"Mr. Fire Face" the Outdoor Fireplace Made From Old Propane Tank

This outdoor fireplace turned out really well, and brings joy to all our friends.

It's a quick project for anyone who has a way to cut metal.

Star and I built it a couple of days ago,
and it's already been the center of some nice fireside gatherings.

The main safety concern is to make sure there's no flammable gas left in the tank when you start brutalizing it.

You can start out with any metal tank, but we used a 20 gallon vertical propane tank.
A few years ago they changed the valves on new propane tanks, and no one wants the old ones anymore. So you can get them for free.

We were going for a SF Burningman aesthetic, but you can make yours any style you want.

Step 1: Safely Remove All Traces of Fuel

It's pretty important not to burn yourself to death while making this project.
Here are some hints as to how to avoid that.

Open the valve just a little and see if anything comes out.
If not, proceed.

Tap on the side of the tank with a wrench. Tap up and down on the side. If the sound changes as you go up and down the tank, you could be encountering liquid in the tank.
If not, Proceed.

Lift the tank - is it really heavy? That could be a sign that there's something in it.
If the tank seems light for its size, proceed.

Employ any other means at your disposal to determine if there's anything in the tank.
If you're sure it's empty, proceed.

Drill a very small hole in the top of the tank. Hopefully nothing comes out. You'll probably smell a little bit of propane stink. That stuff is pretty rank. If there's no gas gushing out but you still smell it, that's probably okay. You can expect some traces.

Drill the hole big enough to put in a compressed air nozzle. Not a tight fit, you want it loose so you can flush the old air out around it.
Blow lots of compressed air in until you don't smell that propane stink anymore.

Drill the hole even bigger so you can fill the tank with water. Fill it with water. Now you're sure you've flushed out all the old flammable gas. If you want to be fancy like an Alaskan you can start cutting the chimney hole or fireplace door out while there's still water in the tank.

Step 2: Cut Chimney and Door Holes

We used an oxy-acetylene torch to cut the chimney hole. A sawzall or even a drill and chisel would work fine. Our chimney hole is just smaller than the inside of the valve guard flange. We thought it would be too small but it works fine.

We cut teeth in Mr. Fireface's mouth door and bent the teeth out afterward.
Eye and ear holes completed the face.

Star hung the cutoff top with valve and siphon tube on the top of the tank. Now we can't figure out how to unhook it. We left it there as a grandad puzzle for someone else to solve.

Step 3: Weld Some Legs On

Make sure you do a good job of welding the legs on. You don't want Mr. Fire Face to fall over and headbutt and burn you while you're relaxing.

For the front legs we used the base of an office chair for a "skull-and-crossbones" look.
Also to give people something to put their feet up on without burning their shoes.

For the back legs we used a couple of pickaxe heads. We buttressed them with some curved bits of pipe scrap for extra insurance.

Step 4: Enjoy!

Now burn a lot of stuff and have a really cozy time!

Step 5: Wheels, Taller Stack, Larger Grate Holes

Here's Mr. Fireface a few months later after some improvements.

I cut big triangular holes in the bottom to let more air in and to let the ashes fall out.
Actually the triangles are flaps that I bent up at an angle to make the fire spin.

I cut the flue hole larger and welded a smaller propane tank on top with top and bottom cut out.
That makes it draw better and puts the smoke a little higher from your eyes and lungs.

I welded the whole thing onto a shopping-cart-dolly to make it easier to move around.
I put a big clay bowl under it to catch the ashes.