Unfortunately Weber don't sell the Weber Fireplace in Australia and i've been very close to pushing the 'Buy It Now button' on the Weber Fireplace (ebay) lately especially with the cold winter we've been having in Sydney.......Well cold for Australia
But with a $300+ price tag and a shed full of kettles i think the missus might finely crack and put and end to my Weber addiction
So this is my outdoor fireplace at the moment........yes its a tub out of a washing machine
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04062-2-1.jpg)
It works a treat, it pumps out the heat and is relatively safe to fall asleep around after a few cold ones
Its also easy to pack up and put away when not in use
But its a bit of an eyesore, and no good on a rainy night.
Golly was over the other day and we got to talking about how we could improve the design.
After a couple of beers and a bit of brainstorming we started experimenting with the tub to see what else it would fit on.
To our exuberant surprise it turns out it fits perfectly on an 18.5' kettle
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04063-1.jpg)
When i say it fits perfectly i mean it fits so snuggly its almost like it was made for it
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04064-1.jpg)
So i cut about 150mm of the legs of the kettle so now it sits just at the right height when relaxing in a chair
Also the bottom of the tub holds all the ash so after an allnighter this is what the bowl of the kettle looked like in the morning
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04065-1.jpg)
The handles on the bowl of the kettle handled the heat perfectly even when the fire was roaring.
So the pro's of this design are
-it can be moved around easily when alight
- i can use it on my patio without it making a mess
- it can be used on a deck or concrete without burning the surface
- it can be used in an outdoor undercover area when its raining
Oh yeah and it looks like some kind of cool Weber accessory
I'm thinking of cutting one of the sides of the tub out to allow for adding wood in when its going, but at the the moment its reasonably child friendly for a fireplace
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04066-1.jpg)
And here she is fully roaring
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04071-1.jpg)
(http://i1165.photobucket.com/albums/q585/joelhogston/DSC04073-1.jpg)
It still has a couple of design flaws the i'm working on like when you put the lid of the kettle on when the fire is roaring it burns the top handle but i've got an idea on how to rectify that
So the kettle cost $20 and the tub i picked up from the side of the road which means i'm still $300 in front of what i would of been if i bought the Weber fireplace off ebay
So there you go a cheap alternative to a Weber fireplace and a perfect way to keep warm when doing a low & slow alnigther
Cheers
Joel
That's fantastic!
Too cool...
Brilliant!
That is one of the coolest things ever!
ahhh about time you posted it here!
OK, I gotta know, is it a Maytag, a Whirlpool? Anyone know?
I like it, well done sir!
It's a tub from a 5kg front loader
That's right it's out of a LG 7.5kg front loader. I've tried top loaders and dryers but they've got to much plastic on them. I think any 7.5 kg front loader should be alright.
7.5kg hogsy
Just picked one up
Lucky I took my tape measure!!
Bump for mod month