Fire Pan for Restricted Areas. What do you use?

Scoutman

Explorer
Found this space saving folding fire pit on e-bay. Would need a flat sheet bottom if you're after low impact.
s-l500.jpg
 

Switch

Observer
Hey Everyone!

I do a lot of camping out in Anza Borrego State Park and other areas that require Fires to be in metal containers.
I did some searching and didn't find a thread designated to fire pans/pits. Looking for a compact solution that I can have a decent sized fire in.
The dryer drum is very popular but would take up a lot of space in my FJ. Metal trash can lid is ok but doesn't actually help contain the ash and debris.
I looked at the snowpeak large fire place but it seems very expensive for the size.


What do you use while camping in restricted areas? :sombrero:





* I will update the OP with pictures of setups to help other people find what is best for their camp *

- Galvanized Radiator Drain Pan
- Washing Machine or Dryer Tub
- Wok
- Snowpeak Fire Pit
- Firebowl propane fire pit
- Tuffy camping firepan
- Charcoal pan from smoker
- food service steam table pan
- Bottom of water heater tank


I made this from the lid of a small galvanized garbage can. Originally posted here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/85545-Propane-Camp-Fire/page4
Later I shortened the length of the straight part by about 2/3. I also made one very similar using a 16" aluminum pizza pan.

DSCN8259.jpg
 

gsdog2

Observer
Snow Peak fire pit. Large size. Hands down. Ive used the wash tubs and such. Takes up way to much space. The Snow Peak pit folds, has some great attachments and uses less wood. I usualy split store bought wood into smaller pieces. Good luck finding any left in the states, I must've got the last one. I did order the grill bridge and cooking grate from "Drifta" who is in Austrailia. He carries the whole line. I also bought the heavy duty canvas carry bag. The one that comes with it is kind of cheapy.
 

Honu

lost on the mainland
for those folks using galvanized ?
you never had a welding class I reckon !!!
or in the Fire Dept :)

google metal fume fever !

same thing when you ask BBQ folks about making a cooker out of galvanized material !!
as said if it was safe you would see BBQ companies making galvanized products that are part of the heated parts !!!
you can burn off the galvanized and or use chemicals to rid it which if you have not I would do that so its safe :)
 

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
Honu,

I had some initial concerns - and I certainly would never weld on galvanized metal, but I've yet to experience any problems with a few coals or a few sticks of firewood in a galvanized tub. In fact, when I first built my tripod firepot (galvanized 16" feed pan), I intended to burn off the coating and apply BBQ paint instead. The problem was that I couldn't get it hot enough to burn the coating.

I think the thing is that it doesn't actually get that hot. With a few coals for dutch oven cooking, my pan can even be touched on the sides with bare skin. With as big a fire as would be safe for the size of the container, it gets hot, but after a dozen+ burns, I see no change in the galvanizing coating, (unlike with the much higher heat of welding), so I'm thinking that in this application, the risk of gaseous ZnO is relatively small.

You're right of course, that for ultimate safety, one would need to acid-strip the galvanizing off and re-paint, but adding those nasty chemicals to the mix sort of defeats the purpose of using a $5 feed pan to keep the fire off the ground. If you have strong concerns, stick to using a small BBQ grill or the like...
 

Honu

lost on the mainland
the way yours is hanging could be like boiling water in a paper cup kinda thing and the hanging makes it not so hot :)

more just a tip for some who might not know and be thinking wow thats some sweet smelling smoke :) ahahahahhaha
 

Nachos

New member
I lost my washing machine drum recently and an looking for a replacement. The drum was great but a pain to pack. I'm thinking of building something that collapses flat like:

http://www.ezyspit.com/product/fp600/

There are probably 10 companies in Australia making them, but have yet to find one in the US.
I'm thinking this with a tray under to catch any ash or coals. Looks much more compact and easy to flat pack assuming it does not warp. The other folding option is the snow peak, but once you load that out with the grill and base your at $300.
 

huskyrunnr

New member
You can get stainless dog bowls for pretty cheap. You can also put legs on them with t nuts and carriage bolts. I've made woodstoves for use inside of tipis. I made them out of galvanized sheet and I went to great lengths to burn off the zinc with a torch and with regular stove burns. You can see where the stove is or is not seasoned. They never went inside a tipi until they were fully seasoned. All this from advice of previous stove builders.
 

20DYNAMITE07

Just along for the ride
I lost my washing machine drum recently and an looking for a replacement. The drum was great but a pain to pack. I'm thinking of building something that collapses flat like:

http://www.ezyspit.com/product/fp600/

There are probably 10 companies in Australia making them, but have yet to find one in the US.
I'm thinking this with a tray under to catch any ash or coals. Looks much more compact and easy to flat pack assuming it does not warp. The other folding option is the snow peak, but once you load that out with the grill and base your at $300.

This thing goes for $20 on Amazon... and it folds flat
A1bSUf1arYL._SL1500_.jpg


https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001OC5...UTF8&colid=ESAZ2KFJWVEK&coliid=I2CYO6X8QHJ8GI
 

paranoid56

Adventurer
i have used one of the large home depot galvanized metal pans used for drinks at a party. drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom and use that. but recently picked up the snowpeak setup as it folds flat.
 

Robert Bills

Explorer
I've used a galvanized oil drain pan to contain charcoal briquettes for dutch oven cooking and small campfires, like this:

51Lw18fwk-L._SY355_.jpg


My improvised galvanized fire pan has never become hot enough to create a risk of exposure to zinc oxide fumes. While the risk of such exposure is a concern at welding temperatures, the risk is almost non-existent in stoves or fire pans. This post explains why not: http://donkey32.proboards.com/thread/373/afraid-galvanized-pipe-anyways
 

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