You don't need any pressure when your friends are round and you're spending time outside with a few drinks and some food - follow our easy guide on how to light your chiminea, and you'll have one less thing to think about!
What wood should I use in my chiminea?
We recommend using hardwood logs dried to below 20% moisture in your chiminea. Softwood logs may be cheaper but they have a higher sap content, so burning them in your chiminea will produce a lot of smoke and be really unpleasant to sit next to!
Make sure your hardwood logs are properly dried to below 20% moisture content or they will be difficult to light and won't burn hot enough to keep you warm!
How to light your Chiminea - step by step
If you're using a new chiminea, make sure you have a few small fires first to cure the clay and stop any cracks from appearing
What you need
- 1 natural firelighter
- A handful of kindling
- Hardwood logs (we recommend kiln-dried mixed species)
- Matches or a lighter
- Heatproof gloves
1. Take the lid off your chiminea
This allows airflow through the chiminea, which is really important for lighting a fire.
2. Build the base
Put one natural firelighter in the bottom of the chiminea then build a 'log cabin' of kindling around it, about 4 pieces high
3. Put the logs on
Add two slimmer kiln-dried logs either side of the kindling and lean the tops against each other in a tipi shape
4. Light that fire!
Use your lighter or matches to set fire to the firelighter. This should burn long enough to set fire to the kindling first, and eventually the two kiln-dried logs.
5. Keep the fire going
Once the logs are burning, add one more kiln-dried log to keep the fire going.
Add 1 -2 more logs at a time throughout the evening to keep the fire topped up
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