DIY Smokeless fire pit from a single barrel 🔥 (no weld!)

Camp fires are awesome. Getting smokey...is not awesome. Learn how to make a DIY smokeless fire pit from a single barrel! Our design is no-weld and also includes an easy heat deflector so you can actually stay warm while standing next to the fire.
You can typically find a used 50 gallon drum for $10-20. A Solo Stove costs about $300, and the heat deflector adds another $179. That means this project can save you about $450 if you already have a drill and angle grinder. 😎 If you don't, you have a great excuse to buy a couple of new tools and still save money compared to buying a commercially made smokeless fire pit.
Tools needed:
Drill
Step drill bit
Right angle grinder
Pop rivets or metal screws
PPE (hearing protection, eye protection, etc)
Measuring tape
Scrap wood and a screw (optional, to make a jig)
Sawhorses and 2x4s (optional but save your back)
Small scrap piece of cardboard
Build is based generally on this video, but shorter and with a heat deflector of our own design: • Smokeless Burn Barrel
Do you find our work helpful? If so, please consider making a contribution: the-artisan-life.ck.page/prod...
#campfire #firepit

[@byronsowntime]

thankyou.. simply lovit..lovit lovit lovit.... guess what Im doing this next week?

[@mdnyam3000]

People will always find a way to complain about anything on everything... 😅

[@PainterD54]

I made one of those years ago and still use it today. I made mine by simply copying one of the stainless steel units you can buy. I used a 55 gallon barrel portion for the outside (cut down to about 20") and the inside chamber is just a piece of an old water heater (which is the perfect diameter for the inside) A little drilling and welding took me all of an hour to make one. They work great and last for many years.

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

Heck yeah!

[@martinbee772]

Well done! Thank you for sharing!

[@sbouloc]

Nice video 👏 any credits to the original builder?

[@edgell3]

One of the best tutorials on the internet. 👍 Thank you! 😎 INFORMATIVE AND ENTERTAINING! Oh, pay no attention to the critiques. 🤑 They always think they know better 👎 some jut like the hear themselves type ⌨️

[@Oddysey182]

Nice. I just finished building my dual barrel bin.... Then saw your video ! Heh

[@juanbarba9372]

Very cool 😎

[@traciekoehler6404]

Great video thank you

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

Thank you! We're glad you liked it.

[@traciekoehler6404]

@@appalachianwoodhomestead made mine today love it ty

[@ropeca1958]

Building stuff is fun

[@stuartcox7799]

Great project!!!

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

Thank you!

[@cclouds38]

Very nicely done. Something I think I mbe able to do.

[@zacksrandomprojects9698]

Great job with explaining everything. A lot of DIY videos skip steps and leave you scratching your head, or dont explain things very well. The title is not misleading. I dont know why people are complaining. You made it from one barrel as stated in the title. The videos that tick me off are the ones that have a thumbnail picture that draws you in, then you watch the whole video and never see the thing that was in the thumbnail. That is bait and switch and should have consequences for the channel creator. Anyway, great job. 🍻

[@TakeAMomentAndBreath]

Woooow nice 👌 I sub from Tasmania Australia 🇦🇺 👋👋👋

[@defaltoption]

a good tutorial

[@chuckvoss9344]

very good instructions. thank you.

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

Glad you like it!

[@rronmar]

Nice design. Unfortunately as mentioned, the heat will cook the carbon out of that thin sheet and it, like all 55gal burn barrels will rot out quickly. I have been building these out of old water heater tanks for a long time, and your method should be able to be applied(I weld the inner barrel), and don’t use holes. It would be easier as the WH tank is typically domed on the top. They are 1/8” thick,so last a good long time. A pit this size does not need very much primary air. Too much air will actually cool the fire down, create towering flames(like seen in your videos) and roar thru fuel. I found about 1% of the bottom surface area to be about right for the area of the vent letting air into the base of the fire. I have some video here on utube of the ones I build.

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

Thanks for the insightful comment! I happen to have an old water heater on hand right now. I’ve been trying to decide what to do with it. This certainly does go through fuel, but I consider that a perk since I use it to dispose of branches and cardboard and things. For heat/not brush disposal, your suggestion makes a lot of sense. Thanks again for the comment. It’s great to get feedback from someone who’s worked on similar projects.

[@yangmagic0703]

Would love to see a video of you doing it. I think now the new water tanks have foam insulation. I don't see a lot of them for sale on local classifieds. Any suggestions?

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

We've had good luck finding old water heaters where ew are. We've used them for other projects. Check Craigslist, FB Marketplace, and see if there's a local agriculture or buy/sell/trade bulletin. You may have luck at a local scrapyard, too.@@yangmagic0703

[@rronmar]

Yea, you need to remove the insulation. You can slice thru it, and I have heated the tank to loosen the adhesion. I have also used a pressure washer:) I mostly find tanks via word of mouth. As mentioned, marketplace or scrap metal or recycle yards. You might also call local plumbers when they change them out, they may have ones that they will have to pay to dispose of, or can recommend a recent customer who just had one changed out and is in the same situation and would probably be glad to have you take it off their hands…

[@mikey_mike]

Do you have a build video of you fire pit?

[@MrMrBiggles]

Great video, thank you!

[@yamlcase230]

I kinda feel like it'll take longer to build this than it will last

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

I've been using this exact fire pit for a year and it's fine. One I built earlier for a friend is also still fine.

[@defaltoption]

make sure you clean them out after each use. the ash gets wet otherwise and they rust out in record time.

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

Good advice@@defaltoption

[@eustaciogriego1912]

Nature can be wonderful if we treated fair. Before you start grinding on an empty barrel check that it’s not full of flammable gases ,You can also use that lid on top to fry you some bacon and eggs. Thank you

[@szita2000]

Surely you want to fry bacon and eggs on a previously painted lid.

[@siegfriedkragl3663]

I just finished building the firepit from the video, it is still smoking a lot. What could have gone wrong?

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

It will smoke at the beginning, but then clear up as the fire get going. It needs a "critical mass" of fire to get the secondary burn going. Smoke on the first burn can also be from residual stuff (whatever was in the barrel) burning off.

[@redneckewhitetrashbluecollar]

Right the add on .. not the fire .. thats whats making you warm.. the add on.

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

It makes a huge difference. Like a fireplace inside, most of the heat goes up without a deflector on.

[@Zsolt67]

Hi, I want to make one but cannott see the purpose of the outer barrel holes at the bottom. There is a gap between the inner and outer barrel and the outer doesnt go all the way to the ground so lets have enough air in for secondary combustion. Am I right?

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

The holes are necessary for both primary and secondary combustion. The barrel rim should be at ground level, and it can sink in a bit (depending on the surface). We have found those holes to be necessary.

[@TheBeefSlayer]

I think that eat deflector just sitting loose is a safety hazard, really strong gust of wind come up and blow it onto a camper.

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

No campers in my back yard! I could see it being a theoretical concern, but not really a practical one. The only time we've had the deflector come off is when a log was tossed into it. You're probably not going to have a fire going in a strong enough wind to blow it off, and there's no reason to leave it on when the fire pit isn't being used.

[@alexanderkane8475]

Unfortunately all that work and it'll rust out in 12 months

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

I hit it with high temp Rustoleum when I see a bad spot forming. 10 bucks of barrel and 2 hours of time seems worth it for a year of enjoyment even if your prediction is true.

[@traciekoehler6404]

@@appalachianwoodhomestead not true someone has their own issues

[@pdwilly]

had mine 2.5 yrs

[@alexanderkane8475]

@@pdwilly maybe I had a Chinese barrel 😅🤣

[@defaltoption]

make sure you clean them out after each use and it will last for years.

[@ReachOutToWilliam]

Just spend the $200 and get a commercial unit. This is not only ugly, but a waste of time. In a year or two this will be junk.

[@ruidadgmailcanada8508]

Build this concept super cheap (reuse/recycle) and spend $200 on drinks around the fire. 👍 My cousin made a gorgeous bbq from thrown out stainless vessels from a milk processing factory. You’d be paying thousands retail and not be anywhere near as robust.

[@joshoconnor9666]

Ypu didnt really do it with just 1 barrel. You just turned 1 barrel into 2 barrels and than just copied the same process as everyone else aside from adding a fire stop on top

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

I used the materials from *one* barrel. A single wall burn barrel isn't going to be smokeless because it lacks the re-burn/recirculation.

[@jamescoppe]

@@appalachianwoodhomestead his point still stands. I was mislead by your title to think it was a unique single walled design.

[@iacamigevaerd376]

Internet people find a whole awesome tutorial explaining the tiniest bit and complain about ambiguity that wasn't there 😂 The video is great, congrats for putting it together

[@jamescoppe]

@@iacamigevaerd376 people put videos on KZbin to make revenue, it’s not some communist charity. Misleading titles should be called out.

[@iacamigevaerd376]

@@jamescoppe did they change the title? the current is not misleading, they built it using a single barrel. they did not say "single wall".

[@southamericanredneck9471]

Thank you, miss Appalachian Wood!

[@waynejill]

I wonder how many people have blown themselves up when grinding this drum. You should be filling it with water first, this will expel any any gases or oils first. By just taking the cap off and then grinding you have made a bomb! And I don't like all those sharp edges on the top, people will cut them selves for sure when stoking the fire.

[@k9kayaks]

Nice video Easy to follow step by step directions 👍🔥🪵

[@KICKIN-BISHOPBRENNAN-UPTHEARSE]

Seems a heck of a lot of work for a garden firepit. Over complicated. Cut it in half, drill some inlet holes, drop a mesh grate in the bottom, job done...

[@appalachianwoodhomestead]

Wife hates wood smoke, so this lets us have a lets us have a lot more fires at home without her getting a headache