What anti-spark mesh for a fire pot?

[lbianchi]

Hi all, 

I'm making a fire pot with an old oil drum. I want to make a lid to prevent sparks coming out from the pot.

I have cut the drum crosswise and put it some metal legs. That's working good. See picture below.

I would like to add some expanded metal or similar inside to give more air to fire. But I think that step is coming after the lid.

It still needs to be painted, but that will be the final step. I will ask for advice in this regard in the future.

I want to use the other end to make a lid. I'm thinking of making some gaps in it and then putting a mesh in it. What kind of mesh could I use? It has to be something flexible so that it can follow the circular shape of the lid.

Would something like this do the trick?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Akanksha]

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, @lbianchi. We're delighted to have you join us and hope you find the site a great resource for useful D.I.Y. advice and inspiring ideas. 

Thanks for your question. I'm sure our resident D.I.Y. expert @EricL would be happy to assist and provide some recommendations for an anti-spark mesh when he's back online later today. In the meantime, let me tag some other helpful members @sannear, @cmp3121 and @Dave-1 for their thoughts. 

While waiting, it might help to have a look at experienced Workshop member @Adam_W's guide How to build a fire pit. You can also check out our Top 10 most popular fire pit projects for more inspiration.

Akanksha 

[lbianchi]

Hi @Akanksha !

Thanks for tagging people who can help me and for your suggestions. I will check them out.

Regards,

Lucas.

[Dave-1]

Good Morning @lbianchi 

I saw your project yesterday and want to have a go at making something similar And have been thinking about what type of mesh you could use. My first thought was spark arrester style mesh but that has no real structual strength to even hold its shape over time. The one I am thinking of now is a more ridgid 25mm square mesh that can be bent (will last longer with the heat)

What sort of air vents do you have in the base?

Dave

[Noyade]

Morning @lbianchi and others.

Congratulations on your fire bucket/pit/drum construction. 👍 I hope you get warmth and fun from it.

May I offer a suggestion about the legs?

My 'experience' with 44-gallon drums as fire buckets (very thin sides) is they perish quickly, just around where you positioned your lower bolts. The heat generated is simply incredible.

This has only been lit around three times...and already it's buckled and distorted at the bottom. Possibly better if you can position the legs under the drum.

[Noyade]

The drums these days are very thin-skinned. As each drum perished - I cut it off at the base where you see the rounded edge section and kept adding it to the last base with the legs. Just a few spot welds holds the new drum in place. There are three bases seen above with a piece of steel plate welded around them and I guess I will keep doing this till the interest wanes. And yes, it's progressively getting taller. 😁

[EricL]

Hello @lbianchi 

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @Dave-1 and @Noyade. I'm in agreement with using a larger mesh such as the RapidMesh 900 x 1200mm 25 x 25mm Silver Wire Mesh Panel.

One of the issues I foresee with a smaller mesh is the accumulation of soot on the mesh itself. A smaller gap means that the soot will accumulate to the point that it will start to clog up. Whereas a larger mesh will not only have a larger wire diameter, but it will not have a problem of being covered up with soot.

My only other suggestion is to make a cover for your fire pot. This will protect the fire pot from the rain thereby extending its life and it will also serve as a tabletop. 

Please remember to wear personal protection such as gloves and goggles when working on your wire mesh cover.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your anti spark mesh installed and ready for use.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric