Fire pit shelter

For the last few years I've -- now and again -- built small fires in a terracotta bowl.  Basically, I wanted a fire pit, so I bought the most inexpensive one that I could find.  This turned out to be what seemed to be terracotta -- but after it got chipped and the missing varnish(?) exposed the interior to rain, it turned out to be some sort of pressed material:  in other words, after a few years of being exposed to the rain (when in season), it abruptly and catastrophically collapsed (luckily, not while in use).

There's no utilitarian reason (cooking; heat) for my making a little fire now and again:  it's just for staring at and pondering -- something primal, possibly.  We live on acreage, so the firewood doesn't cost anything:  it's largely fallen branches, plus prunings that have been cut to length and dried.

So anyhow, I ended up spontaneously buying another one when I noticed the hardware store had one for -- what was it -- AU$30?  I wrote it down somewhere...

This time it's actual metal:  a wok-like cauldron, plus a ring to set it on.  It's also slightly larger in diameter than the previous one -- and withe a more useful shape (the sides extend outward at an angle, rather than going straight up).  So, win-win-win.

I drilled a hole in the center, so that rainwater wouldn't collect in it and rust it out -- and I placed the entire thing on an old garbage can lid, so that the hot coals (which probably wouldn't fit through the hole, anyhow) wouldn't fall through and set the grass on fire.  Note that I don't use it during the dry season -- only the rainy season.

Anyhow, so I had the idea to set things up so that I could sit by the fire while it was actively raining, and not get rained on, nor have the fire go out.

I took an un-used small swingset frame and turned it into a simple shelter.  The first photo shows the frame with some pink twine creating a framework, with my wooden bench in a reasonable position.  The second pic shows the cantilevered scrap piece of metal siding extended above the fire bowl, with a cinder block as the pivot and a log as the counterweight.  The third photo shows a scrap plastic sheet that I lashed over the frame (I kept the sides open).

On the whole, it worked pretty well:  I had a red plastic tub with kindling (pieces of branches) that I'd use to feed the fire, which sat next to me on the bench.  However, because the metal sheet that extended over the fire bowl pointed in the direction of the shelter -- the smoke was channeled into my face.  Duh.

So, I rotated the bench and the shelter 90 degrees clockwise around the fire bowl (also not shown):  much better!  Now the smoke was sent sideways, and thus away from me -- rather than into my face.

I tried it when it rained -- and I kept dry, and the fire kept burning.

Note to brother:  it reminded me a little of the paternal grandfather's fishing shack.


--GG