I was able to find what I thought was a decent— but expensive— propane fire pit from a local BBQ store. The assistant was not much help; he didn’t explain BTU’s and didn’t turn on the unit for me to have a hands-on experience.
He assured me that 40,000 BTU’s would be plenty. I purchased this fire pit on sale for $1800, but then they wanted $100 to assemble and $100 to deliver which I decided against— since I had paid twice as much as my budget allowed.
After some 2 hours and 120 screws and bolts, I finally got it working. But to my dismay, this fire pit was way too tall with the propane tank inside. I barely got heat to my upper chest, and needless to say, I was so flabbergasted and called and complained.
After returning that unit I felt with my low couch what I need was a low profile fire table so I can feel the heat from my legs to my head. I didn’t find anything out on the market like that, so I fabricated my very first low-profile unit at a fraction of the cost of what I had paid from the BBQ Store.
After showing friends and family my new custom unit, they all wanted me to build them one too. I had 5 orders and wasn’t even trying to start a business, but as things progressed and with the help of some online advertising, I was reaching people as far as San Francisco and San Diego to purchase my new fire pit tables.
I figured I had something going so I went one step further and began advertising HB Fire Pits and Fireplaces on Main St. during the Surf City Nights Street Fair “Every Tuesday Night from 5-9 pm” in 2009. I really became committed to my new venture and wanted to learn as much as possible to help people struggling with their fire pit search (as I did years prior).
Now, we have served over 1000 customers as a small family business, and we ship all around the nation. We even had a customer in Saudi Arabia and one in New Zealand, so it’s now official that we’ve gone global.
My goal now is to help those struggling to find the perfect fire experience with our custom gas fire pits or through the customization of their existing fireplace and mantle in their home.
I can only say thank you to all the folks from Huntington beach and everywhere else that have supported us on this amazing journey.
Hope to see you soon!
-Vinni D, The Fire Guy"