If you want the best chiminea for modern style, the Steel Chiminea With Wood Storage is made of sturdy steel and comes with a square frame. The chimney is tall and circular and straight, perfect for those who want a tall but slim chiminea.
With a gold base, this chiminea adds a pop of gold to tie in to any garden decoration. It's easy to assemble, as the chimney slots easily onto the base, and storage will be easy as it only weighs 9.85kg.
Chimineas serve two purposes. They're great for creating heat in your garden and acting as an alternative to the best patio heaters, and some of the top 360-degree chimineas will heat everyone who sits around it.
Another reason to buy the best chiminea is for the heat they create. By creating a crackling fire from wood or charcoal, these garden heaters will give off a classic glow for your garden in the evenings.
The outside of a clay chiminea must be protected from moisture, and the best way to do this is by sealing it. Sealants protect the clay so that it becomes waterproof. Sealants last approximately three to six months, depending on how much you use your outdoor fireplace. To seal your chiminea:
To protect your chiminea from snow, ice, rain, and other harsh conditions, buy and use a cover. There are lots of custom covers on the market, so you can find one in the color and thickness of your preference for approximately $30 to $50. Your cover is a great investment, because it will:
If you take good care by cleaning chimineas properly, setting them up correctly, using them safely, covering them up, and having good common sense, you should be able to enjoy your outdoor fire pit for many years to come.
Clay is the most traditional chiminea material, and while those versions might have old-world charm, they're heavy. A modest 37-inch-tall model can weigh about 75 pounds. Plus, clay is susceptible to freezing and cracking if left out in colder climates. Home centers and hardware stores tend to have a smaller clay chiminea selection vs. fire pits or patio heaters, so you might have to head online to find a larger selection. Expect to pay about $250 to about $500 for a 49-inch-tall model from brands such as Harward.
But fun fire... campfires, bonfires, and that long gone but lovinglyremembered autumn ritual of leaf burning by the curbside... can still be yoursthrough the noble chiminea, the popular outdoor potbelly fireplace.
Originating in Mexico in the 17th century, the original chimineas were usedto bake bread. As with the originals, modern chimineas are handmade fromraw, wet clay, giving each chiminea its own personality. They areactually made from two pieces... the chimney or "stack" madeseparately from the wood chamber or "base". After a short periodof air drying, they are joined together to make a seemingly seamless fireplace!
The formed chiminea is allowed to air dry for a few more days and then isbaked in a 900+ degree kiln. Allowing enough drying time asimportant since chimineas placed into the kiln while too wet will invariablycrack. After thorough cooling, the outside is painted to give arustic-looking, almost antique appearance. (Personally, I like the antiqueweathered look... then I don't have to be on "pins n' needles" waitingfor that first inevitable blemish!)
The chiminea is primarily a wood-burning stove. Hard woods burn best and produce the least amount of sparks. Some chiminea users whocook in their chimineas burn charcoal, which gives a longer lasting, moreuniform heat than firewood.
Don't everuse any lighting fluid, alcohol or gasoline in a chiminea! There is a possible explosive danger in using any sort of accelerant in aclosed stove, This makes the lighting of the coal a challenge! Onesafe way is to first burn some hard wood to form wood coals, which in turn arehot enough to light the charcoal. You could also use self-lightingcharcoal.
OK... you're really creative and you think you canimprovise a venting arrangement. Fine... but there are other reasons tokeep the chiminea outside. First and foremost, the breakable nature of theclay make them a serious fire hazard... one that you would have to be veryfoolish to want inside your very flammable home! Remember that regularstoves and fireplaces are made from steel and cast iron... not nearly asbreakable as clay. Secondly, chimineas lack flame control and don't sealtightly. This might be fine for a fireplace since all the burning is doneinside an isolated, fireproof chamber. Would you want an uncontrollablefire in your living room? Any questions??
Though burning a chiminea is safer than an opencampfire, I would caution against burning yours when the vegetation in your areais dangerously dry. If there are any local restrictions on outdoorburning, be sure your chiminea is not putting yourself or others at risk!
There are rules you must follow to make your chiminea experience a wonderfulone. The goal is really simple... do everything humanly possible tokeep your chiminea from cracking! Though hard, clay is alsofragile. Aside from the obvious... e.g. don't beat it with a hammer or dropit... improper burning and lack of maintenance can also cause cracking or breakage.
Think of your chiminea as a big piece of china...fine china! If you drop it on a hard surface, it will probablybreak. One dealer told me that they didn't guarantee chimineas forbreakage because most of them were broken through careless handling beforethey were even fired up once! "Due care" are the words of the day.
Avoid lifting and carrying your chiminea as much aspossible by using a hand truck or cart to move it when necessary. Ergonomically speaking, chimineas are a chiropractor's best friend and anyattempt to lift one alone may invite injury! I wouldn't be surprised tosee an enterprising chiropractor selling discount chimineas to keep businessbooming! (Just kidding... I am actually a devotee of chiropractictreatment!)
Because of the chiminea's two-piece construction,the attachment between the stack and base is the main structural weakpoint. Never ever lift a chiminea by the stack! If you have astrong back and a moderately-sized, liftable-by-mortal-man chiminea, placing onehand in the firebox and the other around the stack as low as possible isprobably the best method. Of course, having a friend help is better still.
It is absolutely mandatoryto apply a sealer to the outside of your chiminea. Themanufacturer recommended finishes are Future acrylic floor finish or a woodsealer, such as Thompson's Water Seal. The sealer keeps moisture fromseeping into the clay. Remember that your chiminea is painted, not glazedlike ceramic tile,and the paint offers very little protection from moisture. In fact, thesealer will protect and extend the life of the paint finish. The chimineashould be resealed at least once a month during periods of use.
Always place your chiminea on the metal stand that(hopefully) camewith it, and never place it on an unprotected deck or other flammablesurface. You can place it on the lawn (as long as the lawn is not dry andflammable), on slate or on gravel.
There is increased fire danger when hot coals fallout of the chiminea... this can happen when "poking" the fire oradding more wood. This is a very serious problem with "two-hole"chimineas... chimineas with viewing holes on both sides... since it is easy toaccidentally push coals out the opposite side while loading.
Always cover your cool chimineaif you expect rain. This is because any moisture it absorbs may turn tosteam and causecracks in the clay when heated. If the chiminea accidentally gets soaked,you can either move it to a covered location and let it dry naturally for a fewdays, or light afew very small fires to drive themoisture out.
You are probably saying to yourself... "So I light a fire, the chimineais really hot and it unexpectedly rains. What do I do?" Obviously you can't move a hot chiminea and you can't use your flammable vinyl cover. Though most chimineas come with painted clay covers, they are not meant to keep rain out.
One suggestion is to put a large piece of sheetmetal over the top of the chiminea and holding it in place with a heavy stone. You could use a thin piece of slate for the same purpose... slate is heavierthan sheet metal and will not blow off the chiminea as easily if the wind comesup. Either will keep the water out of the stack and may also keep water out of the fireboxopening. With the lack of draft, the fire will initially begin to flameout of the firebox, but will quickly die down to a smolder for lack of oxygen. Chiminea hara-kiri!!
A freestanding, fireproof frame placed over thechiminea is another possibility. This could be designed to stand above thesmoke stack and give complete protection from the rain. I would beinterested if anyone has experimented with this concept.
One peculiarity in chiminea construction is thatmany firebox openings tend to be angled so that a driving rain can easily enterit. This, of course, is due to the round shape of the base. You maybe able to tilt the chiminea slightly forward so that the top edge of theopening overhangs the bottom, allowing the rain to run off. However, ifyour chiminea is very hot, cold rain could cause it to crack so theaforementioned metal or slate stack cover may be preferable.
Hot wood coalscan cause the clay to crack. Protect the bottom of the chiminea bycovering it with at least three inches of sand. You can also use a small metal woodrack to raise the wood if you chiminea is large enough, but it is unnecessary.
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