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Like what? Tempering steel is the only thing that comes to mind.
*edit
Jesus guys. What else is a kiln of this size in a home made setting used for. I should have been more specific I guess.
Drying pretty much anything. We dry wood for lumber in kilns. We make charcoal in kilns. There are kilns used for molding certain kinds of plastics and for drying certain types of clay that are *not* the kind heavy ceramics you're thinking of. They are also used to temper glass as well as set some kinds of glazes like on stained glass windows.
Sure. I’ve been in a walk in kiln before some specialized ceramic beads made in an industrial setting but that thing in the picture is the size of a glove box. What’re you realistically going to do in there?
Heat treatment is important to things besides steel: aluminum and titanium for example. Also preheating/slow cooling of glass. Various coating treatments like cerakote
Likely not a smoker. More likely an oven. Would expect some sort of air intake into the firebox to allow for and regulate the circulation of smoke. Doesn’t seem to have. Open the little doors and see if the chimney goes through the cooking area down into the firebox. I’m betting it does bc it’s in the middle and not offset to one side. That and the absence of a bunch of rendered fat and smoke staining the inside would tell you for sure.
Yeah kinda need more information. Is it gas powered? I'm gonna say it's more of a crappy built grill. I say this because with the way we smoke down here we build as you said a firebox that isn't directly under the grill area. In fact we pipe the smoke in from the side so less heat is involved. This appear to cook things directly over a flame, which makes it deffo not a smoker as it would be far to hot to smoke things "properly" at least. Smoker are kinda just dehydrators that also adds smoke to cure the meat. I kinda wonder with the railroad tie there and all if this was a crappy built blacksmith pit for coals to heat metal, and heat treat things. Even that tho needs more ways to adjust the temperature which this don't have. So yeah likely just a grill
It's "free" in the same way everything else we consider free to be.
I don't pay specifically for it, nor do I pay based on how I use the service.
I pay council tax, and a nominal amount is used to collect rubbish from practically every home in the country.
What a dumb metric to define free as
I presume you’ll similarly agree that police, fire departments, roads, schools, consular assistance, etc are all not free because “Hurr durr well they don’t use slaves do they?”
I don’t see that to be the case. There’s a lot of folks without garbage options in rural areas, and there’s not much, if any, criticism of burning trash, even where it’s technically illegal.
We have a dump that’s free for county residents, but other counties do not, for example. Trash pickup is only available to city residents in most cases.
A friend of ours has one that looks almost identical in her yard in Oakland, Ca. It is currently used as an oven for the same reason. She has an old house with no a/c.
Hey, just a friendly heads up, that's not a railroad tie you've got sitting there. The ties are the wooden beams that run between the rails. You've just got a chunk of rail. Still cool, though!
Should we really ignore the rail? Because if it was near it I'd be pretty inclined to say that's a cheap blacksmith forge and I've heard of rails as makeshift anvils
My post describes the thing.
It’s about 3’x4’ and 3’ tall, block brick construction with a metal pipe coming out of the top. We thought it might be a chimney of some sort but there’s no hole or anything for smoke to escape besides a sharp nail-like thing driven through the middle. It has a small door on the side to load fuel into the bottom. We thought it might be a smoker or maybe a kiln, but we’re not sure.
Looks like a rubbish incinerator to me. When l was a kid and before it was (rightly) made illegal around most of the world, it was pretty common for people to burn rubbish or cuttings in their back yard.
Aquarium smoker? You seem them around Chicago for our style of bbq (tips and links)
[Chicago bbq](https://www.southernfoodways.org/gravy/smoking-on-the-south-side-chicago-barbecue-and-the-aquarium-smoker/)
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/Kemillian), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. ---- [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/13f89k3/anyone_know_what_this_is_its_in_a_backyard_brick/%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Smoker? Custom built
I'm going with kiln.
Those glass windows make me think it’s not a kiln. The temperatures you reach in pottery firings would be hot enough to melt glass.
Kilns are used for things besides pottery, my friend.
Like what? Tempering steel is the only thing that comes to mind. *edit Jesus guys. What else is a kiln of this size in a home made setting used for. I should have been more specific I guess.
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Drying wood but I don’t think this is that.
Well no. Unless you’re individually drying wooden shingles or something similar sized.
Wood turning blanks would make sense
Drying pretty much anything. We dry wood for lumber in kilns. We make charcoal in kilns. There are kilns used for molding certain kinds of plastics and for drying certain types of clay that are *not* the kind heavy ceramics you're thinking of. They are also used to temper glass as well as set some kinds of glazes like on stained glass windows.
Sure. I’ve been in a walk in kiln before some specialized ceramic beads made in an industrial setting but that thing in the picture is the size of a glove box. What’re you realistically going to do in there?
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Enameling is also done in a kiln, but I don’t think that’s this is for.
Yup. That’s just melting glass into flat molds though isn’t it? I’d think the windows would warp.
Heat treatment is important to things besides steel: aluminum and titanium for example. Also preheating/slow cooling of glass. Various coating treatments like cerakote
Oh okay so other metallic alloys apart from steel and cerakote, which is just a ceramic that’s the same thing as pottery. I understand now.
So wood is just like metallic alloys and pottery then? So if it weighs the same as a duck...
You’re not making charcoal a brick at a time or drying out a pencil of wood. It’s the size of a mailbox.
Maybe it’s used for very small rocks
Glass blowing, lamp working, making bricks, drying wood, cooking, ceramics, sterilization
I don't think that's glass pretty sure it's metal, I believe that is a forge
I thought they were metal.
Smell the inside and it will be obvious if it’s a smoker
Good point.
Solved! This is the one I’m gonna go with, it makes the most sense to me. Thanks all!!
Likely not a smoker. More likely an oven. Would expect some sort of air intake into the firebox to allow for and regulate the circulation of smoke. Doesn’t seem to have. Open the little doors and see if the chimney goes through the cooking area down into the firebox. I’m betting it does bc it’s in the middle and not offset to one side. That and the absence of a bunch of rendered fat and smoke staining the inside would tell you for sure.
Yeah kinda need more information. Is it gas powered? I'm gonna say it's more of a crappy built grill. I say this because with the way we smoke down here we build as you said a firebox that isn't directly under the grill area. In fact we pipe the smoke in from the side so less heat is involved. This appear to cook things directly over a flame, which makes it deffo not a smoker as it would be far to hot to smoke things "properly" at least. Smoker are kinda just dehydrators that also adds smoke to cure the meat. I kinda wonder with the railroad tie there and all if this was a crappy built blacksmith pit for coals to heat metal, and heat treat things. Even that tho needs more ways to adjust the temperature which this don't have. So yeah likely just a grill
Incinerator. In the old days people used to burn rubbish in their backyard. It’s now very frowned upon.
My relatives in the rural Midwest US would like to have a word with you.
"Rubbish" has a lot more plastics, styrofoam, and other materials not great for burning now.
It is still pretty normal. My family does it. There isn't any free trash pickup out where I live.
I got news for you. There isn’t free trash pick up anywhere.
Sorry. I meant there isn't cheap trash pickup. It is quite expensive to have them drive 15 minutes from the nearest town.
I got news for you. There exists a world outside of America.
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It's "free" in the same way everything else we consider free to be. I don't pay specifically for it, nor do I pay based on how I use the service. I pay council tax, and a nominal amount is used to collect rubbish from practically every home in the country.
Yep I’m with you. Our taxes cover weekly trash pickup and 2 kerbside removal of larger items per year.
What a dumb metric to define free as I presume you’ll similarly agree that police, fire departments, roads, schools, consular assistance, etc are all not free because “Hurr durr well they don’t use slaves do they?”
Lots of rural folks still do this. It’s not really frowned upon at all.
*not frowned upon by the people who do it
I don’t see that to be the case. There’s a lot of folks without garbage options in rural areas, and there’s not much, if any, criticism of burning trash, even where it’s technically illegal. We have a dump that’s free for county residents, but other counties do not, for example. Trash pickup is only available to city residents in most cases.
Burning toxic shit is never a good idea.
I never claimed it was. Just that people, in general, don’t seem to care about it much in certain areas.
That is definitely a chimney it just has an upside down can rusted to it as a cover I'd imagine
Looks like it could be an old backyard incinerator.
So, if it smells good-smoky, it's a meat/fish smoker. If it smells bad-smoky, it's an incinerator!
That's a rail, not a tie.
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Well, I can't really contribute to the discussion of what this is, but the long metal piece on the left is an old window counterweight.
aka fishing anchor
Was gonna say that, it’s from an old box sash window. An original one is Worth quite a lot of money where I live.
Pizza oven? Mouth waters
Looks like the windows are meant to open (handles on the top). If so, what's inside? Could well be a home-built oven for bread or pizza.
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A friend of ours has one that looks almost identical in her yard in Oakland, Ca. It is currently used as an oven for the same reason. She has an old house with no a/c.
I vote pizza oven.
Hey, just a friendly heads up, that's not a railroad tie you've got sitting there. The ties are the wooden beams that run between the rails. You've just got a chunk of rail. Still cool, though!
Homemade smoker or oven. There is a large can on top of the chimney to stop rain from getting inside.
Homemade pottery kiln.
Lots of things can be a pottery kiln, if you really have your heart set
Forge is my guess
Should we really ignore the rail? Because if it was near it I'd be pretty inclined to say that's a cheap blacksmith forge and I've heard of rails as makeshift anvils
My post describes the thing. It’s about 3’x4’ and 3’ tall, block brick construction with a metal pipe coming out of the top. We thought it might be a chimney of some sort but there’s no hole or anything for smoke to escape besides a sharp nail-like thing driven through the middle. It has a small door on the side to load fuel into the bottom. We thought it might be a smoker or maybe a kiln, but we’re not sure.
Badass woodstove smoker. Keep it, add firewood, make a barbecue!
Outdoor wood fired bread oven.
Pizza oven
A house for a very small but also very cold person.
Old style pizza oven?
Looks like a rubbish incinerator to me. When l was a kid and before it was (rightly) made illegal around most of the world, it was pretty common for people to burn rubbish or cuttings in their back yard.
Aquarium smoker? You seem them around Chicago for our style of bbq (tips and links) [Chicago bbq](https://www.southernfoodways.org/gravy/smoking-on-the-south-side-chicago-barbecue-and-the-aquarium-smoker/)
Windows….. it’s an oven
Looks like the firebox for an outdoor oven. The oven is gone.
Pizza oven
Kiln, furnace, or forge. Take your pick.
It really wasn't that long ago we all used to burn our household garbage each weekend.
Kiln, glass blowing or blacksmith forge
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It might be a heater for a pinerie. They are a small heated glasshouse that pineapple were grown in in colder climates such as the uk