- Joined
- November 29, 2000
- Messages
- 10,153
- Reaction score
- 4,129
- Location
- USA
- City, State
- San Diego, PRofK
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1994 XLT
On my last off-road camping trip I noticed my mini wash tub fire pit has seen better days. The bottom is rusting out. Its too tall when wood is scarce and gets fed into the pit one piece at a time, like when I am off-road camping in the desert. Being tall, it pushes most of the heat straight out the top. The tub was approximately 15" high and 14" wide. It has 3 legs made from rebar with horseshoe feet that go into tubes welded into the bottom at an angle that keep the tub about 6" off the ground.
California state parks that permit dispersed camping, like the Anza-Borrego, require a metal container for fires. I looked on Craig's List for another mini-tub that I could get cheap to replace this one. None listed. I looked at fire pits on-line, too expensive and not what I want. So, in my usual never ending quest to make my life more complicated, I decided to repair and modify this one.
Old and rusty, and too tall
I enlarged the holes many years ago in a pattern to let more light out, but it did not let out much.
I cut out about a 3" section out of the center of the tub. I then used pieces from the cut out part to repair the rust holes. More like cover them up than repair. Remember, this is a fire pit so it just has to work, not look pretty
I then welded the top and bottom back together with a hundred or so spot welds. I also cut 2" off the legs so it will sit lower to the ground and enlarged the holes a little more to let out more light. I think it should work much better for me this way. Its now 12" high without the feet
The cool part about this tub is the ashes stay in the bottom, as required by state parks. When I am breaking camp in the morning, I put the feet inside the tub and put the tub in a large garbage bag. When I get home, I just upend the tub inside the garbage bag and throw away the ashes. I comply with the rules, and still have a warm fire at night.
California state parks that permit dispersed camping, like the Anza-Borrego, require a metal container for fires. I looked on Craig's List for another mini-tub that I could get cheap to replace this one. None listed. I looked at fire pits on-line, too expensive and not what I want. So, in my usual never ending quest to make my life more complicated, I decided to repair and modify this one.
Old and rusty, and too tall
I enlarged the holes many years ago in a pattern to let more light out, but it did not let out much.
I cut out about a 3" section out of the center of the tub. I then used pieces from the cut out part to repair the rust holes. More like cover them up than repair. Remember, this is a fire pit so it just has to work, not look pretty
I then welded the top and bottom back together with a hundred or so spot welds. I also cut 2" off the legs so it will sit lower to the ground and enlarged the holes a little more to let out more light. I think it should work much better for me this way. Its now 12" high without the feet
The cool part about this tub is the ashes stay in the bottom, as required by state parks. When I am breaking camp in the morning, I put the feet inside the tub and put the tub in a large garbage bag. When I get home, I just upend the tub inside the garbage bag and throw away the ashes. I comply with the rules, and still have a warm fire at night.
