Chim Virgin? Here’s What to Expect From the Chiminea Experience

You might not have heard of chimineas until recently. You might already know about them and what they do. Either way you’re a chim virgin. Here’s what you can expect from shopping with us, plus insight into the chiminea experiences one of our customers had with their first ever chim.

Chiminea experiences – What to expect when you order from us

You might find a few at your local garden centre. You might find one or two at a large supermarket or DIY store. But we stock a huge range of top quality chimineas, ideal when you want a really good choice.

We actually specialise in rugged 100% cast iron versions, steel chimineas, clay chimineas and traditional Mexican chimineas, often beautifully decorated. We have fabulous contemporary BBQ chiminea too, plus cast iron and clay firebowls. Best of all, we’ve collaborated with one of the world’s biggest chiminea makers to create a new clay with a secret recipe that prevents cracking through heat stress, our CHIMALIN AFC range.

Things don’t stand still for long in our world, with fresh new designs and ideas coming on board all the time. You’ll discover regular new stock on our site as well as a host of accessories, everything you could possibly need for the best possible chim experience.

Because we only sell online we keep our prices nice and low, thanks to not having expensive shop premises to pay for. And because it’s all we do, we’re proven chiminea experts, ready and willing to give you all the advice you want about any and every aspect of them, their uses, safety, maintenance and more. Here’s what one of our customers says about their own chiminea experience.

Q: Did you enjoy buying from us?

A: Yes, I found it really easy. All you do is click the ‘add to cart’ button. I like that I could choose to pay by PayPal, which makes things even faster as well as being safe.

I love that I got a free gift with the accessory I bought – a some specially formulated cleaner for my new chim. And the fact that there’s so much information on the site about – well, everything really! Being me, I read through all of the delivery info and a whole lot more, just to satisfy myself I was making the right decision and was buying from people I could trust.

Q: What did you buy and why?

A: The Mexican clay ones are beautiful, very traditional looking. I loved the one decorated with grapes. There’s some modern chimineas that I liked, in a range of bright colours including a deep purple. But the traditional look won out and cast iron was our favourite material. In the end we chose a Toledo cast iron one because of the elegant chimney and Steampunk-like good looks. We can cook on it as well thanks to the steel BBQ grill.

Q: What about the delivery?

A: The Chiminea Shop does free delivery on everything, and our order arrived within two working days. I really liked the thought of the free replacement service, handy if your order arrives damaged or with something missing. Ours was fine, though. It arrived in perfect nick.

Q: What did you have to do to assemble your purchase?

A: Not a lot. The instructions were nice and clear and between us we had it assembled in about five minutes. The only trouble we had was deciding where to put it, but that was a challenge we enjoyed. In the end we decided we needed two chims, one for each of our two small patios, so I ordered another one. Now we’re fully equipped!

Q: About your first time with your chiminea

We were planning a 50th birthday party in our garden, so we ordered our chims early to test things. We wanted to actually relax at the party instead of worrying about how to light it, how much fuel to use, how the cooking side of things works and so on. The Chiminea Shop had plenty of good advice about how to light it the first time. The first time was a bit tricky, but only because neither of us had so much as gone near a real fire for years, since we were kids. But once we’d got the hang of it our chim lit up in no time and stayed lit.

It was a good idea to get a cover for each chim, since it actually rained the day before the party. Apparently cast iron chimineas do rust, but it doesn’t cause any harm and you can re-touch the surface with a special rust covering product.

We did the sensible thing and allocated fire responsibilities before the party, so we could relax and enjoy ourselves without worrying about it going out or being neglected. That worked really well – the fire stayed burning through the afternoon and into the late evening, and kept us all cosy even though it eventually got a bit chilly. There’s nothing quite like real flames to make a party go with a bang.

Q: Did you get in touch with us at all?

A: No, I didn’t need to..

Q: How would you describe your first chiminea experience?

A: It was an eye-opener. An open fire outdoors but it can be dangerous, especially with my sister’s little kids running around, and our two daft cats. A real bonfire-type fire can be an eyesore once it has gone out, leaving a big, black burnt patch in the garden that seems to grow bigger every time. A chim is a neater and tidier as well as safer.

The cooking side of things is fun. When it’s just us, we cook on the patio closest to the house as a family. When we have guests we fire up both our chims and cook on them both. It’s just like a regular BBQ.

Q: Will you be buying from us again?

A: Yes, definitely. Once you find a reliable supplier that you enjoy buying from, and can trust, there’s no need to go anywhere else. Actually we’ve recommended you to our friends as well.

Q: Are you a chiminea convert, then?

A: Yes. We are entertaining outdoors more often than ever now we’re chimmed-up!

Inspired? Go treat your garden to a stunning chiminea

All around Britain people like you are breaking out their chimineas for spring. If alfresco entertainment is your thing, or you just like to sit in your garden with a good book / glass of wine / newspaper / cat / friend and relax in the lovely mellow warmth, it’s about time you joined the chim revolution. Walk this way for the best choice in Britain, backed by exceptional service. We’ll see you soon.