My Fire Pit build project using retaining wall blocks & galvanised rim

[Steve]

Yeah I saw that too @ClissAT
My first thought was '....that ain't gonna last too long'.

 

[ClissAT]

Yeh Steve, here is a more recent youtube video where they cook in an open fire pit about where the mud oven used to be. You can see the table made from pallets is still there but the oven that used to be beside it is gone.

https://www.lifestylefood.com.au/tv/river-cottage-australia/videos.aspx?id=4896965172001

Also here's an aerial view using a street map software that shows a 2017 satellite photo. The gardens are mostly gone, the fruit trees are patchy & some of the animal pens are derelict. Although it looks like the new owner is running pigs down front of the house.
The oven & fire pit in the front yard are also gone.

 

[stevo]

I guess the pizza oven is a cool idea and we all would like one, but i think every one i've seen is cracked. That one looks pretty , ... loose .... not to say that i could make one any better. I'd get impatient and wreck it.

 

[Steve]

You're such a cowboy @stevo

But I've seen your handy work, you know a thing or two about construction.
Could have done with your knowledge this week as I've been building a chook house and it's been described as a miniature house. Perhaps it's been a bit over engineered!

 

[OskarDoLittle]

Yeh Steve, here is a more recent youtube video where they cook in an open fire pit about where the mud oven used to be. You can see the table made from pallets is still there but the oven that used to be beside it is gone.

https://www.lifestylefood.com.au/tv/river-cottage-australia/videos.aspx?id=4896965172001

Also here's an aerial view using a street map software that shows a 2017 satellite photo. The gardens are mostly gone, the fruit trees are patchy & some of the animal pens are derelict. Although it looks like the new owner is running pigs down front of the house.
The oven & fire pit in the front yard are also gone.

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Well I feel a bit silly now...I've been watching River Cottage Aust on SBS lately and hadn't realised they'd abandoned it. What happened? Was the show just a front or did they genuinely realise they couldn't make a go of it? It had occurred to me in franchising the UK show, they should have chosen someone already living this lifestyle, instead of casting a chef into the role.
Is River Cottage UK still flourishing?
Hope this doesn't happen to Matthew Evans in Tas with Fat Pig Farm...
If these guys can't make it work...wow!!
(I was concerned that Matt recently spent a few days preparing food for a fair and then managed to make only a few hundred bucks on the day, despite selling out everything. Somehow I doubt he's funding the new house and outbuildings from the farm itself!!)

 

[ClissAT]

Oscar, I made this thread about RCA that tells the story:-

https://www.selfsufficientculture.com/threads/river-cottage-australia.1253/

Paul wanted to spend time with ailing family up Newcastle way & think it is so the Tilba property that the film company owned was sold.

You'll find some links to the new owner although already one of the pages I posted a link for has gone awol.

I think Paul did a fine job while he was there & its a pity he had to abandon the project.
I guess had it been his own property, he would have chosen a different path for it during the time he was to be absent from it.
But since a film company owned it, they had to turn Aussie acres back into British pounds.

 

[OskarDoLittle]

Thanks ClissAT...I'm kinda behind with tellie and often have to check the date at the end of the credits to see just when these things first aired! I think it's a difficult formula to expect someone who doesn't own the land to invest all that time in developing it, possibly with no guarantee of a long term future there. I like the show, so it's sad it's fallen over, and maybe it would've been a bit weird to parachute someone else into Paul's role. I'd have thought they'd get a truckload for the land though!

 

[Raymondo]

It's great Stevo, we're going away for Xmas but will probably fire it up around NY - it's had several uses and I'd say been a total success and I'm glad I built it.

One thing I will need to do is fill that gap between the bricks and rim with something other than just sand because the sand has sunk in places etc. I'm thinking of pouring in a perlite and concrete mix (I'll have to research how to mix that) as this is supposed to form a good firebrick and insulation - it might work better than the sand...

This thread reminded me of a Webber fireplace I once had , the construction I found interesting and thought provoking. It started with an upturned metal dish , this contained the fire , had a frame ( risers ) to hold another dish above the fire inverted as in a dome. When you think of it , a fireplace or brazier burns , heat rises and sucks in cooler air from around usually your back, sometimes getting close enough to stay warm cooks the front and keeps your back cold , not so with this one , the fire burns , heat rises hits the dome on top which pushes the heat out sideways , believe me it works a treat , could be an addition to your great fire pit Mark. To this end because you cannot buy them anymore , I picked up 2 satellite dishes cost $60 to build a lookalike there was enough surplus struts etc to be able to build at no further expense. For the riser I am trying the stainless steel drum from a drier , care of roadside pickup, repurposing don't you just love it , should work a treat , I'll post pics as I build and commission it. One other advantage was that the top dome could be lowered when the riser was removed and this effectively snuffed out the fire . Will start this project very soon if you are interested , happy camping and happy planting , cheers Raymondo

 

[ClissAT]

Great repurposing Raymondo.
Yes I'll be very interested to see progress photos.

 

[Raymondo]

QUOTE="ClissAT, post: 15453, member: 460"]Great repurposing Raymondo.
Yes I'll be very interested to see progress photos.[/QUOTE]


Ok Clissat , here we go total time approx 2 hrs
Picked up satellite dishes at demo yard , easy to dismantle , plenty of spares nuts n bolts struts etc.

I used a cutoff disc to make cuts in dryer tumble drum , this allows air feed to the fire, and cut off short lengths off surplus struts to add height to drum, form up a handle for the lid a combo of aluminium bent to form the handle plus a strip of timber so that it is not too hot when lifting , it is advisable to still use a cloth as the handle does get hot.

. The beauty of this design is that when you have finished using the fireplace lift the top dome , remove the riser and place top dome on the residue fire .Take care , obviously everything is hot at this stage.

It will snuff it out very quickly and should be safe to leave.
The main advantage with this type of fireplace is that it is moveable, next week we are taking it to the Goomeri pumpkin festival , after which it will reside at our fire pit area , yet to be finished. So there you have it $60 plus about 2 hrs labour sit back with a full moon, or no moon , and happy hour can continue on into the night very comfortably . Enjoy cheers Raymondo

 

[badalley]

It looks great.Well done. The tutorial is awesome. Cheers!!

 

[Evan Herman]

Hey, mark you may want to look into the fumes that galvanized steel can give off at certain temps, because I know welding galvanized steel is bad for your health and I figure heating it might not be either. Just concerned, I hope I'm wrong