Fire basket

A typical fire basket

A fire basket has been set up since ancient times mainly for lighting and warming rooms. Nowadays it is usually used in the garden , where it is mainly used as a heat source and patio oven and sometimes also for grilling . The fire basket serves to limit the fuel (mostly wood ), but represents an open fireplace in terms of fire protection .

It consists of a heat-resistant metal vessel with high, mesh-like or lattice-like side walls pierced by large recesses and an underlying, sometimes separate, bowl for collecting the ashes . Fire baskets are usually made of steel , iron or cast iron .

Related to the fire basket is the fire bowl , which, in addition to being used as a heat source, is often also used to prepare food by cooking or grilling, and was previously used for other purposes.

use

Vippefyret in Skagen: from 1627 to 1747 the fire baskets were raised with a lever arm (2018)

In addition to simple lighting and heating functions, fire baskets had a wide variety of tasks:

So fire baskets in lighthouses served the beacon . On the Altenburg in Bamberg , a fire basket is said to have served as a signal transmitter in communication with the neighboring Giechburg .

Before the introduction of electrically operated document shredders on the market , the fire basket was widely used in the office for the thermal destruction of secret documents (seen in some historical films ).

Today, fire baskets can be found almost exclusively in the garden area and rarely in public open spaces such as in parks . In addition to their main use as a heat source and patio oven, they are also used as "mobile campfires " and "mood elements" and are sometimes used for grilling . Since flying sparks can occur during use due to the large side openings , manufacturers and advisory media recommend that the fire basket "always be placed on a fire-proof surface" such as stone slabs or a gravel surface. Many manufacturers also offer special base plates (shims). The general safety instructions also include the fact that fire baskets may only be used “outdoors” and that they must always be set up “as far as possible from flammable materials” such as wooden furniture, plastic garden furniture or plants. In addition, only "approved fuel" such as firewood should be used, but no garden waste.

Various manufacturers offer appropriate accessories for use as a grill, such as attachable grill grates . Together with a tripod and an attached, height-adjustable grill grate, a fire basket can be used as a swivel grill .

Until the end of the 20th century, hot pots were still of great importance for the destruction of confidential or secret files and documents. With the introduction of electric document shredders, this importance declined in Germany, but is still taking place in some cases. B. in the armed forces abroad, if the appropriate shredder is not or not yet available.

Antique bronze fire basket from Pompeii that served as a source of light and heat
The old white lighthouse in Skagen , with a fire basket as a beacon on the roof
Commercially available fire basket made of steel , with a base frame with an integrated base plate
Fire basket, here as a heat source in the patio area ( " Terrace Oven ")