Fire Pit Snuffer Lids, Ash, and End of Night Care

March 25, 20243 min readWalden Backyards

Note: The Legacy Series insert is no longer in production. The insert set we carry now is the Burly Comfort II, which fits stone and masonry openings from 27 to 44 inches and includes a snuffer lid. This article has been updated to describe it.

Most of the advice about fire pits is about getting the fire going. Far less of it covers the other half of the evening, which is putting the fire out, dealing with the ash, and keeping weather out of the pit until next time. Those three things decide how often you actually use the pit, and they are worth getting right.

1. A Lid Puts the Fire Out Properly

Water is the usual answer and it is a poor one. It throws steam and ash everywhere, it leaves a cold slurry you have to shovel out before the next fire, and on hot stone it can do real damage. A snuffer lid works the other way, by cutting off the air. Set it on, walk away, and the fire goes out on its own as the oxygen runs down. The ash stays dry and the pit is ready to light again.

2. The Lid Is Also Your Rain Cover

An open pit collects everything the sky sends down. Water sits in the ash, turns it into a paste that is miserable to clean out, and works into the joints of your stonework where it freezes and thaws all winter. Leaving the lid on between fires solves that for free. The Comfort II includes a lid sized to the insert, so this is not an accessory you have to go looking for later.

3. Let the Ash Cool Before You Touch It

Embers hold heat far longer than people expect. A bed of ash that looks dead in the morning can still be hot enough to start a fire in a trash can, which is how most fire pit accidents actually happen. Give it a full day, two if the fire was a big one, then move it into a metal container with a lid and keep that container off anything wooden. Wood ash is fine spread thinly on a garden bed, but not around acid-loving plants like blueberries or azaleas.

4. Clear the Ash Out Regularly

A deep bed of old ash chokes the air supply coming up from underneath, and a fire starved of air is a fire that smokes. Clearing it out is the simplest smoke reduction available and it costs nothing. On the Comfort II the floor is solid and vented, so the ash stays contained in the insert rather than sifting down into your stonework, and clean-up is a matter of lifting it out once cold.

5. Know Your Pit Is Actually Out

This is the part worth being deliberate about. Fire deserves respect, and the last five minutes of the night are where people get casual. A heavy snuffer lid takes the guesswork out: once it is seated, the fire has nothing left to burn with. Check local fire restrictions before you light up, keep a hose or an extinguisher within reach, and never leave a fire unattended while it is still showing flame.

Burly Comfort II Smokeless Fire Pit Insert Set
A double-wall insert that drops into the stone or masonry pit you already built. Air enters through the lower vents, heats between the walls and feeds back in above the fire for a second burn. Three sizes cover openings from 27 to 44 inches, round or square, and the snuffer lid is included.

The Short Version

Smother the fire instead of drowning it, leave the lid on between fires, let the ash go properly cold before it moves, and clear it out often enough that air can still get under the fire. None of that is difficult, and it is the difference between a pit you use most weekends and one you stop bothering with. If you are shopping for the insert itself, the Comfort II insert set comes with the lid included.