Chimineas - Are they for looks or warmth?

They are pretty cool to have in an area that has banned out door open fires except for chimeras ...so I'm thinking they're mostly for code. Also some real smart folks that want an outdoor fire but KNOW that run away sparks could have catastrophic consequences because of the surrounding neighborhood.

My wife bought me one many years back... you really need to be sitting close to the opening to feel anything at all. Mine was ceramic, wonder if you would get more radiant heat from metal. Its now a planter in the front yard.

How about one of those propane patio heaters? They even make tabletop models I think.

I would look at metal ones, if possible - cast aluminum. The Clay ones will not hold up to hard use or cold temps.

I don't think these will make the outside much warmer unless you are within a couple feet of them. You may be better off with an infrared device like those LP gas thingys that you see at some restaurants which radiate from above.

Fod01 said:

My wife bought me one many years back... you really need to be sitting close to the opening to feel anything at all. Mine was ceramic, wonder if you would get more radiant heat from metal. Its now a planter in the front yard.

Click to expand...

I had almost exactly the same experience. My wife bought it to keep me warm while I smoke my stogies on the back porch. It makes a great ash tray, but doesn't put out much heat. Put the Christmas wrapping paper in it after Christmas one year, and the fire got so hot the paint started to bubble! We were tossing firewood onto the porch (2nd story) last week and hit it with a piece of wood. It crumbled, and the chimney part is in the garden now.

Ravenswood said:

Fod01 said:

My wife bought me one many years back... you really need to be sitting close to the opening to feel anything at all. Mine was ceramic, wonder if you would get more radiant heat from metal. Its now a planter in the front yard.

Click to expand...

I had almost exactly the same experience. My wife bought it to keep me warm while I smoke my stogies on the back porch. It makes a great ash tray, but doesn't put out much heat. Put the Christmas wrapping paper in it after Christmas one year, and the fire got so hot the paint started to bubble! We were tossing firewood onto the porch (2nd story) last week and hit it with a piece of wood. It crumbled, and the chimney part is in the garden now.

Click to expand...

Sorry, but the picture I got in my head of your chimenea crumbling under the sheer destructive might of a 15 mph firewood split is really, really cool. This has got to be one of the coolest stories I've heard on this forum!

You'll never achieve that with pellets, gas, oil, LP, or even pressed wood bio-bricks. Yet another reason to burn wood.


Edit - to the OP, I don't think a chimenea is a very good choice for a bit of added warmth on your porch. I've been around them before, and they really aren't heaters, more aesthetic than anything else. A better choice would probably be the LP ones people were talking about, or even one of those nice "fire bowls" would probably also be warmer than the chimenea.

Tudorman said:

My wife is bugging me about what to get me for my birthday and Christmas. We just put in a pool and patio and I was thinking one of these would be nice for late summer and early fall:

http://www.thebluerooster.com/catalog/grape-chimenea-outdoor-fireplace-p-34.html

We've had a firepit, but the shifting smoke becomes a PIA after a bit. For those that have a chiminea, does it put out enough heat to take off the chill without sitting on top of it?

Click to expand...

Yes, shifting smoke can be a PIA, but it does just mean shifting your spot around the pit. I think that - shifting smoke aside - if you like the heat and ambiance of your firepit, you're not going to like the chimenea. Just my opinion. I would say save your money, or, buy a portable fire pit like this: http://www.backyard-firepits.com/products/ceramic-tile-rectangle-fire-pit.aspx

You can find em cheaper than that at your local HD. I have one of these for my pool patio, but just 30 yards away is a huge hole in the ground encircled by large rocks. Nothing like an enormous open-air fire, IMO.

Tudorman said:

Ah-ha! Just the type of opinion I'm looking for. At the price, I think I'm going to pass. It is pretty cool looking, though. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Yeah. That one I posted is pricey. I have something like this one from Lowe's which is listed at $119. Got mine from HD though at end of a summer, and think I paid just under $100. It is nice to have for nights when swimming at the pool. You can get em cheaper without the surrounding table, but surrounding table is good for putting splits to dry when burning green wood outside...

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=256801-63094-SRFP46&lpage=none

Mine was nice and warm. Of course I over fired it and the chimney disconnected. Ours was one of those fairly large ones but it didnt have paint on it, just terra cotta. I put some bricks in the bottom and then just burned pallet wood in it. The wife and I stayed warm on a winter's night out there. We quit drinking though and lost a reason to go outside when it was cold just to sit. Especially when we've got a nice fire inside. Burn pallet wood and you'll be toasty with hardly any smoke.

Tudorman I've only been around 3 different ones and think they're mostly for looks and safety but in your situation coming out of a pool on summers night...it would be perfect. They're supposed to be a safer way to burn wood in a condominium type of enviroment.

My inlaws have one that just broke (terra cotta). My brother has a metal one that he abuses to no end and has had it for years. If you're close to it, it does give some heat.

Got one on the back patio and stuff it with sticks and twigs from the maple trees I have.

It can throw some radiant heat out the front enough to keep you from being chilled and my girlfriend and I have sad on a sette in front of it and been cozy.

I bent up a square of sheet metal at the corners and shoved it down the top to act as a damper because it would roar out of control with just the open top. The "damper" has about an inch of clearance around the flats and is just enough to make for a nice burn.

TG

I cracked my friends chimnea by overfiring it, not that warm in my opinion so I bought a metal firepit and modified the mesh side screen with expanded meta thatl I welded to it otherwise I had the fire burn through the factory stuff in short order!

Looks. It takes a-lot of wood and coals to get it to throw heat. they are nice on the patio though.

- -We've had a cast iron one out on the deck for about 7-8 years and been very happy with it----------just like a campfire, you need to have a sweater on once it actually gets cold or windy but at 3-5 feet away from it, there is plenty of heat. Enables us too keep usng the deck at night til the snow flies (sometimes after!)

Woodrat

Tell her to get you a nice .22 caliber rifle, an electric guitar or some other fun and annoying item.

my wife bought me a clay chiminea so I can smoke my stogies outside as well. The metal ones do put off much more heat (Father in law has one). This one isn't too bad, but still need to be within a few feet, even with a pretty big fire going. it is nice that the smoke stack keeps the wind changes from being (as much as) a problem as with an open fire pit.

it must be just me but i think those things are ugly as sin ,what an eyesore to sit on an otherwise beautiful deck

Firefighter here. Just for safety's sake DO NOT USE it on the deck. Code in our area dictates that it cannot be closer than 15ft from any structure, and should not be in contact with any potentially combustible materials (i.e., wooden deck, etc). Also it would be wise to make sure that you have a charged garden hose available should your burning get out of hand. I would suggest contacting your Town's fire marshal and finding out what the code reads in your area.

isuphipsi1052 said:

Firefighter here. Just for safety's sake DO NOT USE it on the deck. Code in our area dictates that it cannot be closer than 15ft from any structure, and should not be in contact with any potentially combustible materials (i.e., wooden deck, etc). Also it would be wise to make sure that you have a charged garden hose available should your burning get out of hand. I would suggest contacting your Town's fire marshal and finding out what the code reads in your area.

Click to expand...

- -I know that you must see some terrible things in the course of your job, but I have a hard time accepting "dictates" from any level.( from Federalon down to local) Why must our society be obsessed with regulating all the enjoyment out of life and driving the cost of everything we buy and do out of sight by usng the justification "well, if it saves one life it's worth it"
- -People every day try to follow all the "rules& codes"and still have unforseen problems- Remember, the rules and codes are made by the same people who told us that aluminum wire and urea-formaldehyde insulation were fine to use in our homes (I didn't listen to them either).
- -I should have stated that mine was at the outer edge of a deck surrounded by a wrought iron railing and has a pad of marble tile underneath it. I purposely chose the cast iron, because it is less likely to crack. Better products and education would go farther toward protecting people than more regulations IMHO.

Woodrat