Weber Kettle Club Forums

Grill Talk => Weber Kettle Forum => Topic started by: Hogsy on April 20, 2013, 12:58:39 AM

Title: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: Hogsy on April 20, 2013, 12:58:39 AM
A few of you may remember my first first fire pit
It started off like this
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04062-2-1.jpg)
Although effective, I moved onto this
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04073-1.jpg)
It worked great for heat but the problem was you couldn't watch the fire AKA The Bushman's TV
So being a cold , wet ,windy day I started from scratch
  (http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/09BC195B-D511-46B8-9381-CF2859550450-283-00000022FF65325B_zps5a5bf023.jpg)
And came up with this
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/17D950EF-F522-4FBD-AF82-B8A6023FC5CD-283-0000002321268BF0_zpsaf714e74.jpg)
I then used the offcuts and attached them to charcoal grate to stop ash and embers falling to the bottom of the kettle
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/720EE90D-4DE4-4F0A-87B1-7F27AE6492B4-283-00000023323FD8FA_zps7df32e7b.jpg)
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/963574E6-2BF5-415D-89B4-66839ACB4BD5-283-000000233EC634D9_zpse449f396.jpg)
Time to test it it out
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/080DD3BB-1996-436C-88EA-486B2CE64462-283-000000234D980FB5_zps00f00a6b.jpg)
It works great , with no ash falling through and it pumps out the heat
Although the timber handles were hot they never got hot enough to burn them
Now the sign of a great fire pit is one that you can cook on
So I grabbed a SJ grate and it fit perfectly
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/59C1CB64-549D-4A49-976C-17ED7CE69105-283-000000235FC6B10F_zpsebc83776.jpg)
I waited till it died down a little , pushed the coals to one side and threw on some snags
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/42F1D5AF-9A39-4AE1-BA14-2262D61AA5C8-283-000000236B82F96B_zps5848fb82.jpg)
Total success
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: Golly on April 20, 2013, 01:48:56 AM
Great work hogsy
Now you've nailed all the prototypes
And we have a winner, I can build mine
Beats the 200$ shipping for a genuine
And it's mobile
Did you leave the pizza tray on top of washing machine tub between the lid?
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: bob hope on April 20, 2013, 04:52:30 AM
That Rocks!!
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: zavod44 on April 20, 2013, 05:55:17 AM
What is the center piece?  That is awesome......
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: glrasmussen on April 20, 2013, 05:58:11 AM
That is awesome! Nice job.
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: Jeff on April 20, 2013, 05:58:51 AM
I LOVE it!!!  I would buy that if it were for sale here!  Joel...don't you have a red 22???   If so, would it be possible to put that setup onto the red 22 without too much trouble?  I bet it would look cool!
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: reillyranch on April 20, 2013, 06:04:48 AM
Was that the old washing machine tub, that's great. 
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: Craig on April 20, 2013, 06:32:03 AM
Talk about multi purpose. That looks badass!
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: Bman on April 20, 2013, 07:03:59 AM
Love the creativity!
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: Duke on April 20, 2013, 08:10:19 AM
That's a must build! Love the meat bags!
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: Ted B on April 20, 2013, 08:55:06 AM
Once we get a warm Saturday. I need to get with Big B and build mine.  I saw this awhile back either here or there ???  Thanks for the further mods and inspiration Hogsy.  I'm gonna nickname mine Hogsy.  As in let's have a campfire around the Hogsy tonight. ;D
Title: Re: Kettle Fireplace
Post by: Hogsy on April 20, 2013, 01:53:27 PM
Thanks for all your comments.
I used an 18.5 kettle and the SS bowl out of a 7.5kg front loader
It sits in the 18 perfectly. I have a red and maroon 18 that I'm going to try it on and yeah Ed it does look good with the red, I've kept it in the black because my last design tended to make the lid soot up and there's was too much heat in the lid, but now that I've cut the sides out and flipped the bowl there's no soot on the kettle at all so i think it will be going on a red. Here's a pic of how much ash came through to the ash pan after a 6hr fire
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/D5517653-E488-41A9-8653-3E0113B820A9-437-000000E85D9F3D80_zpsa538ca6c.jpg)
Here's another pic of the pit attachment
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/740F24D9-C42F-4C25-9C8F-23138351561C-437-000000E850D24E22_zps87d0bcda.jpg)
I cut 6 inches off the legs and it sits at a great height for everyone to sit around and watch
You could easily use this on a timber deck without any damage and its great being able to move it around
I love having a fire going at night especially for those over night cooks
Great thing is the clean up is easy, just tip the ashes in the bin , then wheel it in the shed till next time
Apart from the cutting down the legs there's no mods to the kettle, so it can still be used as a cooker