Repurpose a Washing Machine Drum into a Fire Pit

If you've always wanted an outdoor fire pit but but don't like the hefty price tag that accompany portable fire pits, then here is the project for you. My husband did this for us several years ago and I'm happy to say our fire pit is still going strong. It throws out a huge amount of heat and is great when we have barbeques or parties.

What's even better is that this is an upcycled project, turning a normally discarded item into something useful. Which is not only great because it's reducing landfill, but you can make this fire pit for free or very low cost.

We already had a broken washing machine to use. If not you could try getting one from verge collection, a salvage yard or the rubbish tip.

You will need to remove the drum from the washer, but this is not easily removable from all machines. Ours came from a top loader. You first need to pull out the agitator and search for the bolt in the center.


Photo:BrokenSphere, Wikimedia Common

Then put on a wrench on the bolt and use a hammer or mallet to loosen it. This is the hard part, it may take a lot of persistence to remove. Now you can take out the bolt. Once this is done you need to get rid of the complete motor and spinning equipment. This usually comes away through the bottom of the machine. The drum should come out now quite easily.

Ours is fairly rustic and sits on an old tyre rim while I have seen others propped up on bricks. You could even make legs and weld them to the base.



We also use an iron plate to act like a lid. This makes the wood burn slower and provides a cooking surface.



#Upcycling
#Repurpose
#Washing_Machine_Drum
#Firepit
#Outdoor
#DIY
#Free
#Low_Cost
#Frugal
#Budget


%decornotes