I'm looking for an inexpensive, unique idea for a backyard firepit. I see these made of all kinds of metal, but don't want to risk using something that will melt! Can an old washtub be used for this or do I need something heavier?
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when we lived in CA, we went to a party where the host used the drum of a clothes washer as his fire pit. It looked very pretty with all the small drain holes emitting light through it. I think i am using the correct term....drum. The big cylinder part that you put your clothes into. Anyway, he just had it sitting straight up on a thick layer of sand in his yard with chairs all around to keep us warm on that cool night. If this appeals to you, you can check for a discarded washer on freecycle.org for your area or craigslist.com's free section. Good luck!
Hi. In our city you can only have a fire in the backyard if it is ABOVE GROUND. So if you cant afford one of those 60 dollar ones, you can use any old grill on bricks out back. It burns wood nicely and is totally legal in town. (smiles to you) - just get rid of the grates and make sure there are bricks underneath.
Yep, drum of an old washer, the holes let in oxygen and keep in the ash, and the older ones are heavy duty! I wish my yard was big enough for a fire pit! I grew up with one in the backyard and have many memories of just hanging out for hours back there.
Why not just make it out of stone? put a grate over the stones, make the stones on the sides high or large enough to make room under the grating for a fair-size fire. You can scrounge up some pretty stones for nothing, right? Just a thought.
We used a tractor tire rim. Nice and big for a fire. Dig a hole deep enough and drop it in. We put white rock around it as well. When it's full, we just shovel the ash out and spread it out on our lawn. We have this at home and also had one where we used to keep our 5th wheel trailer parked year round at Otter Lake in Girard , IL.
I don't agree with the washer drum because most of them are made from Porcelain,and when it gets tooo hot,pieces pop off and someone can get seriously hurt.I would use Fire Brick bought at your local Home Depot store and dig a hole probably 2 ft.deep in order to keep the fire in one place when the wind blows ,line the brick on the bottom and sides then cover that with builders sand.it'll work fine and won't cost much.+ it'll be safe.
IF you use rocks, don't use "river rocks" as they often break up violently when heated in a fire. You can get fire brick from your lumber yard, the old truck/tractor rim works really well, as does the washing machine/dryer drum concept.
Old 18-wheeler rim (make sure its not aluminum). Weld some legs on it and you are done. You can get dented ones for free :)
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