Fire pits are a great way to get outside and enjoy these beautiful cool night's

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Fire pits are a great way to get outside and enjoy these beautiful cool night's.

There are several types of Fire pits, wood burning, propane, and natural gas.

Remember to have your fire pit on a non-combustible surface so we have no accident's. You can use patio blocks or pavers as a base.

Remember to keep the wood dry if you use the wood burning version, wet wood will not burn.  Set up your fire pit away from your home so you do not melt your siding etc.

Here is a breakdown of the 3 Basic Fire Pits:

Wood:

With the wood burning pits you would light these like any fireplace, use kindling to initiate the fire and you will burn firewood, being careful to mind the popping that is created with the wood fire. It is a great idea to have a screen or top over the fire to protect the people around the fire pit.

Propane:

Or low pressure gas. These fire pits are usually designed with a simulated log fire, you can light this and the propane will burn a nice even flame. You can relax around the propane fire pit without the popping of the wood like in the wood burning fire pit's. Keep in mind these operate on a 20 lb propane tank like that of your barbecue.

Natural Gas:

These fire pits would have to be installed by a qualified licensed plumber as you would for the stove in your home. The big advantage with these over the others, is that you would have an endless supply of fuel for the fire pit, with no worries of running out of propane or wood.

Many manufacturer's offer all the above designs.

You just have to decide which type you prefer. I love the real wood burning pit. There are also many styles available including the chimney style. Or you can design your own fire pit and have it built to your specific needs.

This is the best time of year to get outside and get that warm and cozy feeling.

Until Next Time...

"MY SPA IS FROZEN" What do I do now?

Rick the Spa Guy

My spa is frozen, what do I do now? If this is what you are thinking now you are not alone.

With the brutally cold winters some areas of the country get it is bound to happen. If you are like me and always on the run and have no time to spare, you probably have neglected your spa as well. The rule of thumb is to check on your spa twice a week.

So now you go out and check on the spa and find that nothing is working and the water in the spa is frozen on the top of it, now what?

Well, the answer is DEFROST IT, LOL. Seriesly, you will need to warm up the area under the cabinet where the pumps and plumbing are. If you get a small SAFE portable heater then you can open the skirt of the spa and place the heater inside the cabinet behind the pumps and let the heater heat up the plumbing and the pumps for 24-36 hrs, be sure to check on the heater often so there are no accidents with the heater.



Space Heaters are available on Amazon.com


Most of the newer space heaters have safety features to auto shut off if the heater tips over or overheats. As the heater is heating up the compartment you can take a hair dryer and go under and start blow drying the plumbing in front of the pumps to try and speed up the process.

This is a slow process but very effective, I have had several spas freeze last year and all but one was thawed out with minimal damage to plumbing. the sooner you catch it the better off you will be. Make sure to turn off the breakers to the spa as soon as you realize it has frozen so you do not dso any further damage to the pumps etc.

Once the spa plumbing is thawed out then turn the breakers back on and go through the spa functions to be sure they all work, reset the tempreture of the spa and monitor it to make sure it will heat up on its own.

Until Next Time...