Make fire like a pro!
How do I start a fire in the fire bowl without smoke and flying sparks?
What should I pay attention to when lighting a fire bowl?
- Pay attention to the right choice of wood. Softwood is easier to ignite than wood from deciduous trees and burns very quickly. It is well suited as firewood. It should be mixed with hardwood (beech, ash, oak) when the fire is already burning, so that it burns more slowly.
- It is not necessary to explain here that liquid firelighters are very risky. More suitable are solid lighters such as wood wool. If you don't have any at hand, you can help yourself with candle remnants in newspaper or pine cones.
- No matter which wood you use, the residual moisture should always be below 20%. A residual moisture of less than 20% can be achieved by cutting the trees in winter and storing them correctly for about 2 years (split). For example in a firewood rack.
- Birch wood has a high calorific value, as do beech, maple, robinia, cherry and ash. However, birch has the additional property that it produces almost no smoke and is therefore particularly popular for fire pits in the garden.
- If you barbecue with your fire bowl, please make sure that the wood is untreated. Only when the wood has almost no flame and only glows, you start grilling. Over a flame, the grilled food would only unnecessarily blacken, whereupon taste and health suffer.
- A fire always burns from the bottom up, so you should always light it from the bottom.
- Fire needs oxygen. It is best to light it from the bottom. Ideal is a hole in the middle of the fire bowl thereby a chimney effect is created. Pile it up with proper space in between.
- Do not take too much firewood at once, rather add wood more often!
- Keep distance to combustible materials, at least 3 - 5 meters.
How do I extinguish a fire bowl?
The fire bowl should not be left alone, even with residual embers. A strong gust of wind could create flying sparks and ignite surrounding objects. When the fire is out you can extinguish the remaining embers with water. Either way, always have extinguishing water nearby in case sparks fly and a fire starts. Or they extinguish the embers with dry sand. You can also use an extinguishing lid to smother the remaining embers. If you have a fire bowl made of low quality alloy steel, you should expect that your fire bowl will start to rust when it comes into contact with water. This does not happen with our high-quality fire bowls made of stainless steel / V2A. Therefore, ask before buying, from which steel it was made. Even with stainless steel there are differences in quality!
How do I clean a stainless steel fire bowl?
- The fire bowl should be completely cooled down.
- Work with protective gloves best outside
- Remove ash and soot with a shovel and a broom
- Take warm water and a mild detergent, soak the fire bowl for a few minutes. Then you can clean the fire bowl with a sponge or brush. Please do not use wire brushes!
- Finally, rinse the fire bowl thoroughly with clean water and rub it dry with a paper towel
- Alternatively, you can also use grill cleaner or fireplace cleaner
- If you discover rust on your Stainless steel fire bowl, remove it. There are suitable agents and stainless steel care in the trade for this purpose.
- A good alternative to rust removers is an old home recipe of baking soda and vinegar.
- Leave this to soak in for a few hours. Then you can easily wipe off the rust. Again, as explained above, the fire bowl should be cleaned with water and dried with a household towel to prevent rusting
How to store a fire bowl?
To keep his fire bowl in perfect condition and give it a long life, there are a few important care tips that you should follow. In winter, you should cover the fire bowl and store it in a dry place to protect it from dirt, rain, snow and rust. The best place for this is a cellar, garage or shed. If everything is not available, a covered area will also do.
Which fire bowls are suitable as a barbecue?
To barbecue with a fire bowl should be made of steel, cast iron or stainless steel. All 3 materials are characterized by high temperature resistance. Fire bowls made of simple alloy steel that are even painted start to rust after a short time and are usually very unsightly after a short time. The paint can get cracks from 600 ° C this accelerates the process of rusting and the supposedly beautiful appearance was once. Cast iron is somewhat better, but also tends to rust, depending on the material mix. However, stainless steel is best suited because of its extremely long durability.
But even here caution is advised, because there are many types of stainless steel. Here are the 2 types of stainless steel that are the most common in terms of price-performance ratio:
- Stainless steel 201 is the cheapest stainless steel on the market, it is very hard, but tends to rust.
- Stainless steel 304 also V2A, material 1.4301 is the better choice here, because this has significantly better corrosion resistance and for this reason is also used in the food industry.
Another important tip about the material, if you decide to use a high-quality fire bowl made of V2A, never combine it with cheap materials that could rust. There is a risk that the stainless steel becomes infected and despite its good properties begins to rust.
How do I grill with my fire bowl?
With a fire bowl that has a hole at the bottom, you can burn small amounts of wood, charcoal or wood briquettes in a controlled manner. Through the additional ventilation, you achieve higher temperatures and a clean burn. With the right accessories, a plancha or fire plate with spacer or a grill grate, you can also use it perfectly as a grill. Here there are many sophisticated accessories: for example, a wok attachment or pot attachment, or a grill attachment that prevents the vegetables through the hole in the middle of the grill plate rolls into the fire.
Are fire bowls subject to approval?
Fire bowls up to 100cm are usually not subject to approval. Fires in fire bowls and fire balls are called cozy or warming fires because of their size and controlled burning. However, fire bowls over 100cm in diameter often require a permit. As "installations not requiring a permit", fire bowls and fireballs can also be used as barbecues. If the diameter is over 100cm, an official permit is often required.
Important for the permit-free use of fire bowls and fireballs is also the compliance with the Federal Immission Control Act and the State Immission Control Act. This means the fire bowls and fireballs may not be used for waste disposal, burning of plant waste such as tree and shrub cuttings. Only approved burning materials such as firewood or barbecue charcoal may be burned.
In general, fire bowls, fire balls and fire baskets are to be operated in such a way that the immediate surroundings are not endangered or harassed. Flying sparks as well as excessive smoke development (due to wood with too much residual moisture) must therefore be avoided at all costs (as with barbecues). If social facilities such as schools or hospitals are in the vicinity, special care must be taken to ensure that neither odor nor smoke pose a danger or a nuisance. As a tenant or leaseholder, you should also observe the house rules and clarify whether barbecuing in fire bowls is permitted on your premises.
In hot summers with dry periods, you should check whether forest fire stages have been declared before each barbecue with the fire bowl. If forest fire level II has been proclaimed, any kind of fire in the garden is taboo. As the fire risk posed by dried out shrubs is too great and a fire - however compact - in the garden is therefore prohibited by law.
You can often get more detailed information on the local legal situation from your local authority.
How often are you allowed to barbecue with the fire bowl?
You are allowed to barbecue as often as long as your surroundings are not significantly affected by it. An occasional barbecue will certainly not cause a significant disturbance to the neighbors. Nevertheless, the requirement of neighborly consideration should always be the highest principle. It is very important that no smoke or fumes enter the living and sleeping quarters of the neighbors, so that no nuisance is caused.
Can I barbecue on the balcony with the fire bowl?
No, this is prohibited. In most cases, regulations on distances are not to be observed. This concerns combustible materials as well as the neighbors. Fire bowls or fire baskets should also not be placed under canopies such as pergolas or awnings.
What is the wood consumption for a fire bowl?
For a fire bowl with a diameter of 60 cm, 2.5 kg - 3 kg of wood per hour should be used
For a fire bowl with a diameter of 80 cm, 3.5 kg - 4 kg of wood per hour are required
For a fire bowl with a diameter of 100 cm, calculate 4.5 kg - 6 kg of wood per hour
How do I layer the wood in the fire bowl?
- The pyramid shape take 2-3 pages of an old newspaper and form it into a ball, put it in the middle of the fire bowl, you can also use grill lighter
- Take wood chips and put them in the shape of a tent
- Over it comes a little thicker wood now they ignite the paper
- As soon as the fire is burning properly, place larger logs of hardwood on top of it
- Be careful not to smother the flame with too much wood
How do I make log layering?
- Place softwood chips in the middle of the fire bowl with a distance of about 3cm
- Turn the 2 layer of chips 90° so that there is always enough air to circulate.
- Ignite the wood with newspaper or barbecue lighter
- Once the fire is burning properly, place larger logs of hardwood on top of it
- Be careful not to smother the flame with too much wood
How hot does a fire bowl get?
Directly in the flame, a fire bowl can become very hot. Here temperatures can develop up to 450-500°C and more, depending on the type of wood, charcoal or barbecue briquette used.
A current trend is grilling on the grill ring, also called plancha or fire plate
What is a planch and what should it be like?
A grill ring is a round plate made of metal or stainless steel. To attach this grill ring to your fire bowl you need a holder. In the best case with spacers to achieve better air circulation. Thus, the fire bowl will be hotter and there is less smoke.
What diameter should the grill ring have?
The grill ring should be at least large enough to completely cover the fire bowl or slightly larger. If the grill ring extends beyond the fire pit, they will have a nice warming zone in the outer area for finished grilled food.
What thickness should the grill ring have?
It should be at least 4mm thick. Better a little more the larger the diameter of the fire bowl is.
How hot should a grill plate be?
In the center of the grill plate, depending on the type of firing, it can get 300 to 400 °C hot. At the outer edge, temperatures of 60-80°C set in. For grilling, you need temperatures of approx. 95°C to 290°C, depending on the food being grilled. With charcoal, you generally only achieve lower temperatures on the grill plate than with firewood. Experiment with the amount of fuel you use. However, it should be centered under the grill plate in any case.
Why is the grill ring burned in and how do you prepare it for this?
Before the first use, the fire plate is then burned in. This prevents burning of the grill food and facilitates future cleaning. Inferior fire plates are also protected from rust in this process. However, this is not necessary with our grill plate made of V2A stainless steel
- First clean the grill plate with a damp cloth and then heat the grill plate slowly but thoroughly
- Now coat the heated plate again and again with an oil-soaked cloth at very high heat. Gradually the desired patina is formed
- You can also carry out this process additionally with potato slices with salt. The potatoes and the oil will simply be burned
- Take up to 1.5 hours for this process to achieve an optimal result and repeat the process 5-6 times
- Let the plate cool down afterwards and clean it roughly from combustion residues
- Cleaning with detergents is not advisable to preserve the patina and let it grow from time to time
- For optimal grilling pleasure, you can wet the grill plate very lightly with vegetable oil for further use
- The grill ring requires less fat each time it is grilled until the patina has fully matured
Grilling with the fire ring / fire plate
Before grilling, spread a heat-resistant oil, sunflower oils or rapeseed oils on the plate in an extremely thin layer using a kitchen towel or grill brush and grill tongs. In this way, the grilled food does not stick and can be turned easily. Place the food on the grill, such as meat, sausages, grill skewers peppers or other vegetables.
The grill ring is divided into several temperature zones:
- Inner ring: in this zone above the fire is the greatest heat. It is suitable for searing, branding steak and grilling meat, sausages and fish.
- Middle area: This is where vegetables, cutlets and anything that doesn't need as much heat is grilled.
- The outer ring: is best for keeping warm and slow cooking. Grade if it is outside the fire bowl and therefore does not get so hot. Here you grill vegetables, stuffed mushrooms or bake thin pita bread and foods that would burn on the inner ring.
- Outer ring: this zone is primarily for keeping food warm or for slow cooking, as this area of the fire plate is often outside the fire bowl and absorbs the least heat.
How to transport a fire bowl/ fire sphere.
Should you choose a stainless steel fire bowl you will find that it is significantly heavier than its cheap competitors made of painted black steel or corten steel. Therefore, it is recommended that you always carry your fire bowl in pairs. Especially when it is still warm. Do not forget to put on heat-resistant gloves.
