Last year, I built a patio in our backyard so that we could have a place to enjoy during the summer. One of the last parts to build was the gas fire pit. I am partial to wood fires myself but they can be smoky and the embers tend to damage the patio furniture. So, gas it is! I had my HVAC contractor lay a 3/4" pipe in a trench before I laid the pavers down. After all that was done, the fun began!
This is a valve body that was going to be scrapped at work:
It's for a 16" valve but the body itself is about 3' in diameter and 28" tall with a 1/2" wall. I decided that a 20" tall fire pit would work the best. So, I just had to section out 10". First, remove the paint and then mark where to cut:
Then, out with the torch:
A few sparks and CF of gas and:
Once more around to remove the flange:
Realign, level and burn it back together:
This also gave me an excuse to use up some old welding rod that I've had laying around for awhile. It's 1/4" 11018! I know that it's 'expired' because its been sitting around absorbing moisture but I figured it would be fine for this (non-structural) and would allow me to lay down a lot of material quickly. I threw them in the oven for an hour at 500 anyway. They welded ok at 250A but spattered quite a bit. The beads are passable:
After that, I stripped the paint and added a box on the side for the lighter and gas valve. I ordered a burner off of Amazon that fit perfectly:
Add some boiled linseed oil to keep it from rusting and some fancy broken glass and Voila:
I plan on adding a rim around the top with drink holders and some fake rivets in the lower flange holes but it's up and running and we love it!
This is a valve body that was going to be scrapped at work:
It's for a 16" valve but the body itself is about 3' in diameter and 28" tall with a 1/2" wall. I decided that a 20" tall fire pit would work the best. So, I just had to section out 10". First, remove the paint and then mark where to cut:
Then, out with the torch:
A few sparks and CF of gas and:
Once more around to remove the flange:
Realign, level and burn it back together:
This also gave me an excuse to use up some old welding rod that I've had laying around for awhile. It's 1/4" 11018! I know that it's 'expired' because its been sitting around absorbing moisture but I figured it would be fine for this (non-structural) and would allow me to lay down a lot of material quickly. I threw them in the oven for an hour at 500 anyway. They welded ok at 250A but spattered quite a bit. The beads are passable:
After that, I stripped the paint and added a box on the side for the lighter and gas valve. I ordered a burner off of Amazon that fit perfectly:
Add some boiled linseed oil to keep it from rusting and some fancy broken glass and Voila:
I plan on adding a rim around the top with drink holders and some fake rivets in the lower flange holes but it's up and running and we love it!
