Materials to build a fire pit?

Factual Questions
1

(I apologize if this topic has been covered recently. Search hasn’t been working for me all day.)

Lately, I’ve seen lots of portable outdoor fire pits in stores. This is an example of what I’m talking about.

I believe it is against the law here in town to have an open campfire, but apparently, the elevated fire pits and chimneas are allowed. I asked at the local Smith & Hawken, and they said that as far as they knew, they were legal, and that they were selling lots of them.

This kind of fire pit appeals to me for a couple of reasons, other than legality: First of all, I have a tiny yard, so I’d like something I can move out of the way if I need the space. Second, I’d like something that I can easily store away. Ideally, I’d like something that I could even put away between uses.

But, of course, I can’t just do the easy thing and just buy one. I really just like to make things myself, especially out of found or scrounged materials.

But the problem is that I’m not really sure what kinds of materials are good to use to contain fire. I don’t know which metals are heat-resistant enough. I know that some types of stone and brick are unsuitable, but I’m not sure which ones. Can I use sand to build the fire on?

One idea that I’m considering is filling some sort of metal pan or tub with sand and building the fire on that. Would that work?

The specs for this particular fire pit are that it be small–2 feet is about the maximum. It should be portable. It should be cheap. I don’t need a cooking grate.

But I’d also like more general information on good materials to use to build fires on. If we enjoy the pit, we might want to invest in a more elaborate one.

Also, I need to cover up a hole in the bottom of our fireplace. There’s a hatch that leads to a chute where I can brush the ashes, but the hatch no longer stays closed, and the clean-out is mostly inaccessable. So, I’d like to cover the hole somehow, but I’m not sure what to use. It’s about 6"x6". Maybe some kind of sheet metal?

Thanks in advance!

2

Here is some information for you

[ul]:wink: [sup]Pretty good stuff.[/sup][/ul]

3

Do you (or a neighbor) have an old webber charcoal grill?? You could cut the legs off it (to the proper height) and use that. And if you mount the wheels back on, you could easily push it away between uses.

4

If you go with a pourous stone, moisture and heat combined have a tendancy to shatter them. (Yes, smee knows what I am speaking of, I have done it.)
Seal it. Better yet, A good brick is the way to go. (solid, the ones with the holes for rebar exc. have a tendency to crack in the winter.

5

Would a 55-gallon drum work? I can get my hands on a 55-gallon steel drum easily. If I cut it off about a foot from the bottom, could I use the bottom as a fire pan? I could easily set it on some cinderblocks or bricks when I’m using it.

I know the welds on 55 gallon drums are very strong, but are they built to withstand fire? Would it be worthwhile to put a layer of sand in the bottom?

The drums that I can get easily are ones that have contained solvents (like acetone). Once the residue burns off, will I have any problems using a drum that contained flammable stuff?

6

55 gal drums worked fine for us camping with a youth group I was involved with. We would cut one off just above the lower band. A word of caution, make sure the drum does not contain flammable vapors from it’s former content, a spark from cutting can have spectacular, and possibly fatal consequences, happened to a friend of my father years ago. Also make sure that the paint and any residue is burned off before using it for cooking, we took care of all this before using it with the kids, of course. Just set it up on 3 rocks and its good to go, put about an inch or two of sand in the bottom. The drum lasts all season, then throw it out and get a new one, should be free if you ask around.

7

A 55 gallon drum will work just fine, but I still like the idea of using a tire rim. :slight_smile:

8

Ah, but a tire rim won’t be as portable! The drum idea sounds like just the ticket!

Any thoughts on how to burn off the flammable residue? Any thoughts on how to cut it? What about how to finish the edge so that it’s not too sharp?

9

We would cut the drum off just above one of the rings with a fine tooth metal cutting blade in a sawzall and then hammer it down so the metal folded over on itself, easer than it sounds once you get it started. If the drum contained acetone as you mentioned or some other solvent of this type I would make certain that it is well ventilated before cutting. Leave it in the sun with the bungs removed for several days until any trace of vapor has dissipated. Then just build a fire in it, the paint on the outside should be the only problem, and it will burn off quickly. Some drums may have a coating on the inside as well. I would definitely stay up wind until all this is gone. The ones we used were always fairly clean, I wouldn’t use one that had an unknown or hazardous content.

10

Thanks so much for your help, bbill!

Fortunately, the ones that I can get have a known content. Unfortunately, it is a flammable known content! I don’t know if it counts as “hazardous” or not. I have two sources where I can get steel drums. One is from someone who manufactures stuff using acetone. The other is from a lacquer company. They buy reconditioned drums, and they might be willing to give me a freshly reconditioned one, which should be fairly clean.

Fortunately, my husband is a safety nut, so I’ll let him engineer the ventilating and cutting. And he sure does love to us his sawzall!

And we do need a big garbage can for the garage, so I can use the other part of the drum for that. Cool!