What Should We Burn in Our Chiminea?

This is one of the most common questions new chiminea owners will ask. There are several types of woods that will work well with your chiminea but there are a few most to ensure a healthy chiminea in the long run.

Chimineas are typically smaller than a traditional log fire therefore you will have to buy already cut logs suitable in size or cut them to the correct size yourself.

A good sized chiminea log will be approximate 4 inch in diameter and 10-15 inches in length, but this will depend on the size of the opening to your chiminea.

Pellets such as them used in Pellet stoves or corn stoves, are not recommended to used, as they tend to burn very hot and leave a lot of ash if they are the standard grade pellets. Another one is pressured treated wood as they emit toxic gases when burnt. Look out for green tinted wood as this is a typical sign of treated wood.

Most Chiminea manufacturers suggest against burning charcoal.

There are several types of wood that many people like to burn:

Red Cedar is popular and has a nice aroma and keeps the mosquitoes away, the drawback is that red cedar wood will pop therefore you will need a spark arrestor on the neck and a screen to cover the mouth.

An excellent cooking wood is Mesquite, so if you have a grill chiminea, but this wood will burn very hot therefore use only a few pieces at a time.

Scrap lumber is a popular fuel for chimineas; drawback is they burn hot and fast but come in nice sizes of 2×4s, 2×6s and can easily split into small manageable sizes.

Avoid Green or wet wood cause it will cause a lot of smoke, which may your neighbours unless you invite them over.

Learn how to Prepare your Chiminea Fire.