Anyone have your pit on side of house? How much space is needed?

[jd-santaclarita]

As I continue to plot how to leverage the most of my small socal yard and somewhat limiting hardscape, pool, stone gasser island and how to get a sweet insulated (cabinet) vertical smoker and santa maria grill combo as mentioned here: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236741&page=2 something keeps popping up I wanted to get some thoughts on.

How much space do you need realistically for a pit on a side of house situation. Meaning, does anyone actually have a hefty size pit on the 4'6" side house pathway? The other side is 5' wide, gravel so would be better but I'd have to move the A/C units back 10' as they are right in the way ($ but maybe worth it). Prob not a big santa maria or anything with lid counter balance I'm guessing. Is it practical to move around the vertical cabinet smokers on wheels every time you cook? or will that get old quick and cause me to start hanging clothes on my pit instead of using it (like that old treadmill). It also makes me sad that we have a nice yard with pool and built in island and i'd essentially be hiding my pride and joy bbq pit on the side without a permanent home where I cook on it where the backyard action is.

Wondering if anyone has dealt with this or made the side yard strip work in their favor.
Thanks,
JD

 

[SGH]

I have my Vault tucked into the corner of my front porch. The only issue that I have ever had is it does smoke the ceiling up a little. However it comes right off during my yearly pressure washing. Short of this, no issues.

 

[pjtexas1]

I have my cabinet on the back covered porch. I use a small battery operated fan that I use to blow smoke away from the ceiling. I keep my Shirley on the side of my house where I poured a12x31 slab. I'll eventually build a garage. 4.5 feet doesn't seem like much room for a big cooker.

 

[landarc]

Nope, my cookers sit on my front deck, there is a UDS, a 22.5 kettle, and a Blackstone griddle, and it occupies an area about 4.5'x10'

 

[pjtexas1]

Nope, my cookers sit on my front deck, there is a UDS, a 22.5 kettle, and a Blackstone griddle, and it occupies an area about 4.5'x10'

I missed the cabinet part. I was thinking big like an offset.

 

[dadsr4]

Just remember the safety offsets. Most manufactures will let you know how much air space you need around the cooker to be safe from ignition of what's nearby.

 

[TRRH]

Good question. I've checked numerous fire code and insurance websites and the info Is unclear and conservative e.g., typically "suggests" a minimum of 10 ft from combustibles and not under an overhang or ceiling. However, This is not in line with most folks do...

..FYI, California fire code says
"308.1.4 Open-flame cooking devices. Charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices shall not be operated on combustible balconies or within 10 feet (3048 mm) of combustible construction."
But, in the next line it states
"Exceptions 1. One- and two-family dwellings"

FYI, A guideline for wood burning stoves is
"The benchmark temperature, which determines safe clearances, is typically 115 degrees F over the ambient room temperature. In other words, if the ambient room temperature is 70F, the benchmark wall temperature cannot exceed 185F. If temperatures exceed 185F, the stove must be located further away from the wall." (http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/wood-stove-wall-clearances-primer.147785/)

A suggestion is to fire it up and check the temperature of your wall..even if it's brick, or any combustible with a infrared temp gauge and use the temp guideline above.
Hope this helps
Terry
.

 

[dadsr4]

Another thing to keep in mind. The temps we cook at are one thing, but grease fires and accidental air leaks can result in much higher temperatures. My kettle with the lid on correctly doesn't get over 400 deg, because it's an old daisy wheel style with small openings. If the lid gets bumped, it can get much higher. I keep it 12 feet away from my siding for this reason.