First Attempt at DIY fire pit

hey_poolboy

hey_poolboy

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Peoria, IL, USA
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Michael
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Robertson
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Maximus
Our rig is a small M416 trailer with a roof top tent and we're pulling it with a 4 door Wrangler. There are only the two of us and the dog, but space and weight are still a high priority. I've seen the Ignik, and a few other ammo can fire pits and really like them more than the larger style. They are pretty much self contained, so you don't have to worry about fire rocks or the like being loose in the trailer. Rather than buy one I decided to make one. I'm sure I'll continue to tweak it a bit, but here's my first attempt.

Anyone else that has made their own.....has putting the air mixer in the can seemed to have the desired effect? I can hear it whistling, so It seems it's drawing in air, but I'm not sure if I should vent the base to allow more air flow.
 

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I've read that not adding an air mixer causes the firepit to smoke a bit. I used it inside my awning room (with an open floor, so it wasn't fully enclosed), and noticed that I had quite a bit of smoke.

I lost my Regulator hose, so I haven't had a chance to test it yet.
 
I had read that other places as well, but in interest of keeping the footprint small I opted to put my mixer inside. I'm just hoping that it can get sufficient air to do its job. Hopefully we can find out next weekend.
 
I've made a few. In the DIY section somewhere is my build on them. I haven't updated it but I now do smaller holes and a few less.
I would say an air mixer is a must. Propane will give off soot if not kept hot enough. Mine is mounted inside the can.
My first fire pit is made from the bottom section of a 30 gal can. It worked well but was a bit big. When I made the ammo can, that's pretty much all I bring now.

Edit
Here's the two I made
Fire pit
Ammo Can
 
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I actually just made one similar to yours. I added the air mixer. I'm getting soot that stays on the rocks and inside of the can, but nothing that's leaving (it seems) it was on under an EZup all last weekend and we had no black residue on the canvas or around us, just in the can.

I used a fluke temp gun and in spots it was close to 900* so I didn't bother to paint it. I'll likely ceramic coat or Cerakote it after I'm finished tweaking it exactly to my liking

IMG_4974.jpegIMG_4983.jpegIMG_4972.jpeg
 
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