DIY fire pit, above ground

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enduring

Burning Hunk
Feb 29, 2020
133
Central Iowa
Hello, Hope all are well. Can I build an above ground fire pit with an old rendering cast iron pot? It has a crack in it and is only used as stabilization of a small soil bank, around an apple tree. Here is a picture of the underside. It is buried several inches. My foot in the bottom of the pic, for scale. I don't see an issue with it, except I don't know about grill or building a fire off of the bottom, so there is draft. I could build a mound of stone, and cradle the pot at desired height.
[Hearth.com] DIY fire pit, above ground
 
Hello, Hope all are well. Can I build an above ground fire pit with an old rendering cast iron pot? It has a crack in it and is only used as stabilization of a small soil bank, around an apple tree. Here is a picture of the underside. It is buried several inches. My foot in the bottom of the pic, for scale. I don't see an issue with it, except I don't know about grill or building a fire off of the bottom, so there is draft. I could build a mound of stone, and cradle the pot at desired height.
View attachment 258741
You will need to get air into the bottom of it somehow. They are usually not easy to cut or drill either. But if you can make it work it will be really cool.
 
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Maybe I can find a round grate of some short to lift the wood up off the bottom and away from the sides of the bowl. Would that allow fresh air to migrate around the sides to the bottom of the bowl to feed the fresh air to the wood from underneath?
 
Have DH grab a old tractor rim from behind the shed that is toast. Your in the correct state to acquire the wheel:) Torch out the center and a few unique designs in the sides and set it on a few patio block chunks or rocks to elevate it. Works great. I found a wheel that holds a weber grill grate and lid perfectly. Cook on it all the time.
 
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Moresnow, now thats a great idea for a fire ring. I have seen many old tire rims around here. Some larger than others.
 
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I may have a opportunity to snap a pic or two of the one in my back yard tomorrow. In action. I burnt splitter trash and trimmings all day today. Planning on the same again tomorrow.
 
i picked up a grill grate that fits on a 55 gallon steel drum for either 5 or 15 dollars don't remember at a store up here name ocean state job lot don't know if you have that store where you are but the grill is huge might fit? check your cheapy dollar stores for one
 
I remember camping once, where we started a fire in the fire ring provided. It had no air inlet holes anywhere on the sides. So we put in a bunch of sticks and arm sized pcs, vertically, tight as we could. Put a fire starter on top. After a bit we started supper. I mentioned that it looks like a wimpy fire, this will probably take all night. Baked beans were smoking in about 10 seconds. Very strange orange glow and blue flames as deep as we could see into it all. That next morning almost everything remained, just as we left it the night before, and still hotter than hl. Go figure. No oxygen, made a lot of charcoal, slow burn.