Outdoor Heating Guide

There are a variety of outdoor fireplaces available in the marketplace today, many styles and sizes to suit our fancy. We've rounded up a great selection for you to find just the right outdoor fireplace for your needs whether it's a campfire, chiminea, chinook, firepit, grill or hearth. Campfires and Firepits Campfires and outdoor firepits are fundamentally the same thing. They are a place to hold a wood or coal fire in a controlled outdoor environment. Campfires are may be portable or non-portable while outdoor firepits are portable and commonly more ornate. We have campfires selected for you that ignite via gas or the old fashioned way, with a match. Our campfires and outdoor firepits are both functional and beautiful. These are much more fun to sit around than the stone pits from our scouting days! Great accessories to campfires and outdoor firepits are the spark screens, fire pokers, and covers to keep animals and debris out of them when they are not in use. Campfires and outdoor firepits can be used for cooking just like any open fire. Certain models include a cooking grill. Smaller campfires and outdoor firepits (20 inch diameter and less) provide an area of warmth up to 15 feet while larger campfires and firepits provide an area of warmth up to 20 feet.

Chimineas

Chimineas have designer style. They are functional and beautiful. Chimineas are commonly made of iron and do well in windy areas because they are so heavy. Chimineas are not meant to be moved from place to place for camping trips but to be a permanent patio fixture. Chimineas have the ability to retain their heat for sometime even after the fire has burned out allowing you to feel warm for a time after the wood has been used up for the evening. Chimineas can even be used for cooking when a cooking grid is in use.

Chinooks

Chinooks closely resemble an indoor fireplace. They have some type of chimney or smoke stack and a pyramid shape. Chinooks are an attractive addition to a patio because the fire can be viewed from all directions while protecting guests with spark inhibiting screens. Chinooks vary in size so you will be able to move small, lightweight chinooks with relative ease while larger, heavier chinooks will become permanent fixtures on your patio.

It is always best if you can put the outdoor patio furniture away in the garage or shed for the winter. If you do not have a place to store the outdoor patio furniture and you would like to cover it, just remember to make sure the outdoor patio furniture is dry before you cover it. Plastic tarps often can promote mold growth or will leak, so be careful.

Patio Hearths

Patio hearths are intended to be a yearly fixture on your patio and is considered non-portable. Commonly they have a porcelain coated lid and bowl which keep it looking new for a long time. Hearths are intended for cooking and may have adjustable racks. Typically, wood or charcoal cooking methods are possible. Cooking takes place inside the hearth as opposed to on top like a grill or chiminea. Some hearths come with a handy basket for seasonings or wheels to move your hearth about your patio. Hearths definitely serve dual purpose in the fall and early spring- cooking and heating.