Propane Fire pit V1. Work in progress

[smritte]

It seems every year fire restrictions out here get stricter and stricter. Some places I go, the fire cant touch the ground, some no wood fires. I have a real nice wood fire pit but it seems propane is more excepted across the board. Over the last couple of years I have seen most propane fire pit brands used by other people. Some worked well, most did not. The prices are all over the board, most being more than I want to spend. The biggest issue I have is, their not that good if you have more than a few people. Ground fires can be sized to fit the group.

The last trip I went on, we had 5 fire pits set up, one of which was in a 50 Cal ammo can. Aside from the "bullet box" fire, the others in a group did well (it was about 35 degrees out). A big advantage is one 30 pound propane bottle seems to last a few days and takes up way less space then several days of firewood. Another issue I have is no easy access to firewood other than spending a ton of money buying "firewood bundles" at the hardware store. This would be based on a desert trip not a forest trip.

Some of my personal trips into the desert may last several days. A personal propane pit will save me the trouble of scrounging 3+ days of fire wood for a last minute trip.

Now for the first part of my project.
1. 30 gal oil can cut to 20" tall.
2. 12" Firepit Burner
3. Air mix valve Propane can throw soot when it burns. This keeps the flame clean and makes it burn hotter by adding air. I've seen people post about their propane fire pit being real sooty. The company that made it needed to add in one of these.
4. Assorted 1/2 threaded pipe from Home depo
5. Quick release fitting, 1/4' ball valve and hose from my junk pile.

I still need to add in some screen below the burner and either fire rocks or logs. my next trip is coming up in a few weeks and I think I'm going to see how the size works out. I may cut it down to 10" high from the 20" it is now.

When its done, I'll add something along the top edge to clean it up then paint it. The hole in the side is for lighting it. Needless to say, I added that after loosing all the hair off my hand. There are a series of 1" holes along the bottom also.





This is with the valve cracked open, very little. Full open valve, the fire goes about six feet up.
After I use it on my next trip, I may add in more holes but need to see it with the rocks inside.
The stainless ring on top is from my wood fire pit. I wanted to see if it did anything to the flame size, it did nothing. I wont add something like it when its finished. I'm also not sure what to do about the lava rock I will be adding. Keep it in a separate bag? Not sure.



More to follow in a couple of weeks after testing and refining.

 

[smritte]

OK
Went to store and got some lava rock. I wanted bigger but this was all they had. Funny thing, I live in a volcanic area, I can drive to the desert and get my own.

Here's what it looks like through the rock. Not bad. Still not sure what I'm going to carry the rock in.
No I didn't set the garage on fire, its actually just outside of it. This is on low setting. Gonna need a better valve.

 

[Steven Abra]

Holy smokes that is a serious flame!!

 

[Scott Macon]

You have some serious DIY skills! I've been following your trailer thread you have on this site and love what you have created. This is such a good idea. Now do you put lava rocks on this to get more heat from it?

 

[smritte]

You have some serious DIY skills! I've been following your trailer thread you have on this site and love what you have created. This is such a good idea. Now do you put lava rocks on this to get more heat from it?

The lava rocks disperse the fire and should help with the heat. I didn't want the small lava rocks I got but was impressed with how well it spread the fire. In the first photo you can see the fire jets. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to transport the rocks short of putting them in a box.