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pit firing/air circulation

updated wed 17 nov 99

 

Scott North on tue 16 nov 99

Hi Lisa,
If your pit is not packed too densely(like burying everything in
fine sawdust), air should have no trouble circulating around the pots.
What works well for me is to loosely pile the combustibles around the pots
until they are a couple of feet over the top of the pots. Then start the
fire and keep adding wood until the pots are completely covered in a bed of
glowing embers. Now you can quit fueling the fire and watch as the burning
embers act almost like a living organism, drawing air down into the fire
and creating channels for air circulation as the embers settle
differentially around the pots.
If you want to intervene a little, you might try placing several
lengths of copper or ceramic pipe into your pit, one end near the pots, the
other out of the burn. This should accelerate the natural air circulation
and the copper pipe may flash onto the pots. I will try this copper pipe
thing on Thanksgiving and post the results. Good luck and enjoy the fire.
Scott



Scott C. North
Geology Department
Humboldt State University
Arcata, CA 95521
phone: (707) 826-3210
FAX: (707) 826-5241