Make Your Own Smokeless Fire Pit

To cut the drum, I used a Makita metal-cutting circular saw, but an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel will also work.

- BRADLEY FORD

RECENT SMOKELESS FIRE PIT TESTING-TRYING OUT SIX new models for this summer-got me thinking it might not be too hard to make one myself. Without taking anything away from companies selling these fire pits, building one is fairly simple once you have an understanding of how they work.

The short story is this: I started with a 55-gallon drum, cut roughly in half horizontally, as the main body. Then I slit one of those halves vertically down the side and squeezed it to a smaller diameter to fit inside the other half; this created the double-wall construction that makes these fire pits work. After adding a bottom, I created a cap that bridged the tops of the inner and outer walls. Finally, I cut holes around the base on the outside, in the bottom inside, and around the top edge inside. It's certainly not as pretty as something like a Solo Stove, but it works. And there's pride in building it by hand.

 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Find a steel 55-gallon drum, complete with a lid and a strap to lock it on, as well as a spare lid. Mine cost $20 at a salvage yard, but you can also find them on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. I like to know what was in any drum I use for a burn barrel, so I look for one that still has a label. If it was full of chemicals I can't pronounce or don't know anything about (which could emit noxious gas or even explode), I keep looking. This drum previously contained orange juice concentrate.