outdoor fireplace input

[pilemonkey]

i want to build an outdoor fireplace. the inspiration comes from the chimineas that are readily available nowadays. of course, buying one would be too easy. at this pint, i am thinking of just making a firepot and maybe adding a screen and hood down the road. here's the deal: i have access to 26" o.d. x 1/2" wall pipe thru work and a fair amount of random scrpas of steel. i am thinking of making the bottom from 3/8" plate, making a tripod or quad leg system of 1.5" pipe, a grate made from 1/2" roundstock, and i am debating whether to just cut some holes for air, or install a draft system utilizing 1.5" pipe, a valve, and a tee or cross with elbows to deliver air directly underneath the fire.

any thoughts on construction, past experiences, and in particular, advice on the draft system are appreciated.

[Arbo]

If you have an ope or screened door on the unit, the draft system isn't going to do alot of good. It will just draw all the air it wants through the opening in the side. However, if you plan on loading from the top, I would cut draft holes in several locations around the pipe. I wouldn't worry too much about shutting the draft down with a valve, I don't think it's necessary. You might also want to think about some wrought iron legs. Check out my unit that I just finishe recently. It is posted under Patio/deck fireplace. Good Luck.

[pilemonkey]

arbo,
i was thinking of using a valve to increase the amount of air going directly to the base of the fire. the idea would be similar to a cold air intake on woostoves or burners. wrought iron legs would be nice, but may be beyond my skill level at this point. i think i want to have removable legs so that i can roll this thing around to wherever it needs to be. at 136 plf for the pipe alone, i don't plan on picking it up.

thanks for your input and feel free to offer up any more ideas...

[Bob]

A lot depends on if you want a hot, fast, cleaner fire (cooking, instant heat) or a slower fire for all night heat (maybe a green house or cabin space heater).

More air to the fire makes it hotter and faster and will use up all the wood pretty fast. The handles on most keroscene lanterns are actually hollow and draw pre heated air from arount the top into the base. The preheat makes the fire hotter brighter and for less soot.

A flu damper and closing air intake shutters on a potbelly stove slowes it way down for slower all night heat ... but lots more smoke and soot.

[pilemonkey]

bob,

how much do you think the top being open would affect the burning rate? i think that if this whole thing were enclosed (similar to a woodstove) and there was an air intake on bottom, it would burn faster. this isn't much of an issue, though. this thing would be used half the year and would most likely be fueled with chunk wood or small pieces that foul up the woodstack. i know air holes around the bottom would be easier, but if it made a noticeable difference, i think it would be cool to have an "air jet" blasting air to the bottom of the fire. do you think it would make much of a difference for something this small with and open top?

[pilemonkey]

forgot to ask: does anyone know if/how to convert ms word documents to bmp's? i have a rough sketch of what i want to do that i drew using word, but i cannot post a word file. what about autocad files? i know there is a way to post cad files, as i have seen them, but how is it done?


thanks

[Arbo]

If you do want to enclose the top and put a short chimney on it, (say 4 feet) I don't think you will have to worry about the chimney fouling. The gases will not have time to cool enough for it to deposit. On a house type chimney, it is much higher and as the gasses cool, that is where you get the fouling. With this setup, you will definately want some draft at the bottom to keep things going. If you don't, the fire will smother itself for lack of oxygen. The adjustable draft is your call. It all depends on how fast you want it to burn. Keep us posted.

[Will]

Pilemonkey. In Word, select all and copy...then go to Windows Paint and paste it in...you can then save as a .bmp file. I just tried it with a Word 2000 file with graphics and text and it worked ok.

[pilemonkey]

thanks will, i'll give it a try...

[morpheus]

fyi ... .bmp's are mighty BIG files, you might want to convert the word doc to a bmp then use another image program to convert it to a .jpg or .gif. much smaller file that way.

- jack

[pilemonkey]

let's see if this works....

[ryanevans]

pilemonkey

To post an AutoCAD file, export the file to a *.wmf file. After doing that, open up a program where you can edit pictures, ie-MS Paint, Paint Shop Pro, CorelDraw, etc and do a saveas to a *.jpg to make it easier on alot of people to open the files.

Ryan