Clay or cast chiminea?

Big Andy

Big Andy

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As we are having a Halloween/bonfire party next weekend I was thinking of buying a chiminea for the patio and wondered what peoples advice would be regarding a cast iron one or clay/terracotta type. I intend to buy a large one to keep the smoke above head height when sitting if possible but have heard that the cast ones tend to leak smoke where the chimney joins the base where as the clay ones have no joint to leak. I will be ordering it tomorrow to make sure it gets here in time so a speedy response would be appreciated from anyone who's owned/used one of these.
Thanks, Andy.
 
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A clay one here and no smoky problems.
A friend has a cast iron one and it does as you suggest leak a little smoke,
but its no more that a few wisps really.
Maybe the "quality" has a baring on that?

Don't forget that if a clay one gets knocked over
(I have no idea how wild your parties are :D )
It'll (Probably) brake, and they crack (Apparently) if you try and move them when hot.

I guess what I am saying is, although more fragile I prefer the clay ones for "looks"
 
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Clay one here as well.
 
I've never seen a 'large' clay chiminea as such. I did buy a cast one from B & M Bargains that has a chimney thats about twice the height of your usual chiminea (180cm). It was alright for the price, I paid about £50.

Here it is on here (expired voucher but only pic I can find) http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/bm-bargains-large-iron-chiminea-69-99-1520918

Clay ones can crack, cast ones will rust. Its easier to get the ash out the bottom of the cast one, usually a wee door to help you, clay ones need scooped out. I'd buy what you prefer the look of, I wouldn't necessarily worry about leaking smoke as the chimney heights aren't significant enough to matter when its windy.
 
We have an old cast one - looks like something that would not look out of place in a Bosch painting. The leak of smoke from the joints is minimal. Ours comes apart do clearing it out is easy.

As with any other fire the main point to stop it smoking (ie a lot of smoke from the top swirling around and choking folks) is when starting it make sure absolutely everything is dry. Anything damp then will take ages to dry enough to burn and smoke like crazy. After it is hot there is less of a issue with damp stuff.

Main problem with a party is safety. Even though when burning well they radiate shed loads of heat in all directions it is easy for people to forget.



Dave
 
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Ok opinion split then as to which is best but then again if there was a obvious best they wouldn't sell the other I suppose.
Clay Pros
Better looking (my opinion).
No smoke leak.
.
.
Cast Pros
More durable.
Easier to clean.

I'll keep looking around and reading and decide later. Thank you all for your replies and opinions.
 
Out of interest, why would you want to clean one?
 
Big Andy said:
Good point, but in my case it means shovelling the carp out to make room for the next load not a spit and polish job.
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Ah, right, I misread it. I had visions of people with a can of pledge and a duster polishing the chiminea..................:D
 
Big Andy said:
Good point, but in my case it means shovelling the carp out to make room for the next load not a spit and polish job.
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Just a small dustpan and brush takes care of that (in a clay one) 2 mins.
As ready mentioned some of the "metal type"
have a little door at the bottom to aid cleaning.

I did a lot of research before buying,
one thing that came across,
was that you need a couple of inches of sand in the bottom
of the clay ones to absorb the bottom heat,
although some say there is no need for sand,
it appears that bottoms have cracked without.

Check out Argos and Amazon,
(no matter where you buy from)
There are a lot of useful comments on the products from end users.
 
I was advised to put gravel in the bottom of mine Chris, but I guess sand does the same job.

Mrs Frac puts a layer of bubble wrap around it over the winter to keep the frost off it.
 
TBH I have never seen mention of gravel,
always sharp sand, but I guess like you, its a much of a muchness :)

Good point about the bubble wrap Ade.
They do say that they should be protected from frost don't they?
I'll probably put mine in the shed. (1st year ownership)
 
Cobra said:
TBH I have never seen mention of gravel,
always sharp sand, but I guess like you, its a much of a muchness :)

Good point about the bubble wrap Ade.
They do say that they should be protected from frost don't they?
I'll probably put mine in the shed. (1st year ownership)
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Had ours over 10 years now mate, it is outside all year and has always been ok. Biggest thing is to let them warm up slowly, getting them too hot,too quick will crack them.
 
Any gaps in body/chimney joints can easily be sealed with fire cement or exhaust sealant (gungum?).
 
If the fire is burning well then it will tend to draw air (and smoke) inward through the joints. We have a cast chiminea and smoke has never been a problem. For all types, if you have wood that's not completely dry, mixing in some coal along with the wood will help it burn well instead of just smouldering smokily.
 
i have the inside of a washing machine as a fire pit. Its brilliant :)
 
As Toni has said, once the fire is burning well there is no leakage of smoke from the joins and even well before it gets going any leaks are so slight that they are not worth considering.

Dave
 
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