One of the greatest challenges of a wood burning fire pit is actually getting the fire going. Inevitably the first outdoor fire of the year, I can’t get the fire to start because the bowl is wet or the wood is damp, and eventually I soak everything in gasoline. The Saturn Fire Pit (click here to see it) comes with a lot of great fireside tools like a spark screen and a long steel poker for moving the logs, but my favorite feature is the log grate. Here are a few reasons why log grates are great:

1. It makes lighting the fire easier—it elevates the logs off of the bottom of the bowl providing good air circulation which will help the flame catch and keep it burning better/longer.
2. Protects the fire bowl—it keeps the hot logs off of the bottom of the bowl protecting it from intense heat. Most fire pits are made to handle this anyway, but it will prolong the life of your fire pit.
3. Gives you more heat—along with the air flow thing, the oxygen supply will keep the flames fueled so they burn longer and hotter. You will have more consistent, hot heat to enjoy outside, which is especially nice on brisk evenings.

I don’t know why, but it seems like with many wood burning fire pits, they don’t come with a fire grate and you have to buy it separately. It’s just nice that this fire pit is affordable and comes with most of the accessories you can get for a fire pit. And the fire grate is just plain great.