Chiminea Outdoor Fireplace

Chiminea outdoor fireplaces origins can be traced back in 17^th century Mexico. Back then it was made of clay or terra-cotta when it first came out for domestic use, usually shaped like a ball with a large door at the front. The bottom part is wide enough to allow proper air circulation and its chimney is three feet above it. The first ever model of this outdoor fireplaces were intended for use in cooking. With the help of skewer or metal grid sheets, food that needs to be cooked will be placed on top of it right on the coals. Since Mexico has a dry and warm climate, these outdoor fireplaces were able to work well as designed. On the other hand, in colder or rainy weather conditions, you cannot expect a terra-cota to be very durable as it may actually become fragile due to usage. This type of outdoor clay fireplace will crack due to the sudden change of temperature or what is termed as a thermal shock.

Nowadays, it is not really unusual to find chiminea fireplace in contemporary styles of modern patios and garden. Home design enthusiasts have incorporated the functionality and charm of these kinds of fireplaces into their design concepts. One vital accessory that you will find in these outdoor fireplaces would be the spark arrester, it is the fine metal screen found either in the door opening or chimney. A good number of chimineas are equipped with spark arresters. But if you ask me, if yours does not have spark arresters, then I suggest that you buy one or you can have it improvised. For optimum usage, it is best that you have it both on the door opening and chimney itself.

You can find some of the chiminea outdoor fireplace made in cast iron that are all uniquely designed and crafted to perfection that most of the time they actually look like an authentic clay outdoor fireplace. All these can be used as good décor item in your outdoor living spaces such as gardens and patios. The main thought here is that if you reside in a place where the climate is not similar to the warm weather of Mexico, then it is better that you opt for a metal chiminea.

A good option you can go for would be the cast iron chiminea. Other than this, you will also find some of them made out of copper and the others would be made from aluminum. However, one obvious drawback for using metal outdoor fireplaces would be their weight as they are definitely heavier as opposed to clay type variants. But when it comes to durability, you can’t underestimate their resilience as they will not crumble or crack due to usage. But if you really have no other choice but to opt for metal kind, then consider that the heaviest of them would be a cast iron and the lightest in terms of weight would be aluminum. However it is good to note that a vast number of these are actually equipped with wheels making them easy to transfer to another location, just in case that there is a need to.