Making a fire pit, need some help

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  • tigman47
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2006
    • 274

    Making a fire pit, need some help

    Well basically will any metal work for this ? Any tips, hints, ideas ?
  • sstec
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2005
    • 124

    #2
    what kind of fire pit?

    just a metal ring sitting on the ground with an open bottom?
    I use HR, a little cheaper and is going to rust anyway...

    sstec

    Comment

    • Stick rod
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2005
      • 475

      #3
      I used a 20" truck wheel with three pieces of 3" angle welded to the bottom for legs to get it up off the ground.Works well for us.

      Comment

      • POWERSTROKE
        Member
        • Dec 2005
        • 70

        #4
        Back when I used to buy tires, wheels, & rims for International Harvester farm tractors My rim suppliers used to all say that rear farm tractor rims were the most frequently asked for "Sample parts" to use for fire pits. Now days they are mostly 16 or 18" wide, some as wide as 27" though, and 38 and even 42 & 46 inches in diameter. Smaller tractors = smaller rims. The demountable rims work best because there's no center dish to cut out. There's farm tractor salvage yards in every state. Demountable truck rims would work fine also and are made from thicker gauge steel so may last longer.
        Denny
        MillerMatic 185
        HyperTherm 600
        Dynasty 200 DX
        Will-Weld 200A Buzzbox
        O/A torch

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        • tigman47
          Senior Member
          • Jan 2006
          • 274

          #5
          Has to be off the ground so it don't burn the patio.

          Comment

          • wrench3047
            Senior Member
            • Dec 2006
            • 419

            #6
            being off the ground gives it a chance to burn a little better (airflow). also keeps the wind from pulling as many sparks into the air.
            Joe
            [email protected]

            Comment

            • cruizer
              Senior Member
              • Oct 2004
              • 8681

              #7
              I use an old washer drum and put bricks around it, works great!, 100% burn and easy to get rid of the ashes

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              • Coalsmoke
                Senior Member
                • Nov 2006
                • 2128

                #8
                Originally posted by cruizer
                I use an old washer drum and put bricks around it, works great!, 100% burn and easy to get rid of the ashes
                Cruizer, that idea is slicker than slug slime on christmas morning! I might have to make myself one like that too. BTW, did them decals ever go out? If so mine never showed.
                hre

                Comment

                • fatfrank
                  Senior Member
                  • Sep 2007
                  • 123

                  #9
                  Originally posted by tigman47
                  Well basically will any metal work for this ? Any tips, hints, ideas ?
                  As far as metal goes, as mentioned before, the cheapest is HR and would work fine. If this was going to set on my patio, I would really try and make it look nice and make a cool custom design. I wouldn't like a rusted up piece of crap setting on my patio. If it gets rusty, a quick wire brush and spray bomb of rustoleum high temp bbq paint does wonders on appearence.

                  Make sure your airflow is good. Keep the logs off the floor of the pit so air can bet under the logs, maybe a couple of vents in the side below the grate level helps keep the fire burning clean so it doesn't smoke up the patio too bad. A smoldering fire from lack of air is no fun to set around. You may want to make every thing easily removable which will help cleaning the ashes out easier. Some type of spark arrester or way to cover it would be good so you can leave it unattended if needed.

                  Comment

                  • Goulet!
                    Member
                    • Jun 2004
                    • 66

                    #10
                    Here is a pic of my fire pit. Its sits on the ground of course. Its a piece of 30" gas pipe and the grill I made out of angle iron and an oven rack.
                    Attached Files
                    Matt
                    MM175, Lincoln Ideal arc 250, Miller Legend

                    Comment

                    • halbritt
                      Senior Member
                      • Oct 2005
                      • 93

                      #11
                      A common practice at Burning Man is to make "burn barrels" which are basically comprised of a 55-gallon drum, some legs welded onto the bottom, and various designs cut into the sides that also serve the purpose of providing airflow. They work pretty well at providing heat and containing ashes and coals. I've seen some with a means of increasing airflow through the bottom of the fire, which improves the efficiency of burning fuel, but does little to provide radiant heat as coals are consumed too quickly.
                      - Heath

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                      • SS.
                        Member
                        • Feb 2006
                        • 51

                        #12
                        You cant go wrong with an old washer tub. I have one and it works great. heat comes out from the side of the holes and the smoke goes out the top. The white paint on the tub doesn't burn off either with all the heat. Its also portable, I take it with me on camping trips, everybody loves it.

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                        • fatfrank
                          Senior Member
                          • Sep 2007
                          • 123

                          #13
                          Originally posted by SS.
                          You cant go wrong with an old washer tub. I have one and it works great. heat comes out from the side of the holes and the smoke goes out the top. The white paint on the tub doesn't burn off either with all the heat. Its also portable, I take it with me on camping trips, everybody loves it.
                          Any chance you could post couple of pics? I would really like to check it out since I'm just visualizing a washing machine?

                          Comment

                          • SS.
                            Member
                            • Feb 2006
                            • 51

                            #14
                            I'll gets some pics up later today.

                            Comment

                            • SS.
                              Member
                              • Feb 2006
                              • 51

                              #15
                              Here the pics of The Washer Fire Tub...

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