Chimineas

[JDGREEN4ME]

We are looking to buy a chiminea this summer for up at the lake. A few years ago when we looked most of them were a "plaster" construction which we were told are not very durable. Recently found some that are now made of cast iron or cast aluminum. Anyone have any experiance with those? For our needs they look like they would be great.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

My sister and BIL have the metal Chiminea that seems to do a good job. Instead of being like the "plaster" ones where there is only a hole in the front theirs has a metal screen so you can see and feel the flame at 360 degrees. A lot of people at the campground have these types.

 

[JC-jetro]

We are looking to buy a chiminea this summer for up at the lake. A few years ago when we looked must of them were a "plaster" construction which we were told are not very durable. Recently found some that are now made of cast iron or cast aluminum. Anyone have any experiance with those? for our needs they look like they would be great.

Cast Iron in my opinion is the only way to go. We had ours in excess of 12 years and I have burnt all the small limbs in my back yard and used the ash in the garden. It even survived Kansas ice storm. Cast iron can handle many extreme heat to cold cycles that fired clay would not without cracking. As an extra bonus I have also cooked ribs in it after trimming my hedge limbs in the backyard. It will have some surface rust which only add character to it.

JC,

 

[Skyco]

One thing about the one with the screen 360deg around it...totally worthless unless it is dead calm. Any breeze and the smoke doesn't go up the chimney......we bought it hoping to cure the smoke in the eyes problem from a campfire...

Oh wait scratch all that..want to buy a slightly used one cheap?
pic below

 

[Egon]

I've always been meaning to make one from a 20 pound propane bottle but just never got around to it.

Maybe cause there is a nice fire hill out at the lake.

 

[Skyco]

Ok... you got me with "snipe" so now what is a fire hill?

 

[Egon]

A "Fire Hill" is the inverse of "Fire Pit". Instead of building a fire in a hole one builds it on a built up area so that it can get proper air and burn properly.

Picture attached.

 

[JPinnell]

I had a clay one that lasted about 5 yrs out in the weather. I LOVED it you could really feel the radiant heat coming from it even if you weren't in front of the flames. I even fired it up in the winter. After it eventually cracked I thought cast iron was the way to go. I second the opinion about them sucking when it's windy. Just about useless since smoke follows beauty

We were complaining about it and our neighbor was over that evening. Got home from work the next day and we had an improved version waiting on the patio. It's made from an old well pressure tank. It works about as well as the clay one and really throws the heat. I need to wire brush it and throw some oil on it to clean it up. An old air compressor, water heater, well tank, etc could be used and last almost forever.

Something with a chimney that actually drafts is critical unless you want to get smoked out.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Found some nice units at TheBlueRooster.com The ones they sell are cast iron or cast aluminum.

 

[Taylortractornut]

A friend of mine bought some Mexican wrought Iron and a Couple Chimineas. He took the iron back and the Chim because the Chim had bondo on it the first fire they smelled something. looked up and a glob of bondo was dropped onto their patio. They did a great job wit hthe paint and you couldnt tell one bit it had been bondoed till the fire. He bought one that was poured from a casting in refractory cement. They really like it if they could find another. They bought this one from a man that did custom castings at a fair type event.

 

[jnelson]

We have had a clay chimenia for almost ten years and it is ready to fire up again for the coming summer. There are a few things that you need to do to keep your chimenia going for a long time.

First you need to fill your chimenia with 50 lbs of sand in the bottom. Don't build fires directly on the clay surface.

Second, season your chimenia by building small fires at first. We built small fires at first gradually increasing the size for the first 15 fires. Now we build fires as large and hot as we want. It is not unusual to have a fire with flame rising above the top of the chimney.

Cover the chimenia to keep out rain and snow in the winter. If moisture is allowed to accumulate in the sand on the bottom it can freeze and expand breaking the chimenia.

We probably have at least 3 or 4 fires per week in our chimenia during the spring, summer, and fall. The chimenia stays on our deck through winter ice and snow, though we do cover it to protect it against the elements. During the spring, summer, and fall we do not cover it and only be sure the top is placed on the chimney when it is not in use.

I have seen times when we had a very hot fire going and were suddenly drenched with a downpour of rain. I used to worry that the cold rain water on the hot clay surface would cause cracking but it has never been a problem.

We do not have kids and that probably has helped the long life of our chimenia. Today the glazed surface of the chimenia is long gone leaving the clay red surface exposed, but our chimenia keeps on going. I must admit I never would have predicted it would last this long when we first got it, but now I believe that it will continue to keep going for many more years as long as nothing falls on it or knocks it over.

Jnelson