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wrong season I know....actually right season...I am planning a large fire pit area that I want to surround with vertical pallets.
The fire pits needs to be 6M diameter and considering pallets are 1200 x 1200 how many approx will I need to surround it.
Once erected they will be fixed to each other with 2mm x 120mm x 400mm galv metal plates top & bottom and then covered in corrugated iron on the outside.
pic for idea of what I am planning.
Approximately "16" what stops them becoming part of the Bonfire.
Circumference of a circle is Diameter x Pi (3.14). Therefore your circumference is 6 x3.14 which is just under 19 metres. At 1200mm each pallet, I reckon you will need 16 pallets to surround the whole thing.
I hope my memory and maths are OK but, no doubt, someone will correct me if I am wrong
2 getting the same answer sounds good to me.
China, hopefully :rolleyes: the bonfire being enclosed, wont need to be so big and the heat/warmth will be trapped in, without affecting the pallets....time will tell.
In time I plan on adding the inverted cone from a grain silo, not the 20-30 tonne field bins in farmers paddocks, but the big 180 tonne plus storage grain tanks. Have this at 2.5+ m from ground, and the centre part of cone removed, this allows smoke to escape.
16 pallets 1.2m long gives you a circumscribed circle of 6.03m diameter.
I could have worked it out by myself… but I cheated :B
See Chief thats why we have wonderful intelligent people like you on board.
I havent a clue what thats all about, the only maths or sums (as they were in my day) that I cared about was pounds, shillings and pence and how much I could earn a day mowing lawns.
May be a dumb question but;
What use is a fire pit if everyone wanting to be near the fire has to jump a 1.2m wall to get to it, and all the combustibles have to be passed over said wall. Just thinking that gap in the wall, possibly with a door as well might be appropriate for practicality.
Tonyz
I think that is a magnificent idea, although I would seriously consider increasing the diameter a little providing you have the room.
malb's comment regarding the means to get into the pit area is valid. i would use one pallet as the gate and use farm gate style hinges for the purpose. You may need to sink two posts into the ground the to swing the pallet gate from.
Regards
Paul
Hate to be the safety police here but I think that is a terrible idea. With people, presumably, sitting around the fire anyone that wants to leave has to walk between these people and the fire. If there is any sort of emergency everyone within the pallisade has to get out of one small opening. I think you need to increase the diameter quite a bit for safety and have more than one way in or out but increasing the diameter to a safe size makes the pallet wall inneffectual. Something like a low rail to define the area would be better.
Just a thought, build the fire pit part first, use it a couple of times. Mark some areas on the ground as how far away people sit stand etc. if the 6 mtr is fixed you can adjust the pit size if the 6 mtr is variable then fix the pit size to then work out final diameter. It may also be a solution that you go 3 pallets and a gap.
cheers
thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions, I am however ahead of you just hadnt given all the details.
little background.
I manager a christian campsite on lower Eyre Peninsula (Thuruna) was established mid 60's about as close to the beach as possible. (wouldnt be allowed in this day n age)
The open fire pit has been there since beginning and ready for cleanup etc, hence my plans.
I have been offered at a very cheap price (Insurance clearance) a top cone from a damaged grain silo similar to pic attached, this is 6.5m diameter.
The plan is level the present firepit area after many years its got a bit lumpy, the diameter mentioned in my first post was 6m this will be larger. We erect the pallets as mentioned leaving 2 gaps for person access, these would both have wind break extensions outside and for firewood supply (as suggested but already thought about :cool:) 2 pallets hinged onto permapine posts. The pallets would be fixed/bolted to each other. The outside of pallets would be covered in corrugated iron offcuts (provided free by fencing/roofing contractor)
Once this was finished, large solid permapine or galv steel posts sunk into ground around perimeter and metal ring between each would holdup the cone and corrugated sheet extensions. I have a local engineer working out the details on this.
so thats the plans, as with camps and places like this $$$ is always in short supply but the generosity of locals has been amazing.
I hope this clarifies more.
I still prefer the water into wine trick.