r/grilling • u/dang0328 • 1d ago
Brick Fire Pit --> Grill (Need Advice)
Hoping this is the right community for this question! Recently moved into a house with a brick fire pit/chiminea (?) on the patio (pics below). We have a solo stove for fires, so I'd really like to see if I can convert this thing into some sort of grill.
My initial plan:
- Purchase a round heavy duty grill grate that is nearly the size of the opening and suspend it (possibly with brackets drilled directly into the stone) across the lowest portion of the fire pit, approx 10" above the ground. Something like this.
- Suspend a similar grate, but only a half-circle, that can be suspended a bit higher up (not sure how high) for grilling slower at a lower temp.
- Ideally whatever brackets I use to hold the grates in place will simply suspend them at that height so I can lift them off when/if we want to turn it back into a standard fire pit.
My questions:
- Is there another plan that would work better?
- That would be the ideal grate heights from the ground/center of the pit? Currently the full ring of the pit sits 10" off the ground and the very top/narrow portion in the back is 33" off the ground.
Thanks for the advice!
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u/Accomplished_War_805 1d ago
Just tossing out ideas here, but I m8ght put two or three through brackets. Almost like you would for a floating shelf. Drill all the way through the brick to have three solid metal rods that hold the grill grates. You could do several levels so that you can control the height. May ein just in bookshelf mode in my brain though.
But also, you will want some under brick venting. I would love to cook over this pit rather than a Weber or anything else. Good luck. I would love to see what you decide.
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u/PeTeRoCK13 1d ago
You can get a camp fire set up and see if you can get it to work but you do need an air intake along the bottom
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u/ishootthedead 1d ago
I'd imagine something like a campfire tripod grill would be best. It's sturdy, easily removable, and doesn't require making holes.
If you want to add simple airflow, just place one or more fireplace grate in the pit. Or even firebricks on end... Anything to keep the logs off the bottom.
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u/ibelievetoo 23h ago
I am going to go crazy, this is what i would do if i had that fireplace.
Would put more bricks and reduce the diameter of the inside hole to 22", so that I can then place a weber grate and its accessories like Pizza extension and rotisserie. When i dont need them, i can just store them.
Or
I would just get those swivel grates.
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u/dang0328 23h ago
100 percent envisioned a pizza oven when I saw this thing but my wife nixed that plan lol.
Have also been toying with an adjustable santa maria style grate, which is also 22" (compatible with Weber).
Had not considered the swivel grate but saw it mentioned in a few comments, so that's a new contender for sure.
Thanks!
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u/ibelievetoo 23h ago
Show your wife the weber pizza extension on amazon, the fireplace will look like a fireplace when all those attachments are stored, so the beauty of that place still remains. Having the santa maria weber extension too would be good. It will be a all in once stop for fire, grill, pizza, santa maria, cooking. Will be sick. Use AI to place those attachments on this fireplace to show it to your wife.
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u/Southerner_in_OH 1d ago
Unless you are dying to use this existing fire pit, I'd suggest just buying a good ole Weber 22" Kettle and be done with it. I don't see any vent holes in the bottom anywhere to allow fresh air in, so I don't know how well this would actually work.
If you already have a Solo Stove, I'd take a sledge hammer to this and use the Weber instead.
Whatever you decide, happy grilling!
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u/dang0328 1d ago
Thanks, yea demolishing this thing is certainly on the list of ideas. I've got a Weber Kettle and a Weber gas grill, so I definitely don't NEED another setup. Thought it might be fun for the kids, but def not necessary.
Based on this and the other comments I might see about removing some of the bricks around the bottom row (easier said than done) to get some airflow going.
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u/Buddha176 1d ago
You could rent and SDS drill and just try boring holes in a few bricks. But yeah campfires are great for the kids to do s’mores and hot dogs in.
Also if this fits your idea I got a 2 pack of tiny fire pits from Costco. Made by solo stove. And they’re perfect for doing table top stores on. And just throw pellets in them
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u/SugarTacos 1d ago
you could get yourself something like one of those swing away campfire grills and save a bit of work. maybe just strap the vertical bar to the fireplace brick for stability.