Chimineas - Are they for looks or warmth?

[fponzani]

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? Or is it strictly for the ambiance?

 

[duraleigh]

My good friend has a chiminea and it's always in use when we visit in cool weather. If there's a breeze, it's not very effective.

If the wind is still and you don't mind getting pretty close....say somewhere around 3-4 feet, they'll keep you fairly warm. Much further than that and their benefit diminishes quickly.

They do a good job of keeping the smoke above your head as long as you're sitting.

 

[H2O_Keeper]

Ditto to Duraleigh....They are nice due to containing smoke and can use on a patio opposed to an open fire. But unless you are within 5' of it or less there isn't much heat radiating. The materials dont do anything to "spread" the heat zone, if anything its worse than an open fire distance wise.

 

[ballparkmom]

What about a patio heater? I found an electric one at Sam's for under $200

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/naviga ... sku=905228

There are also propane ones available if electricity is not available.

Just a thought. :lol:

 

[AV8TOR]

Not much heat from my Chiminea because of the limited amount of wood you can put in it. We bought it for looks and a way to burn pruning.

 

[SeanB]

We got a chiminea and it never gets used. It looks nice with a fire but puts out very little heat. We were at an event last night inside a tent and in the center, they had one of those large patio heaters and you could not sit within 4 feet of the thing or you'd burn up. At about 15 feet away, I stayed comfortable without my coat and it was in the upper 40's just outside the tent. I'm sure it would not be as effective in the open, but it did a good enough job that I think I'm going to get one.

 

[SeeGars]

We use our chiminea for "lighting effects" and for mosquito control. We can buy pinion wood, a type of pine. When it is allowed to burn slowly and smolder, the smell is very nice but keeps mosquitos away very well.

So, it looks nice, the burning light is a nice affect at night, keeps mosquitos away if you burn the correct type of wood, but we don't use it for warmth... we live in Texas.

 

[anonapersona]

We visited a friend who had a chiminea. You had to get pretty close to it to really get warm. My husband had come straight from work, had some good dress pants that were a wool blend of some sort and his favorite new argyle socks. Realized the next day that the wood had popped out tiny sparks that burned holes in his socks and his pants. Just nice navy work pants but they were like $90.

Next time we visited them they were using a screen on that thing.

 

[Pool Clown]

Love mine. Only challenge was finding stuff small enough to burn. Think i got it dialed tho... pine cones.

 

[nanhsot]

We love ours, we have both a chiminea and an outdoor fireplace and use both equally. Fireplace is nice for wider heating, but then you have to deal with the smoke, and smelling smokey. Chiminea is more for smaller crowds, and no smokey clothing. The trick that we have found is that you need to have the fire going for a good while before you need it, it is more of a radiant heat...let it burn a while before you need it and when you need it it will project heat all around nicely. Sit around it when first lit and you'll be shivering.

 

[Davegvg]

I have one with sitting on a very sturdy rolling platform my GF built and its awesome, looks cool, and its way cheaper to run per hour than a gas heater.

If you want ambience early in the evening throw wood in it and let it rage - the cast iron holds and throws off a lot of heat.

Then at the end of the night roll it over to a circle of chairs and throw in charcoal briquets' in it-( get the cheapest Crud you can buy for this purpose) and throw it on the hot wood coals this throws out tons of mellow well behaved heat.

Fireplaces are great, but even if I had one Id still have a chiminea.


Dave