Yet another DIY mini BBQ pit
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Another home DIY mini BBQ pit project |
Yet another home DIY mini BBQ pit I made some months back. 2023 saw me building (and throwing away) a few BBQ/ charcoal fire pits. Why did I do it would probably be attributed to the fact that my friend who was in the car aircon business off loading a couple of car aircon gas tanks. These tanks are relatively small actually but KC does have many of them. So, I got to experiment with a few designs of wood stoves, and now this...kinda like a BBQ pit...a real mini.
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The car aircon gas tank is small |
Why make when you can easily buy a BBQ pit
Ever since I got the welding machine, I have been craving to do more and more welding projects. I have made at least two rocket stoves (both eventually scrapped) and also two other BBQ stoves. This one is unique cause I intended it to be strictly for BBQ. On top of that, I saw a video on youtube that uses perlite mix with white cement to make a pizza oven. So, I thought perhaps combining the two would be interesting. Perlite is some volcanic material that is commonly used with plants. Anyway, the reason to use it is because it does not crack easily, hence (I think) is suitable option for my BBQ pit walls.
My DIY mini BBQ pit design
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Simple design for a DIY mini BBQ pit |
Slice the car aircon gas tank into half, weld in some metal rods to rest the mesh for fire is and make a side air vent with hinges (to control airflow) and slap in the perlite + white cement mix. Simple really. But by the time I welded the rods in, I was already blowing a lot of holes into the gas tank. when welding. My control of welding machine just isn't there yet. Lacking patience is probably what it is all about. Looking at the weld forming through the auto darkening helmet is captivating. I often find myself looking at the bright weld waves forming but then pushed it for too long, creating too much heat that burnt through the metal. It is really hard to resist that urge to keep pulling the trigger.
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The air vent to help control the fire |
Perlite- white cement mix for the DIY Mini BBQ pit
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Perlite- white cement mix for BBQ pit |
A few sources on Youtube suggested a 3 part perlite to 1 part white cement ratio for pizza ovens. I decided to just follow that for this built. Perlite is a strange material. It is very light and it soaks up water. With this ratio, it was kinda hard to try to get it to stick to the walls of the BBQ pit. So, I lined the walls with metal mesh, hoping that it would give the mix a place to hang on to. With a pair of gloves, it took a bit or working in but it eventually finish.
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Padding in the mx to the walls of the BBQ pit |
This mix would need to sit for quite a number of weeks to make sure all the moisture dries up properly or else it may crack. One Youtube video recommended at least 24 weeks. That is just insane. I cut it down to just a few weeks considering I am in Malaysia and we are literally hot all the time. This hot weather is great for curing the mix (I think).
The DIY mini BBQ pit sits in the outdoor store for its slow drying process. In the mean time, I gathered some ideas on what to do with the legs for the BBQ pit and what would be the first 'meal' cooked over it. I have a few ideas and they all sounds good. Dry fast my mini BBQ pit!
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