Fire pits?

[womanity]

Are wood burning fire pits acceptable in a suburban garden?

I want one, with all socialising being outdoors and all, but I can’t get past that they create a lot of smoke and I’m not sure I’d like it if my neighbours were using one.

Are they okay or are they polluting, anti-social monstrosities?

A chiminea might be better. Just like a wood burner, once up to heat, they should smoulder rather than be alight with flames.

Love ‘em. We BBQ and have a fire pit. No trampoline but do have a pool and when the kids were young they were noisy in it. That’s suburban living. All of our neighbours also BBQ and use fire pits frequently. No idea about the freaking out that washing on the line needs to come in at the speed of light with these things. Some woodsmoke smell is fine. It may not sit well with some but plenty of people do things in normal life that don’t sit well with every other individual on the planet. I can’t stand the smell of coffee, makes me feel physically ill, but I don’t go on about work colleagues who place a cup nearby on the desk. That’s life with other human beings.

I think if you want the pretend camping, fire pit lifestyle, live rurally (or go camping).

Across the road has one. It makes my washing & house stink & gets into all fabric like sheets etc. Closing windows means using air con. In summer I worry & check if a bushfire is around (in Oz).
Although in most summers here fires of any kind are banned if it's dry so they're useless!

Although in most summers here fires of any kind are banned if it's dry so they're useless!

Well, yes but I don’t know of anyone who uses them in summer. Not because of fire bans but because it’s hot as truck. We use them in winter/autumn. When it’s cold. Why would you think they are useless as you can’t use them in summer? Weird. I also live in Aust.

A family member has one and she often swoons about her husband lighting it and sitting out beside it in the evening like a caveman sort of thing.

I think they are smelly tacky polluting shite but just keep it to myself.

I see why people enjoy them but unfortunately they do affect my breathing so I would find it very difficult if our neighbours were to buy one.

We have one but rarely use it, we lit it for the first time in a couple of years one night this week, after an hour we'd had enough of the smoke and put it out again. I was worried about pissing off the neighbours as well even though they had no washing out and were indoors with windows shut.

Another vote for a chiminea here - my neighbour used to have one and I'd be a couple of metres away in my small garden and I barely noticed it. You can put shelves inside and do some cooking as well!

Oh dear, I was going to buy one (we camp a lot and planned on using it in the garden and on camping trips) and use it both as a 'novelty' heater, but also to grill on too. I live in an end of terraced on a private no through road. We all have front gardens, the road in between, then the opposite row facing us. Our deeds say we are not allowed to hang washing up in the front garden, we aren't meant to have garden fences (was all wrought iron when first built, but was taken away to be used in WW2) and we are aren't allowed sheds. Nothing about fires! One of the neighbours has went 'off grid' and burns wood constantly to heat the house, water and use for cooking and washing. I've never noticed the smell though. Many of the houses are 3/4 story with lots of fire places and I love being able to smell coal and wood burning on cold evenings. Hmmm, I may have to rethink this.

I'd love one but feel too sly on my neighbours. They wouldn't complain, but I would hate to be next door to one, but hopefully we can socialise more by summer, my friend doesn't have any neighbours close by and can enjoy hers.

We went to BIL's yesterday who lit the fire pit. All our clothes had to be washed as soon as we got in and I can't get the stink out of my hair. Hate them!

I have one i use occasionally. But I have a biggish garden and it's as far away from neighbours as possible. Plus one neighbour has a bonfire every week which is alot smokier and no one has complained about it (or maybe they have, but he keeps having one).
I'm moving to end of terrace with tiny gardens and if I did have one I'd use biofuel (no real heat from that though).

@HoppingPavlova

Love ‘em. We BBQ and have a fire pit. No trampoline but do have a pool and when the kids were young they were noisy in it. That’s suburban living. All of our neighbours also BBQ and use fire pits frequently. No idea about the freaking out that washing on the line needs to come in at the speed of light with these things. Some woodsmoke smell is fine. It may not sit well with some but plenty of people do things in normal life that don’t sit well with every other individual on the planet. I can’t stand the smell of coffee, makes me feel physically ill, but I don’t go on about work colleagues who place a cup nearby on the desk. That’s life with other human beings.

Yes but a cup of coffee doesn't send up particulates into the atmosphere that damages your lungs? Doesn't make YOUR clothes stink? I'm sure you wouldn't be so sanguine about your colleague lighting up a fat cigar next to you.

Great for the person burning it, horrible for neighbours. Wouldn't have one for that reason - don't have to be close neighbours either - it travels.

I have a Dyson air purifier and it goes nuts when someone is burning a fire and we have to close the doors and it's amazing to see the reading settle as it clears the air in the room again.

Just because some are not knocking on your door complaining doesn't mean you're not affecting neighbours.

I would never light one if I had close neighbours. Tbh, if you live near others, I think fire-lighting of any kind is really unsociable, especially on a summer's day when people are out sitting in and enjoying their gardens and have washing on the line etc. Fires to burn garden waste are just unnecessary too ; it's much better for the environment to compost.

Yes but a cup of coffee doesn't send up particulates into the atmosphere that damages your lungs? Doesn't make YOUR clothes stink? I'm sure you wouldn't be so sanguine about your colleague lighting up a fat cigar next to you.

Please, I live in a major city. Before fire pits were a thing and there were considerably less cars on the roads we had ‘city lungs’. I can remember chest surgeons exclaiming about the colour of lungs when we had someone from rural areas in having surgery as they were so pink compared to the colour we were used to seeing on an everyday basis from life. We didn’t all drop dead from everyday living, people lived to good ages. Over the decades cars have been fitted with anti pollutants, industry has restrictions on pollutants that never existed back then so swap in a little fire pit smoke every now and then, meh.

You would also be horrified to know that when I was a junior there was smoking in hospitals still so not only colleagues lighting up next to me but patients in wards also lighting up including in maternity. Yes, it’s a good thing that stopped, no arguments there. But a bit of fire pit smoke here and there, again meh, I’m not hysterical enough to think it will cause any lung damage to myself or nearest and dearest and happy for ourselves and neighbours to light up now and again in the cold weather.

I have one we light occasionally, I'm sure it will be more regularly now we can have guests in gardens not homes and it's cold - but I also have a trampoline and hot tub too so perhaps I have no right to be on mn at all

@AphroditeGoddessOfLove

My bastard neighbours have a fire every Sunday night in summer and I hate them for it. The neighbours the other side seem to wait until we have washing out to set fire to things and during lockdown 1 the surrounding houses took turns having fires so there was one every day. They're antisocial and awful.

Snap. I complained sometimes when I had to wash my washing again or when I was trying to put the children to bed and their room stank of smoke cos we'd had our windows open and didn't spot they'd lit it in time. They gave not two shits

Flamefast Instant Light Smokeless Fire Logs - Case of 12 Logs

Apologies to the couple of posters that asked about which smokeless logs I use - I didn’t check the thread! These logs are good, you just light the packaging and they last a couple of hours. We’ve also picked up some other smokeless logs from the local petrol station and they’ve been ok too. I’ve found they need to be dry too - the second anything is damp they really smoke.

@JaninaDuszejko

I think most people really don't care all that much. These kind of threads attract the kind of person who think children shouldn't be on trampolines before 1pm and after 1.01pm, having your washing out brings down the tone of the neighbourhood, no-one should ever practice a musical instrument at any time of day and you should definitely not allow your children to play with chalk on the cul de sac. If they think firepits are so awful they should write to their MP to get them banned. In the meantime, use smokeless fuel and enjoy it.

This.

I've got one and I love it but don't use if often out of consideration for neighbours.

Mine is actually my old washing machine drum - bringing a bit of Steptoe to the lives of middle class suburbia

We have one but it's away from houses, also it's important to use dry wood that's seasoned and stored in the dry. I wouldn't use one close to another house though. A chiminea might be less of an issue?

I like the smell of wood smoke but totally get that others don't and that there is an environmental cost.we have been given one which is great for outside eating/ entertaining In social distancing times and we will burn very well seasoned logs.

@Chicchicchicchiclana

I cannot understand why coal burning fires are quite rightly banned, and bonfires in urban areas, but these middle class status symbols of wood burning stoves and firepits are still being sold. Climate crisis??? Quite apart from annoyance to neighbours.

I'm sorry, but you really are wrong about this

"coal burning fires are quite rightly banned"

No they are not.

There are many built up areas that do not have smoke control zones.
For example, in the city where I live only about half of the city is covered by smoke control zones.

Even in areas that are covered by smoke control areas you are allowed to use smokeless coal.

"and bonfires in urban areas"

Again, bonfires - at least domestic bonfires - are not banned.