You can find chiminea made from aluminum or steel, but the more traditional ones are made from clay. Mexico is where the first chimineas were made hundreds of years ago. Like a fireplace, they were primarily used for heating the family house or for baking and cooking. However, today, a lot more people are incorporating a chiminea into their backyards.
Today, we are going to give you our 5 top tips you need to know when using a clay chiminea. This allows you to use your clay chiminea with more confidence. However, if you want more information on clay chimineas, you should visit backyardville.com.
Tip 1: Curing Is Important
You need to cure your clay chiminea before you are able to start burning your wood in them. Curing a chiminea basically means making it ready to withstand extremely high heat, especially in cold climates.
You should first fill the chiminea with sand until it is about three-quarters full before lighting a small fire on top of it with kindling and a firelighter. Once the fire has completely extinguished, you should allow the device to cool. Then clean up any ashes, and perform the procedure up to five or six more times.
Your clay chiminea will be prepared to withstand intense heat without cracking after the curing process is over. After this stage, you can season your grill and start cooking.
Tip 2: Selecting The Right Fuel
Not every type of wood fuel is made equally, and not every type of wood fuel will work with your clay chiminea either. Moisture will harm your appliance over time by encouraging dangerous cracking. Thus, the ideal wood for a clay chiminea will have a low moisture level.
The greatest course of action for the security and longevity of your wood-burning chiminea is to choose extra-dry wood for both interior and outdoor burning. We would recommend that you consider kiln-dried firewood and hardwood heat logs will guarantee a secure and effective burn throughout.
Tip 3: Keep It Clean
Make sure you clean your chiminea as the manufacturer recommends on a regular basis. As a general guideline, you should take out all the sand, pea gravel, or rocks that are coating the bottom of your chiminea. Then thoroughly clean any ash that is still there, wash the grill and interior, and then rinse the gravel with water.
Once completely dry, you can place the rocks and gravel back in your chiminea with fresh sand and relight the fire once again. After this, you may have to re-season your grill rack before you use it again to prevent any food from sticking to the appliance.
Tip 4: Watch Out For Cracking
We have been emphasizing how sensitive clay chimineas are to breaking. To prevent this, you should always coat the chiminea’s interior with sand and stay away from charcoal and firewood with a lot of moisture.
Clay can become waterproof with the help of sealants, protecting your equipment from moisture and rain. If used frequently, you ought to seal your chiminea four times a year rather than just twice.
If you do see cracks, it’s important to determine how serious the damage is. Thin cracks are probably not going to be a problem. Yet, larger cracks need to be repaired right away with automotive bonding glue.
Tip 5: Select The Right Location
The ideal placement for your chiminea is outside, on a flat surface like a patio. Since chimineas can be rather heavy, you should avoid moving them frequently. This is because doing so puts them at risk of cracking if they fall.
It’s also a good idea to put your chiminea where it will heat the surrounding area. However, don’t place anything combustible or prone to melting close to the chiminea because it will get quite hot. Additionally, allow yourself one to two hours before you need to use your chiminea because it will take some time for it to achieve its peak temperatures.
Final Thoughts
A clay chiminea is a really useful appliance to have in your backyard. It will help you achieve a more traditional way of cooking. However, when it comes to using your clay chiminea, you should follow the 5 tips that we have outlined above. These tips will allow your clay chiminea to perform efficiently to prevent any cracks from forming.
We hope you have found this article useful. Hopefully, these tips are useful to you in helping you use your clay chiminea.
