Chimineas
Historically , chimeneas are woodburners that can be traced back to Spain and Mexico. The name can also be spelled chiminea. While they were originally used for heating as well as cooking , the purpose of modern chimineas is usually for outdoor heating. They serve as little to medium sized , often portable , outdoor fireplaces. Place them on your patio , add chairs and a little table and enjoy spring or cooler summer evenings outside in your garden without getting cold.
Material & Design

Traditional chimineas were made out of clay. Clay chimineas are still available and used , but most modern chimineas are used for heating and entertainment in gardens are nowadays made out of metal. Cast iron and steel are the most common and popular material options for chimineas.
Although many modern chimineas in use nowadays are made out of steel or cast iron , some are still made out of clay. If you’d prefer to buy a clay chiminea , remember to place a layer of sand at the bottom of the chiminea and make sure to cure it properly before its first use.
Most contemporary chimineas come in the traditional design , which can be described as having a ball or bulbous body part with a vertical chimney on top. The front is open to place wood or charcoal in as fuel and to draw in air. The chimney serves as a vent for the smoke. While the functionality is the same , there are also a few chimineas without the chimney and with a simple hole as smoke vent instead (looking more like fancy front-loading fire pits) , or chimineas looking like black steel obelisks or even ones with square designs.
Whatever the specific design , all chimeneas are free-standing , many of them portable.
The most common colour variations are black and brown. But you can also buy bronze- or steel-coloured , white , red , and even pink or blue chimineas. Just pick the material , design and colour for your new chiminea that seems most appealing and fits in best with your other garden furniture or patio style and design.
How to Fuel your Chimenea?

The most popular option to fuel your chiminea is wood. Wood can be used in clay as well as metal chimineas. Make sure to fuel your chimineas with aged , dry wood. It burns a lot better and produces less smoke than green wood. The wood should also be untreated.
While wood can be used in both metal and clay chimineas , charcoal or even coal should be used in cast iron since it burns a lot hotter than wood and might damage clay chimineas.
Another option is ethanol. Ethanol fuel does not produce smoke and enables you to use your chiminea indoors. But be careful when you fill it into the metal container and when you place it and burn it in your chiminea.
Cooking with a Chimenea
While most modern chimineas are simply used as outdoor fireplaces , some come with an additional BBQ grill as cooking feature. Place some steaks or sausages on the grill and enjoy the heat sitting next to your new chiminea while waiting for your dinner to cook.
Browse our outdoor heating category and discover other products like fire pits and patio heaters. Of course , you can also purchase indoor and tabletop fireplaces at Shop Chimineas.