Custom Made Outdoor Firepit/Fireplace - Some Opinions Please...

[Kustrud]

Alright, I built this thing from scratch for a large outdoor heater/fire that you can enjoy without getting all smokey like from a regular campfire. It's all built from 30" propane tank parts so it's 1/4" steel. The "chimney" is 1/4" steel as well and 6" ID pipe. The whole thing is extremely sturdy and I don't think a tornado would even blow it over. I do have a couple of questions:

1. Should I add supports about 18" up the pipe welded to the exterior of the base in 3 sections? Would the top of that being hot lose enough strength to worry about it sinking or shifting eventually? The pipe probably weighs 150 lbs. I think it's fine but it is a thought I had.

2. My goal was to run this without a door at all, but it does belch some smoke out the front which I do not want at all. It drafts hard enough to float a beer can in the chimney while running instead of it falling down into the fire. It works perfectly and puts off crazy heat, but I don't want any smoke out the front. To mitigate this, I built the door and used some SS screen. It can be smoking like a train and when you close the door, zero smoke out the front - works perfectly! I realize this is because I essentially "shrank" the size of the opening thus increasing the velocity of the air entering. But, I just like the looks better without it as nothing blocks your view of the fire
. Any ideas here? I looked at our fireplace inside which has a much larger opening and we never get any smoke out the front of it. I noticed that it does have a lip on the inside across the top that runs straight in towards the fire probably 4" or so. If i built a lip inside the opening like this that ran around the circumference of the opening and went towards the inside 4" or so would this force any smoke back towards to center and then get sucked up instead of just spilling out the front? Open to ideas here to get this to work without the door.

I realize this is not a "wood stove" perse, but it's similar and you guys are knowledgeable with draft, etc.

 

[kborndale]

6" pipe is not large enough for an open fireplace.

 

[Kustrud]

6" pipe is not large enough for an open fireplace.

I was torn on going with a 6" vs an 8". This is where it gets confusing....does it work with the screen door simply due to the increased velocity of the air being drawn in?

Do you think it'd work fine without the door with an 8" pipe?

Really looking for some ways to prevent smoke spillage as-is without changing chimney size if possible. Lot of work to do that lol!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Make the opening smaller.

 

[Kustrud]

By making the door with the screen that’s essentially what I did, make the opening smaller.

I switched the screen out to some thicker/nicer stainless. It seems to radiate heat more out the front now. I’m happy with the door! Turned out pretty slick!

It puts off some great 360 heat being so thick!

Video attached is after throwing a bunch of oversized a not even greatly seasoned wood in there. Shut the door and it just takes off. Pretty impressed.

Ya’ll think the weigh of that pipe on the top is OK without extra support?