How to Stay Warm Around a Fire Pit or Chiminea on Cold Nights

By an outdoor fire in winter, your front is warm and your back is cold. To stay comfortable all evening: put the chairs in front of the chiminea’s mouth with its back to the wind, wear layers with wool on the outside, put something thick under your feet and on your seat, a blanket over your shoulders and hot drinks in a thermos. What you don’t do: build a bigger fire or pull the chairs up against the clay.

A clay chiminea heats by radiation: most of the heat leaves through the mouth, and the hot clay radiates it steadily. Radiant heat warms whatever “sees” the fire, meaning your face and hands, not the air around you. The rest comes down to clothing, where you sit and a few habits.

Where the chairs go

• In front of the mouth, in a half circle. That’s where the heat is. Behind the chimney you get more smoke than warmth.
• With the back of the chiminea to the wind. That way the wind doesn’t push smoke into your face or carry the heat off somewhere else.
• In a sheltered corner, next to a wall or a hedge that blocks the wind, but with open sky above the chimney and 6-10 ft from walls and wooden fences.
• At a distance that feels pleasant, not hot. If your cheeks are burning, you’re too close.

What to wear: layers, wool on top

• A thin base layer that holds warmth: merino wool or a thermal top.
• A warm middle layer: a wool sweater or a fleece under a coat.
• Wool or heavy cotton on the outside. Synthetic fabrics like fleece, nylon shells and puffers can melt if a spark lands on them; wool holds up much better. If you sit close to the fire, make the outer layer natural fiber.
• A hat and a scarf. Your head and neck lose a lot of heat, especially with your back to the cold.
• No loose sleeves or long dangling scarves for whoever is tending the fire.

Cold feet and a cold seat

The hardest cold to beat comes from below: from cold pavers and metal chair frames. A few simple fixes:

• insulated boots and wool socks, not house shoes;
• a thick outdoor rug or mat under your feet in front of the chairs, away from the chiminea;
• thick cushions or a sheepskin on the seat and back;
• a hot water bottle in your lap under the blanket.

Blankets, and the other kind of “fire pit blanket”

A wool blanket over your shoulders, not just your knees, keeps your back warm, and wool doesn’t catch a spark as easily as a synthetic throw. Keep blankets on the chairs, not spread on the ground toward the fire, and never drape them on the chiminea to warm up.

A “fire pit blanket” or “fire pit mat” can also mean a fire-resistant pad that goes under a fire pit to protect a deck or grass. That’s a different product. Under a clay chiminea, the safe base is concrete pavers, stone or brick; the options are in what to put under a chiminea.

Wind

Cold wind strips heat away fast. In a light breeze, a sheltered half circle is enough. In strong wind, keep the fire small or call it off: gusts pull sparks up the chimney and push smoke back at the chairs. A windscreen can help, but it goes behind the chairs, not next to the chiminea, and it shouldn’t be made of anything that catches fire easily.

The fire: steady, not big

Light it early and small so the clay warms gradually; a hot chiminea keeps radiating heat even when the flames die down. Then add one or two pieces at a time so the fire stays steady. A big fire coming out of the mouth or the chimney won’t warm you better: it’s dangerous and hard on the clay. In freezing weather, the clay rules (dry, not frozen, fire built up gradually) are in using a chiminea in winter.

Hot drinks and snacks

Tea, hot cider, cocoa or soup in a big thermos, with thick-walled mugs, warm you from the inside. A treat from the embers keeps people by the fire; see roasting marshmallows in a chiminea. Alcohol makes you feel warm without actually warming you, and whoever tends the fire stays sober.

What never to do to get warmer

• don’t move the chiminea under a roof, onto an enclosed porch or into the garage; see can you use a chiminea indoors;
• don’t add lighter fluid to make the fire bigger;
• don’t put your hands or feet on the clay, the chimney or the stand;
• don’t fall asleep by the fire under a blanket.

If you want heat on the patio on nights without a fire too, the options are compared in patio heater vs chiminea.

Our chiminea, in short

Sparkle Stone chimineas are handmade from 100% natural, kiln-fired clay rated for 500-600°C (932-1112°F). They stand 34 in (87 cm) tall on the included tripod stand and come with a protective lid; the hot clay radiates heat steadily through the mouth. See our clay chimineas or the blue ornamented version. They are currently sold out in the US, so the product pages are there for specs and reference prices.

Why is my back cold when I sit by a fire?

Because a fire warms by radiation, and radiation only reaches what faces it. Your back stays in the cold air. A blanket over your shoulders, a padded chair back and a spot out of the wind fix most of it.

What should you wear to sit by a fire pit in winter?

Layers: a thermal base, a warm sweater and wool or heavy cotton on the outside, plus a hat, a scarf and insulated boots. Synthetic outer layers can melt if a spark lands on them.

Are fire pit blankets a good idea?

A wool blanket for your shoulders, yes. A fire-resistant “fire pit blanket” under the fire is a different thing; under a clay chiminea, the base should be pavers, stone or brick.

How close can you sit to a chiminea?

As close as feels pleasantly warm, not hot, and never touching the clay, the chimney or the stand. If your face is burning, move the chair back.