Firebox in Aluminium....?

[Big_bazza99]

I have a large sheet of checkerplate which I believe is aluminium (doesn't take a magnet). It's about 1.5mm - 2mm thick.

Would it be any good to use as a firebox or if it is aluminium, is it a non starter, and what problems would/could I get?

Looking to make a larger scale "nimblewell" type firebox about 2ft by 1ft by 7" high

Thanks, Paul

 

[lannyman8]

you could try it, it would make the box easy enough, it might melt or destort to much when you use it though.....

regards.

chris.

 

[ged]

Many stainless steels won't stick to a magnet, so that doesn't help so much. However if it's aluminium it will weigh about 2.7 times as much as water, if it's steel it will be about 7.9 times. So a piece 10cm x 10cm x 1mm will weigh about 27 grammes if it's aluminium, and about 79 grammes if it's steel. Scale to suit your plate. Aluminium is a lot softer than steel, so if it scratches very easily with a scribe it's probably aluminium.

There are all sorts of alloys too, if you've no idea where it came from it could be any of lots of them but maybe unlikely.

If it's aluminium you could be taking a risk but you might get away with it. My Ghillie kettle has an aluminium fire tray, it's fairly thick material but I haven't measured it. Probably 2mm or so. It gets a pretty good draught going and that makes for a hot fire and I've never seen any sign of trouble. Aluminium melts at about 660 degrees Celsius, and a wood fire can easily get to that temperature in the middle, but around the edges, where the firebox is, it will be cooler especially if you have a bed of ash under the glowing coals. Aluminium gets very soft before it melts and then it can sag.

PS: A larger stove such as the size you suggested will get a lot hotter and be more risky.

 

[woof]

I've quite a few firebox's out of aluminium, and have tried 3mm, but its to thin. 5mm, works great, but ally becomes soft once you've had a fire in it, and it can bend, but the bonus is unlike steel, you can easily bend it back.
I've never used the checkerplate, so that may well give it some rigity, so give it a try.

Rob

 

[NathanG]

the problem i foresee with a box that big is that after youve had the fire in it you will have annealed it and in its annealed state it is considerably softer than steel in its annealed state, so it could start to sag and twist under its own weight, also, alumininium can corrode quite quickly if it gets hot, or at least in my experience. Would be better to get a sheet of steel from somewhere, it shouldnt be too expensive or hard to come by.