Stainless Steel Kick Panels: Heat and fumes?

[TPK]

Stainless Steel Kick Panels: Heat and fumes?

* See pics for better idea of what I am trying to describe *

I have a square fire pit frame that is missing the ceramic/clay bowl (thus the reason the neighbor tossed it out and I took it).

I have 3 10 x 18” Stainless Steel kick plates, usually used on the bottom of a door in a restaurant. These plates were free from a Craigslist ad, they are very thin (Some sellers say 0.050" as the thickness on the panel/sheet)

My questions are:

Will the SS sheets be ok with the heat from a wood/camp fire? I am concerned with warping or melting. Sounds silly but if I don’t know I should ask, right?

Will the SS give off any fumes with the heat that I need to be aware of?

My plan was to pop-rivet but a friend told me the rivets may not hold up tot heat so Iw ill use bolts from another CL ad (I love that free section) to secure the 3 pieces together. I want to keep this project as cheap as possible, right now everything has been free! Call me Fred Sandford!

[Rocky D]

No fumes...use stainless pop rivets....might warp, depending on how secure you attach them. If you really want a challenge, you can get fire brick from a heating stove company and build a new pit, to fit..and that's it..I quit! :rolleyes: :D

[TPK]

Thanks Rocky! I appreciate the information. I am a newbie welder but have a habit of picking up free stuff to make new stuff. I knew I could not weld SS with my HH140 set up for mild steel (solid wire & C25 gas) but could not resist taking it "Just in case" I could find a use for it...and look at the opportunity I have now.

So, no concerns about the heat warping or otherwise weakening the SS?

[usmcpop]

You are not going to melt SS with a wood fire. You could put a little sand in the bottom and maybe some surplus clay tiles around the edges to keep the heat more evenly distributed and minimize any buckling. But that will add weight ...

[Rocky D]

Thanks Rocky! I appreciate the information. I am a newbie welder but have a habit of picking up free stuff to make new stuff. I knew I could not weld SS with my HH140 set up for mild steel (solid wire & C25 gas) but could not resist taking it "Just in case" I could find a use for it...and look at the opportunity I have now.

So, no concerns about the heat warping or otherwise weakening the SS?
You can weld SS with mild steel, it's just that the welds will rust, is all.

[Hotfoot]

You can weld SS with mild steel, it's just that the welds will rust, is all.

Ditto. I do it often.:)

[Big_Eddy]

Do I understand that you want to use the stainless to replace the fire bowl? If so - that thin stainless is going to warp, buckle and sag something crazy if you build a fire directly on the inside of it, never mind tossing sticks of wood onto it when hot.

I'd build an angle frame to hold things together, then "build" a replacement bowl out of used bricks (firebricks are better - but any old brick will work), and skin over the outside with your stainless. That way the stainless will last more than a couple of fires, and will look goods too.

Old bricks should be free and easy to find

[Hotfoot]

"Old bricks should be free and easy to find"...Those need to be Fire Bricks, and they are not very common, as they are only used in Fireplaces, etc. I do see them on the C'list freebies now and then, usually a couple left over from a job. Potters also use them in kilns, and blacksmiths line their ovens with them. Do not use regular brick...it holds moisture, and WILL explode!!:eek:...it also will crumble and deteriorate from the repeated heat exposure. USMC Pop's suggestion for a layer of sand is a good one, but I wouldn't worry about it. Weld the SS with your existing rig, and it'll be just fine!

[Big_Eddy]

Hotfoot - interesting comment on the regular bricks holding moisture and exploding. I can believe it. I have no experience with fire pits - but do make maple syrup. There are lots of evaporators that are bricked with old house bricks. However - it's a different application. They are (usually) under cover so are not exposed to as much moisture, and the fire is enclosed within the evaporator shell reducing the danger if one were to explode.

I stand corrected and I too recommend the OP look specifically for fire bricks.

[HT1]

I'm assuming this is an outdoor firepit??? If I'm wrong disregard, but the first time it rains on the firebricks, they are also likely to have a failure the next time they are "fired" possibly catastropicthink explose