pepe Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) Have any of you got one? Im thinking of getting one, thought I would do my research here first, whats best, clay or iron? what can you burn etc, so many questions Edited May 4, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 a quick search of the forum revealed this viewtopic.php?f=7&t=41527&p=632500&hilit=chiminea#p632500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Strange you should ask today! We've just resurrected ours after about 3 years of inactivity and had a lovely barbecue for lunch. I'd forgotten how easy they are and how good they are as a barbecue. They throw out a lot of heat as well. Not sure how " green" they are though. .. Tricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 We have just got a cast iron one, which we used for the first time yesterday. It gave out a lot of heat, and a bit of smoke, but that was down to the softwood we were using; the hard wood was fine (all curtesy of my dad who works in a joinery so we are recycling really). I need to do a bit of research myself just to see if there are any hints or tips on using them. I've read that people don't usually like the cast iron ones as they get hot on the outside. But surely the clay ones do too We chose cast iron, as I didn't want to run the risk of it cracking or kids breaking it. This is the one we bought http://www.focusdiy.co.uk/Cooking+Heating/Ottawa-Large-Chimenea/invt/245988 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthmam1 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Hi We have a cast iron one and we love it We have had it about 3 years now. It give out a lot of heat and does not need seasoning. We bought a cover for it for when it rains and in the winter and it has hardly gone rusty. They do get hot on the outside so you would have to be very careful if you have young children. We make bricks out of newspaper and burn those and they seem to last quite a long time (maybe a little smoky though). sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjulian Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 *threadcromancy* Does anyone have the sort of chimenea which allows you to cook food in them? We're thinking of getting one & looking for any hints or tips from the Wisdom of Omlet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachelk Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 We had a clay one for about 5 years. You are supposed to take them in for the winter, but we never did. However, it disintegrated after one wet winter, and we have now got a cast iron one thats great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~lizzy~ Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 ive had a clay one and would get clay again as it stores heat better therefore giving heat out for longer period, i declined getting one to cook in as with some you cant load up with more wood with the cooking gril in place. Our clay one broke curtasy of my daughter knocking it over so we are using an old metal dustbin lid turned upside down on the chiminea stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moochoo Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 I was at a country show the other week and saw these: http://www.ozpig.co.uk/ Our mexican clay chiminea is on it's last legs so we're thinking of getting one to replace it. I like the fact that it was portable too. Ideal for camping or late night beach gatherings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 You just have to love the power of Omlet...I'd never heard of Ozpigs before, but now I have one on my wish list...and I wasn't even thinking of getting a chiminea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy chickens! Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 We had a lovely clay one which we 'looked after' like Rachelk with similar resutls It was great for years though, lovely on cool summer evenings after a barbie - we would tip the final barbie coals in and a few bits of wood and relax by the hypnotic flames. Don't know what to replace it with, the metal ones don't seem as attractive a feature in the garden to me somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 The ones in Home Base look a bit wobbly. I've been calling them Chimera for ages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...