A new washing machine is imminent so thinking I could make a fire pit out of the old drum, anyone made one got any pictures/advice ?

And if you have one what do you actually burn in it ? BBQ or garden waste ?

Cheers 😉

Mate had my drum from my washing machine. Made a firepit. Gave up when everyone went home stinking like bonfire night and I guess the neighbours probably weren’t to impressed either 😆

Yes. A couple at the outdoor centres.

Tear washing machine apart.

Lay fire and then light.

Don’t expect them to last too long.

Don’t expect them to work too well if windy.

They are more flames than glowing hot.

They work well.

Yes pulled the drum out and flipped the casing over as a stand it is used ana warmer and for burning mail etc it will still rust but vslowly and is quite cool when burning and spinning around

Looks good

This blog may be useful

This is my effort. Very warm by the way

(A repost from about 6 months ago…….)

I’ve done the washing machine drum one. Really easy to do and looks OK IMHO.

I’ve used it twice and been disappointed to be honest: The fire is enclosed inside the drum, meaning that unless you have flames leaping through the hole, there’s very little heat radiated out. It was actually quite cold to sit around in comparison to a more open version. Of course, the advantage is that the ash is very contained and you don’t have a mess to clear up where logs have fallen out etc the following morning.

The last one I experienced at a mates house looked the business but was ultimately a let down. Took ages to light and nearly took out the gazebo he’d put it under. Not particularly hot.

Don’t the holes let in too much air? So big draught, big flames and little radiant heat (no thermal mass either).

Preferred method round here is brake drum or wheel rim from a truck with the bottom blanked off (or fitted with an ash-drop if you have metalwork skills). Relatively slow burn, nice hot coals and the heat radiates really well.

Here’s a picture of one from t’internet and a link to another one:

^that looks better

Interesting to see a firepit on wooden legs 😯

You lot are doing it wrong. Heat doesn’t actually go through the little holes you know… They radiate heat really well, only a big open fire pit is better and I can’t fit that on the back of the camper van.

As a veteran of a few types of fire these are by far the best at keeping a big group warm in the evening. You need dry hardwood split to size and keep it fed properly. Ours goes completely cherry red and no way can you sit close to it when it’s burning properly. In the morning 20kg of wood will barely leave any ash.

Bank Holiday camping in Alfriston by pictonroad, on Flickr

With a bit more care you can re-use the back of the drum liner and bearing as a stand and it will spin for added amusement

Bank Holiday camping in Alfriston by pictonroad, on Flickr

Ours has done 3 years of hard use, no sign of deteriating at all. From an older machine, maybe the new ones are thinner metal.

Stainless Steel isn’t renowned for it’s thermal conductivity, cast iron would be a better choice.

Maybe not amongst steels, but it’ll still conduct plenty of heat when there’s a raging fire inside it I’d wager.

Ours goes completely cherry red and no way can you sit close to it when it’s burning properly. In the morning 20kg of wood will barely leave any ash.

The reason yours keeps you warm is that you’re prepared to put 20kg of wood in it in one evening 🙂

3mm of stainless steel will conduct heat perfectly well, ask the kid who accidentally touched it last year..

The reason yours keeps you warm is that you’re prepared to put 20kg of wood in it in one evening

I do mean from 6pm to 2am but, yeh, travelling light and minimal camping isn’t my thing… 😀

Bank Holiday camping in Alfriston by pictonroad, on Flickr

You need the holes in the outside wall to let enough air in, otherwise they are starved of air to burn properly. I’ve used a tumble drier bin which only had holes on the bottom, and it wouldn’t burn right unless ejecting massive flames out the top. That was fun but not that great to sit alongside.

Perhaps some sort of sliding sleeve could act like a damper and control things?

I think I may learn to weld so I can make my own portable stove, with a heat exchanger on the top.