Steel for DIY Fire Pit - Advice Needed

[sixdogs]

Crusher cones that have been retired work real well as a fir pit, They can be found at your local gravel crushing pit.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cru...v&sa=X&ei=clyHVLrnIMvmoATL9oGwCg&ved=0CD4QsAQ

What exactly is a crusher cone and are there different sizes?

 

[Big Barn]

Several times an anti-warp rim has been mentioned. How about making that rim 3 to 4 inches wide, and level, for a food warming place. Bruce

Great idea, BethelHntr I just put in my request with buddies in the biz. I never would have thought of that. Thanks! Terry Oops sorry BethelHntr. I clicked on wrong quote. Can't figure out how to edit it out

 

[BethelHntr]

What exactly is a crusher cone and are there different sizes?

The crusher cone is used for crushing gravel to different sizes to meet the needs of the consumer, It is made out of manganeze and makes a sturdy, heavy fire pit. The side take the blunt of abuse, when they get to a certain thickness the are replaced with new cones. Some gravel crushing company's sell them to the public and some recycle them, Some might even be found on craigslist or if you have a friend in the biz he'll know where to get them, I got mine for free from a buddy at his work, He had two sizes available, 4ft and 5ft.

The link I posted above gives examples of crusher cone fire pits, This shows how it works, It takes large rock and turns it into gravel.

http://www.usedconecrushers.com/images/cone-crusher-movie_xyhy.gif

 

[sixdogs]

BethelHntr--thanks, There are some crusher places around here so I'll take a look. There must be some serious scrap value in them?

 

[Dutch445]

i would love one for a fire pit! i have been shopping for something and there are some
artsy ones that are beautiful, but very expensive, and i can't justify that for something
to burn in.
i checked searchtempest and didn't come up with anything but will see if i can find somebody
in one of the local quarrys and see if they use them around here.

 

[BethelHntr]

BethelHntr--thanks, There are some crusher places around here so I'll take a look. There must be some serious scrap value in them?

I'm not sure what they get for scrap but these are available in the next town from me for around $200 so not to terrible.

 

[BethelHntr]

i would love one for a fire pit! i have been shopping for something and there are some
artsy ones that are beautiful, but very expensive, and i can't justify that for something
to burn in.
i checked searchtempest and didn't come up with anything but will see if i can find somebody
in one of the local quarrys and see if they use them around here.

These will last forever and can say out of experience you'll only want to move these once due to their weight.

 

[BethelHntr]

Great idea, BethelHntr I just put in my request with buddies in the biz. I never would have thought of that. Thanks! Terry Oops sorry BethelHntr. I clicked on wrong quote. Can't figure out how to edit it out

My pleasure,

These work awesome for a fire pit and have used mine to cook a whole pig on a spit beside the fire, These cones radiate heat like crazy and are perfect for cooking.

 

[sixdogs]

Another thing worth considering is the spacer band off of large tractor duals. A 42" band would likely be more than 12" wide and look like those shown in the photo below. It's just a rolled band of steel that separates dual tires/wheels for multiple tire applications. Even new they can't cost all that much. Generic farm parts are relatively cheap. Just a thought.













I can't get the photo below removed. It was supposed to be an example of a dual setup--and it is--but this one only has the dual bands in front.. Sorry about this.

 

[ZAR2USA]

Another thing worth considering is the spacer band off of large tractor duals. A 42" band would likely be more than 12" wide and look like those shown in the photo below. It's just a rolled band of steel that separates dual tires/wheels for multiple tire applications. Even new they can't cost all that much. Generic farm parts are relatively cheap. Just a thought. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/welding/401987-steel-diy-fire-pit-advice-china_spacer_band_sb4020c_sb4020k_sb4020r_sb4415c_sb4220c_sb3320k201112221531567-jpg"/>

Great idea!

 

[Cord]

I found one at a salvage yard. They had taken a demolished high tension utility pole and cut it into 16" pieces. The wall is about 3/8" and my section is about 60" across. Weighs around 250lbs. I then dug a hole and rolled the piece into the hole. Works great and I really like having the fire down in the ground. Air draw does not appear to be an issue.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Just as an aside

In our hood there is a company that does pipe work. I mean like 24" pipe work, not 1/2" not sure for what but there scrap metal pile is a gold mine for fire pit material. I even think the local parks department raids their scrap all the time for firepit rings.

 

[FTG-05]

Go big or go home!

I used 3/4" plate steel that my old neighbor's wife gave me just after he died. He was a member of a local railroad club - not a model railroad club, but a real railroad. They had about 5-6 miles of track just east of Huntsville, AL.

I forget what these particular pieces of steel are called but they are used when tracks cross or come together.

Good luck!

 

[yomax4]

I cut the end off of an old 200gln propane tank. Set it on a truck rim and welded it. Plaz'd a few holes in the bottom and threw in a hunk of heavy rock quarry screen. Never painted it and it's 15yrs old.

 

[chim]

A few years ago our COO at work asked if I could have our weld shop guys make a smallish fire thing for his wife - a cat lover. We took a large leftover weld reducer and plasma cut cat silhouettes in each quarter. She loved it.

 

[gsganzer]

I posted this one I saw in Africa a while back. It was made of hex rod, but you could do the same thing with some #8 rebar. The ash/ember pan could be made by a local shop using 304 stainless or inconel. Put a larger fire ring of concrete block or stone, similar to what's in the photo.

 

[Egon]

For a fire pit. ( hill )

use about sic 2 by 2 concrete sidewalk blocks placed on a gravel pad about one foot high. Or some large slate rocks.
lots of air circulation. Easy to set up a cooking platform, gives nice heat to surroundings, let’s you use longer lengths of wood.

 

[dj1701]

Unless you want to move it all over to different places, I'd just use stone. This is what I did in a day. Took 3 ton of pea gravel, and some landscape stones.

 

[BoonieX739]

I found a section of 3/8" wall Stainless Pipe x 3ft diameter x 28" tall. I dug a hole in the ground, then poured 4" thickness of concrete, then set two layers of fire brick on the concrete, then set the section of pipe on top. I then added sand to fill any gaps between the bricks. I have a 3ft diameter stainless commercial dryer drum I use universally, on top, as a containment cage when burning lots of paper, which can be rotated so (if windy) the sparks do not get blown out. I can stand the dryer drum upright to create a stack. I have a 1" stainless rod (drove into the ground) next to the pipe, with a stainless framed/screen that rotates freely on a preset stainless collar which is on the 1" rod.

There are no "draw" holes cut in it. This set-up puts out a TON of heat.

I've been using this setup for 20+ years.