Wash Tub fire pit?

[Conrad]

I’ve always just dug a shallow hole, thrown a loose pile of wood in it and called it good to go. I’ve seen folks use these Wash Tub fire pits, do they work well? What does yore dune fire pit setup look like? 

 

[Lord of the Dunes]

Wash tub fire pits can help put out a lot of heat while burning a lot less wood. Two things that make a big difference is using a stainless steel tub instead of a porcelain tub. Porcelain reflects the heat back in, the SS tub turns it into infrared heat and radiates that heat out to the circle. The other feature is putting some short legs on the tub to help get air under it into the center hole for cleaner burning, reducing the amount of smoke and getting the tub up a little closer to your height.

 

[Bansh88]

If you got lots of room to transport, I suppose.  The space that would take up in my truck would be a good nights fire.  I always take a lot of wood and heat is never an issue.

Sometime kids have to wait for fire to die down for marshmallows.

 

[L.R.S.]

Used a wash tub pit for years and it worked great. 



Now I use my fire pit a friend made on a water jet table when we camp in Ocotillo and Nevada. Its big and works great.



In Glamis we always just dug a small pit in the sand in Glamis but last season my buddy gave me a 2/3 drum fire pit to try out. It has holes drilled all around it and puts out a lot of heat. Best part is not a lot of embers if there's a little breeze. We were surprised and it worked really well. Down side is drum is only good for about 10 people, where a big fire pit can have lots more people around it. 

 

[Bobalos]

I made one out of our washer probably 12 or 14 years ago.  It's starting to show its age.  

I tact'd a piece in the bottom because it got tired of super hot embers running out of the bottom and them blowing all over the place. There are more than enough holes in it for air flow.... 

The wood handles are the best idea I came up with.  It can still be burning and we can cary it to the ash drop of bin at the beach on the way to the truck.  It's a bitch to weld on... not sure what it's made of but it sparks like hell with steel wire in a mig. 

The grill I bought at the hardware store so we BBQ on it.  I would put 2 or 3 fires though it before I cooked on it... 

The base is actually the top ring of the washing maching.  It prevents it from sinking in the sand.  Also if your going to use it on San Diego beaches it has to be some number of inches up off of the sand or the lifeguards will tell you to take it off of the sand.  

We don't use it in Glamis, just a big fire pit in the middle of the group.  We have used it in the driveway while handing out candy on Halloween.  

And fwiw, getting yhe drum out of the washer and the gearbox off of the bottom was an all day job. And the gear oil was NASTY.   Just buy one on Craigslist and make your modifications.   LOL 

 

[onanysunday]

I have a wash tub fire pit but then decided I wanted something better.

 

[onanysunday]

 

[Poule43]

we use ours YEAR ROUND / I love them!!!

 

[Sierra4x4]

 

[HozayKwarvo]

And fwiw, getting yhe drum out of the washer and the gearbox off of the bottom was an all day job. And the gear oil was NASTY.   Just buy one on Craigslist and make your modifications.   LOL 

This right here... sometimes you can find them as cheap as $20 ...BUY ONE 

I have one that I wrestled out of a machine 20 years ago and with the man hours invested into getting the MFer out of the machine I wouldn't even consider selling it for less that $500. I'll never do it again.

That said, it's in the back yard and works well. We've taken it camping before but not to G.

 

[RideSand]

If you got lots of room to transport, I suppose.  The space that would take up in my truck would be a good nights fire.  I always take a lot of wood and heat is never an issue.

Sometime kids have to wait for fire to die down for marshmallows.

We fill ours with wood during transport so it doesn't waste as much space.

 

[1slomofo]

This right here... sometimes you can find them as cheap as $20 ...BUY ONE 

I have one that I wrestled out of a machine 20 years ago and with the man hours invested into getting the MFer out of the machine I wouldn't even consider selling it for less that $500. I'll never do it again.

That said, it's in the back yard and works well. We've taken it camping before but not to G.

Dude! My neighbor across the street was loading his old washer into the back of his truck to dump and offered me the tube  (he already has one)  this last weekend- I said sure... but i did NOT KNOW WHAT WE WERE GETTING INTO.

I wish I woulda seen this thread...hahah

Its no joke. 

 

[Bobalos]

and then what do you do when with the 90000 pieces, when you get SOO pissed off you break out the sawz-all & just start hacking @ it.  ROFLOL.

 

[Lord of the Dunes]

Mine was a gift, but it was a dryer tub, I believe. He got it from someone who sells a lot of them. I think it was about $25, well worth it.