Titan Manufacturing/palletforks.com cauldron fire pit

[shingles]

In another thread I posted that I wanted a Cowboy Cauldron fire pit in the back yard. I commented that it was silly expensive with the largest one costing north of $2,000. One night I randomly was looking for other options and came across palletforks.com. They make and sell two sizes a smaller one at 29” and a larger one at 41”. I don’t have proof but the construction of the Titan unit and Cowboy cauldron are so similar, I wonder if Titan makes it for Cowboy. I bought the Titan unit because it is a lot cheaper. I bought it when it was on sale at $850 shipped. This is compared to Nealy $2,500.

A few differences to note:
The Cowboy Cauldron does not have holes in the cauldron. The Titan unit does. Cowboy Cauldron talks about using it to actually cook stew in. Not sure i would ever do it. I assume the holes aid in drainage if it rains.

The sizes are slightly different. Titan does not have the smallest 24”-ish size. They have 29” and 41”. The Cowboy equivalent sizes are slightly larger at 30” and 42”.

Cowboy units come with a cover for the Cauldron. The Titan does not.

Both come with a grate for open flame cooking.

On to the Titan unit.
The packaging was quite impressive for the shipping. A special frame was built just to hold the cauldron itself. Everything came pre-assembled, all you have to do is set up the tripod and hang the cauldron.

The trashcan is for size comparisons.

Here you can see the tripod set up before I hung the cauldron.

The cauldron is quite heavy at 300lbs. I needed a buddy and our wives to help get the thing hung.

They did not ship a hook with the unit. I have reached out to them and they will send it. For the time being I wrapped the chain around.

I haven’t put any firewood in just yet. But I think we will do that soon.

Over all I quite happy with the piece. If nothing else it makes for a great conversation piece.

 

[kimkats]

NICE! That looks so pretty! I bet it is quite the conversation piece! Thanks for sharing!

Kim

 

[Amynicolemc]

It looks great! Thank you so much for sharing! We are still undecided between a cauldron and a custom cowboy cooker. Good to know there's a cheaper option available for the cauldron although it does make the choice even harder now lol

 

[HiddenRiver]

I am thinking about how to clean out the ashes after a fire? Are there instructions?

 

[shingles]

I am thinking about how to clean out the ashes after a fire? Are there instructions?

They just suggest removing the ash. The bowl pivots so you can”easily” tip it and dump it out. I think it’s a two person job.

 

[kimkats]

I do suggest getting a large, metal something to dump the ashes in just to be on the safe side. Of course you will make sure the ashes are cold before you go dumping them.

When will you light it up? I can't wait to see pics!!!! Will you use duralogs or real wood?

Kim

 

[jimim]

They make shop vacs for fireplaces. They hold a bit of heat. I have one. They r called ash vacs. Yes u can’t suck red hot embers in them but the next day when cooled works great zero mess. Suck up all the ash dump it in the woods. Done. No dumping that huge thing. No mess on ur patio.

Mine me was like 150 I think.

 

[HiddenRiver]

They make shop vacs for fireplaces. They hold a bit of heat. I have one. They r called ash vacs. Yes u can’t suck red hot embers in them but the next day when cooled works great zero mess. Suck up all the ash dump it in the woods. Done. No dumping that huge thing. No mess on ur patio.

Mine me was like 150 I think.

That’s great! Must be what chimney sweeps use? Ashes are also good for compost pile!

 

[bmoreswim]

I think they look really cool. I do though like to see the wood while I’m sitting down. Seems the fire and wood would need to be large to do so. To aid in airflow you could put a fire grate inside. I do on ours - ground level pot. It would also raise the wood up for visibility.

My fire pit is a thick steel pre-rusted variety. For the three small legs I use cork potted plant table protectors to keep rust stains to a minimum on our pavers.

I suspect that stains will occur at some point. But for me, that’s not too big of a deal. Fire is natural and so is rust.

Interesting to see how the stand looks over time.

Not being negative, but I just like to think about all that stuff. Again, awesome looking!

There is likely some material difference between the two varieties, but what it means in reality only time will tell.

 

[shingles]

Yea I need to find something to keep the legs off the deck.

I actually have the pot raised pretty high. Once the hook gets here, the pit will be actually pretty low. If you look at their pictures it’s almost on the ground. Not sure if I want it that way... nice thing is it’s adjustable.

 

[bmoreswim]

Yes I didn’t think about it being lowered. Good functionality.

 

[shingles]

Yes I didn’t think about it being lowered. Good functionality.

You know in retrospect, the smaller one is probably perfectly fine. Not sure why I bought this giant one, haha. But I think the smaller one will give you better visibility to the figure.

 

[leemilton]

I love the idea of that one. I ended going with something a little simpler and less expensive.

 

[bmoreswim]

I'd definitely want to wrap the inside of that flaming flame holder with a galvanized hardware cloth, 1/4" (or non-galvanized so it rusts and blends in). I'd expect unwanted coals to escape from time to time as is.

 

[rajung]

Just received my cauldron fire pit from Titan also.
29 inch. This went on sale while I was contemplating 2 weeks ago, it went on sale and just ordered , price drop for a few days from 299 to 255 delivered.
Its the 29 inch one. Man is this thing impressive.
Legs are 3 piece each on this one, but still very heavy gauge metal.
The pot weighs around 75 to 80 pounds. and does come with a grate. Close to 1/6 the price of the other one that I think may have a metal cover for bowl, not sure, but wouldn't really need anyway. Very happy

 

[shingles]

Just received my cauldron fire pit from Titan also.
29 inch. This went on sale while I was contemplating 2 weeks ago, it went on sale and just ordered , price drop for a few days from 299 to 255 delivered.
Its the 29 inch one. Man is this thing impressive.
Legs are 3 piece each on this one, but still very heavy gauge metal.
The pot weighs around 75 to 80 pounds. and does come with a grate. Close to 1/6 the price of the other one that I think may have a metal cover for bowl, not sure, but wouldn't really need anyway. Very happy

If you think about it the price they charge, IMO, is very reasonable. I mean it probably costs $100 just to ship it! I think it’s a great conversational piece too.

 

[rajung]

I was thinking the same thing about the shipping costs.
Cant go wrong if looking for one of these and purchasing with them.
Reminds me of the kettles that I have seen used at some renaissance festivals we have been to . Not going to set up until spring,Though I do see Texas getting snow before us???????????????

 

[shingles]

Haha yeah. 2” here in the SW suburb of Houston. 5” a little further north.

You know i keep thinking maybe i should have bought the smaller one. The large one is near impossible to move around by even two people.

 

[kimkats]

I wonder if some of those "furniture sliders" would help move it?

 

[shingles]

First time lighting the cauldron. It’s a hit!

Got a deck protector to make sure no issues with the stamped and colored concrete.

I added one of these grates so I can lift the fire a little higher up.