Solid Glass Fire Pit

Update! After listening to the observations from people with far more experience I think the experiment will end here and I do NOT recommend recreating this experiment. It seems that while it could be fine with controlled parameters or with a gas burner, the imprecise nature of a fuel like wood creates the opportunity for overloading and the design calibration of distance to fuel should not be relied upon. I was perhaps leaning too much on the 90 minute fire rating from the manufacturer which was well documented but I have seen too many last minute substitutions for materials that appear the same and the cheaper manufacturers documentation was less convincing. I am still curious about the parameters of a glass “explosion” and please weigh in with additional insights!

The idea of an all glass fire pit intrigued me ever since I discovered that solid glass bricks existed. I have heard repeatedly that glass will break under thermal shock and that an all glass fire wouldn’t work. In this video I test out these solid glass bricks on two different fire pits and tested them. I also experiment with cutting glass and drilling holes in solid glass using my angle grinder and diamond bits. Later in the video I interview glass artist Weston Lambert about working with solid glass.

Links:
Check out Weston Lambert’s youtube channel here:


For additional projects and information check out our website:

[HomeMadeModern]

Update! After listening to the observations from people with far more experience I think the experiment will end here and I do NOT recommend recreating this experiment. It seems that while it could be fine with controlled parameters or with a gas burner, the imprecise nature of a fuel like wood creates the opportunity for overloading and the design calibration of distance to fuel should not be relied upon. I was perhaps leaning too much on the 90 minute fire rating from the manufacturer which was well documented but I have seen too many last minute substitutions for materials that appear the same and the cheaper manufacturers documentation was less convincing. I am still curious about the parameters of a glass “explosion” and please weigh in with additional insights!

[chaseweeks]

For the final product, make sure you leave gaps in the bottom course to allow air to come in under the fire. You'll get far less soot if the fire can breathe well. That's how those popular smokeless fire pit things work.

[RobertSandell]

That concept was stunning!
I think the second larger fire pit also made it so that more air could get into the fire from the side causing it to not smoke/soot as much, so you got a trifecta of "clean" brick.
Potentially it could be enhanced further by combining the mesh you used on the first prototype, by adding in that and leaving some gaps between the bricks on the first layer that the mesh is resting on it would allow even more air to get to the fire from below and making the fire smoke even less by burning more cleanly and maybe even more lively.
But that could maybe also make the fire burn hotter causing more bricks to crack...

[Sevenfour]

5:27 Absolutely beautiful at night! If our material science improves and we could further refine Aluminium oxynitride or a better alternative I would love a fireplace like this. Perhaps a round one. Would’ve loved to see your final design come together.

[jeffreyhaines]

so friggin cool that you're experimenting with these. love fire pit #2 and all the different techniques you're trying with these beyond what's in the title

[raraavis]

I now need you to built an igloo from these 'ics blocks' in the the Arizona desert 😅
But seriously though, what a cool material to experiment with!

[tripuallampudi]

Very creative and aesthetically beautiful firepit. Thanks for sharing

[lejardine]

when you build the fire pit put the grate on the second or third course and take out a brick or two below the grate to allow for better air flow and less soot.

[andyba]

Probably not an issue for your climate but what would happen if it was hot and then it rained, would that make it crack more? and it would be good to see a temp reading of the outside of the glass after the fires been on awhile compared to brick. My gut tells me the glass would be a lot hotter.

[afonsosn]

Hi Ben. I'm a long time subscriber of the channel, and i must say that your last two videos are some of the best youtube content i've ever watched. Your channel is one of the reasons why i think youtube is an amazing tool. Congratulations and thank you so much for sharing.

[catgynt]

A suggestion for your fire pits, leave brick sized openings in the bottom row to allow combustion air under the grate. A 1/4” (pencil diameter) air gap between bricks will allow expansion and additional combustion air. Expensive yet interesting concept. A bit of ash on a damp cloth will remove smoke from glass and protect your laundry.

Thanks for sharing this insightful video. Wishing you a great week.

[pamelapruitt]

I am a lampworker of 20+ years. That glass powder is EXTREMELY damaging to your lungs if inhaled. A respirator would be a great idea. If you do any drilling or grinding on glass it is imperative that you keep ALL the powder wet. Also, clean up before it dries. And I would wear an apron and remove immediately after, straight to the washer. Our hobbies can be dangerous to our health.

[nadbwah]

The coffee stand at the end was beautiful it got me almost tears to my eyes from the stunningness

[dancoffeyuk]

Its really nice to see more of your design and thought process in your recent videos. Great work as always!

[Facetiously.Esoteric]

I just watched a channel who ran her glass for a month as an experiment a viewer suggested, and it came out looking much more like actual sea glass than her normal runs.
You should give it a try.

[edwardshumate]

Why no links for where you purchased the glass blocks?

[GregAtlas]

I bet you would have better luck with borosilicate glass if there were bricks of that available. That's the type of glass we use on 3d printer beds.

Might be fun to learn to mold your own bricks.

[Hazdazos]

It isnt every day that I see a really clever and original design on YT. This is very cool.

[casualroses]

Great video! I really like this pour over stand, but I also enjoy seeing you make them out of all the different materials.

[Adrian_Galilea]

Ohhh, love it!

I have been experimenting with this material for table lamps(the smokey ones), I made a few to gift this winter, overall loving it, seeing so many possibilities.