Inside it, the wood grate keeps the logs off the bottom of the bowl. The spark guard is a mesh dome that sits over the bowl, with a handle on top. The poker has a hooked end; it shifts the logs and lifts the hot spark guard by its handle.
A gas fire pit
The burner is a ring of pipe with small holes, set in the top and covered with lava rock. On the front, the control knob sets the flame and the igniter makes the spark that lights it. In the base, a regulator on the gas cylinder feeds gas through the hose to the burner.
- Some makers call the spark guard a spark screen. Either name means the mesh cover over the bowl.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a fire pit called?
On a wood-burning fire pit: the fire bowl, legs, wood grate, spark guard, handle and poker. On a gas fire pit: the burner, lava rock or fire glass, control knob, igniter, regulator, hose and gas cylinder.
What is the screen on top of a fire pit called?
A spark guard or spark screen. It is a mesh cover, usually a dome, that sits over the fire bowl.
What is the grate in a fire pit for?
The wood grate holds the logs up off the bottom of the bowl.
What are the rocks in a gas fire pit?
Lava rock, a light volcanic stone. It is spread over and around the burner in the top of the fire pit. Some gas fire pits use fire glass, small pieces of tempered glass, in its place.