Concrete Fire Bowl

C. D. Scallan
by C. D. Scallan
6 Materials
$15
2 Days
Medium
I've been looking at DIY fire pits and fire bowls for some time now because the store bought one we have is on it's last legs and requires wood which is not always easily acquired. So when super hubby bought a large bag of concrete for another project and didn't use all of it, I literally pounced on the remaines!
So I started out with some cheap bowls from the Dollar Tree, petroleum jelly, a bucket, a paint stirrer, wire mesh and sterno.
I coated the inside of the large bowl and the outside of the smaller bowl with petroleum jelly. Then mixed up the concrete in bucket using ABOUT a 5:1 ratio. It should look like a really thick batter.
Then I poured the concrete in the large bowl and placed the small bowl in the center after tapping on sides of the bowl to remove air bubbles. Fyi, if you forget this step, the concrete will weaken and crumble later. I weighed down the small bowl with a paint can and left it to cure for 48 hours.
Next, I cut out wire mesh to surround the sterno can. I did this because the tutorial that inspired me used gravel around the can to keep it place but I found a bag of play sand in the garage and wound up using that (worked out fine.) I also cut out some wire mesh to go on top of the sterno inside the concrete bowl.
I placed the sterno inside the bowl and surrounded it with sand. Then I placed the wire mesh on top and covered it with flatt glass marbles I had leftover from another project.
Here it is, lit up on the patio table! It's a little hard to see flame but it works great! I love it. What are you making to keep warm?
Suggested materials:
  • Quickcrete   (Lowe's)
  • Bowls   (Dollar Tree)
  • Petroleum jelly   (Dollar Tree)
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Karen Morba Karen Morba on Apr 04, 2019

    Love this! Question? How do you go about changing the Sterno? It would seem when you remove an empty one, the sand, in this case, will fill the Sterno hole?

  • Nancy Nancy on Sep 09, 2019

    I'd like to burn wood in this, would it be sturdy enough?

    Do you think it should be reinforced with wire mesh or something similar?

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 2 comments
  • Wendy Wendy on Feb 11, 2018

    Hmm I think it's time I make one! This is so great!

    • C. D. Scallan C. D. Scallan on Feb 11, 2018
      Thank you Wendy ! This was so much easier than I thought it would be and everyone who has seen it so far has been so impressed :-)
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