Camp fire: Suggest chunk of steel to stabilize heat output?

[beppington]

My friends & I like to sit around campfires/ bonfires at my place for hours on end, & these fires sometimes take a lot of attention in order to try to maintain an even heat output, so you don't have to move closer & closer to the fire, & then back away from it when somebody puts more wood on it or pokes at it.

I wonder if putting a big, thick chunk of steel in the fire would help stabilize the heat output, since it would also get hot & radiate heat more consistently than wood alone.

What do you think? Will it work? Anything wrong with this idea? Is it safe?

Any ideas on what large chunk of metal to use, where to get it, etc.?

I thought of maybe visiting a shop that repairs big rigs, & asking if they have an old, un-usable axle/ hub unit, so I could stand it up like a pole that would radiate. Or maybe an old set of dumbbells.

What got me thinking about this is a campground we stayed at that had an old big rig rim (or maybe a tractor rim; can't recall) laid out at each site for your fire pit, & the campfires we had in those seemed very uniform, like the rim was radiating and/or the rim helped the wood burn more consistently.

 

[s219]

Steel will heat/cool very quickly. I think you want something that is slower, like fire brick. It will do better holding and evening out the heat. There is also a pizza oven brick that would be even better -- that's the whole purpose of it.

 

[beppington]

Ah, OK, good to know ... What about just cheap old 8x8x16 cinder blocks from Home Depot?

 

[Sutol]

I wonder why our ancestorts used to surround the fire with stones?

Could be to contain it but may have been something to do with retaining heat as well.

 

[Egon]

Be aware of exploding rocks and blocks.:thumbsup:

 

[Sutol]

Be aware of exploding rocks and blocks.:thumbsup:

Yes and wear goggles and a helmet oooh and gloves..forgot about the heath and safety

 

[beppington]

I wonder why our ancestorts used to surround the fire with stones?

Could be to contain it but may have been something to do with retaining heat as well.

Be aware of exploding rocks and blocks.:thumbsup:

Yes and wear goggles and a helmet oooh and gloves..forgot about the heath and safety

Yeah, I've seen what happens when you have rocks a fire, especially flint ... It shatters / explodes! ... and shoots out like bullets! Hot, sharp, firey bullets!

 

[powerpace]

The best way is to use a small amount of wood that burns slowly. Hardwoods are the best for longer heat with a little wood. Rocks and fire rings will radiate heat but you will still have to feed the fire.
The fire rings are to contain the fire to a particular area. Some people have no fire savvy. They will a build a fire anywhere without thought of danger or the mess fire leaves. Every year thousands of acres are burned because of no fire smarts.
I was raised with wood heat and have done lots of land clearing and wildfire fighting. It's amazing what people don't know about fire safety.

 

[Sutol]

Yeah, I've seen what happens when you have rocks a fire, especially flint ... It shatters / explodes! ... and shoots out like bullets! Hot, sharp, firey bullets!

Sorry...I just assumed that people would know what rocks to put around a fire and what to avoid.
Been messing with fire too long I spose

 

[tcartwri]

If you put a flat radiator behind the fire, it will broadcast the heat a lot further, but you will lose sitting area.