Archive for April, 2009

Review: CharBroil Firenzy Outdoor Fireplace with Screen

charbroil-firenzy-outdoor-fireplace-with-screen

Have you ever found yourself in the backyard thinking it was getting a little chilly and having to give up on enjoying a beautiful night outside because it was too cold? The CharBroil 03505784 Firenzy Outdoor Fireplace with Screen will bring those days to an end.

With the   Firenzy Outdoor Fireplace  you will be able ignore the chill in the air and light up a fire to keep you warm and toasty so you can enjoy much more of that fresh air that you love.

This easy to set up unit will put out heat, warming up everyone who is sitting around it. What a better way to wrap up an evening than to have your family and friends sitting together around this style of heating unit with a few drinks and great conversation.

Not only can it be a great heating unit, but you can also pop off a screen, pull out some sticks and marshmallows and make up a few smores after dinner. The kids will love it.

This fireplace measures 30x 21 x 7 inches and has a number of features including:

  • Steel construction
  • Screens on all sides for maximum heating
  • Built-in log rack
  • Powder coated for durability

What We Like

  • It’s not as hard to assemble as it looks like it would be.
  • It’s a great deal and a good unit for the price.
  • We like the removable screens from the side that will let you put new wood in.
  • It’s a very sturdy unit.

Other Things to Consider:

  • Follow the manufacturers recommendations to ensure your fireplace is given proper maintenance and care, especially in more tropical or seaside locations.
  • It gets VERY hot, so make sure you have gloves or something else to protect your hand from getting burned while using it.

CLICK HERE TO BUY & READ WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY



How to Choose a Tabletop Patio Heater

endless-summer-vacation-day-tabletop-heaterWhen it comes to outdoow enteraining in the cooler months  Tabletop patio heaters are a great accent piece for any type of outdoor furniture. They can help take the chill off an autumn night or serve as a great brazier for some quick outdoor cooking. There are a few things to know though when choosing a tabletop patio heater.


The first thing to consider is safety. Only use patio heaters outside. Both propane and charcoal give off carbon monoxide when lit.

The two main options for a tabletop heater are gas and charcoal. Both of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. And of course there are also electric patio heaters if you have a consistent electricity supply and your power costs are reasonable.

First let’s look at charcoal braziers. On the plus side they’re the cheapest heaters out there. All you need is a basic bowl with some briquettes in it.  Put a fireplace base under it and you’re set for heat.

The disadvantage of charcoal is the mess it leaves behind. You’ll have to clean out the heater after every use. Not to mention having to keep a supply of charcoal on hand for whenever you want to use it.

Next up is a propane heater. The biggest advantage to propane is never having to worry about cleaning it up. Propane burns clean. A propane heater can also be manufactured in a lot more styles than charcoal. You’ll be able to find exactly the right heater.

The biggest draw back to a propane heater is the need for a gas bottle. Unless you buy a fully self-contained unit you’ll have a gas bottle cluttering up the area.

Whatever your choice, a gas, electric  or charcoal tabletop patio heater is a great way to add style to your backyard. You can find one in any price range. Even tables that have braziers built into them. The most important thing is finding one that works for your backyard set up.

Give your guests a warm welcome with a Fire Pit!

uniflame-marble-firepitIf you love entertaining outdoors, you don’t have to call a halt if there’s a chill in the air or fall turns to winter. With an outdoor fire pit, you can seat your guests around a cosy fire, whenever and wherever you like. Or just spend a romantic evening roasting marshmallows with your other half! FirePits are inexpensive and decorative – and allow you to entertain all year round!

What is a fire pit?

It may sound like a crudely dug hole in your garden or something that Tony Robbins would ask you to walk across but not in this case! A fire pit is a freestanding, decorative basket or bowl on legs, in which you can safely burn an open fire.

The least expensive version is called a kettle. These are basins, bowls or baskets on legs that allow you to burn wood or charcoal. There are a range of attractive finishes such as iron, terracotta, stainless steel and copper. It doesn’t matter whether you love hi-tech stainless steel, granite or antiqued metal – there will be a fire pit to suit your tastes.

Many models also come complete with a screen lid to control sparks and a grill that simply sits on top of the fire – so that you can cook on them as well.

The great thing about these is that they are fairly lightweight and portable so it’s easy to put one in the car and take it to the beach or on a camping trip.

Burning different types of wood is a great way to enhance your open fire experience. Red Cedar and Pinion Pine both smell lovely and have the added advantage of keeping mosquitoes away. Apple wood also smells beautiful and burgers grilled over a hickory fire have a wonderfully strong barbecued flavor.

The only downside of these off-ground fire pits is that there is no form of chimney and so they can give off rather a lot of smoke.

Is there anything I shouldn’t burn?

  • Don’t use wood which has been pressure treated as it can give off toxic gases as it burns. If it has a greenish tinge to it, it may have been pressure treated. If in doubt – don’t use it!
  • ‘Young’ wood which is green, or damp wood can give off a lot of smoke which could be annoying for your guests…and your neighbors!

No good at building fires…?

Not a problem. If you have a slightly larger budget, why not indulge yourself with a gas fired model. Simply flick the switch and enjoy real flames without the hassle – or smoke! These can be run on propane tanks or natural gas hooked up to your household supply.

Many of the gas powered models are quite heavy as they are made from glass fiber reinforced concrete and although that sounds unattractive – they don’t look anything like concrete. You can choose from Grecian Urns, Pottery vases, granite tables with inset fire pits – the list goes on! Some of the more modern designs even include colored glass in place of logs.

Fire pits vary tremendously in size and design so shop around until you find the right one to suit your available space and your budget. Your outdoor entertaining will be taken to a new level!


What to Look for When Buying a Fire Pit

san-simeon-fire-pitHave you been considering putting a fire pit in your back yard to give you and the family somewhere warm and cozy to hang out at the end of a busy day?

Here are some things you need to consider when choosing the fire pit for your yard.

Fuel – Gas or Wood?

The first thing you need to think about is whether you want a gas or wood powered fire pit.

For many there is nothing like the crackling of wood on a fire pit. Others want the heat and don’t worry about where it comes from.

The benefit of using a gas fire pit is that you don’t have to worry about finding and stacking wood or any clean up after you are done using the pit. You just turn the gas off and are done.

Alternately, you can’t have that burning wood crackle and smell unless you are using a wood burning fire pit.

Materials

The next thing you need to consider is what you want your fire pit to be made out of.

It used to be a fire pit was nothing more than a circle of metal where you tossed logs in the middle. But not any more.

These days fire pits can be made of anything from various metals like steel, iron, copper and aluminum to those that are made of decorative stone and even glass.

For the most part you can decide what will look best in your back yard entertaining area and should not have a problem finding a fire pit to match.

Some fire pits can be used as a beverage server during the summer months when a fire is not needed.

Be Safe

No matter what type of fire pit you choose, when you are purchasing it, make sure you have a hose or fire extinguisher nearby, just in case. While no one wants to have to think about safety, it is better to think about it before hand than not to have thought about it and end up with a problem. Also make sure the fire is completely off or out before you ever leave it unattended.


What to Look for When Buying a Chiminea

If you have been thinking about putting some sort of heating device in your backyard, you may be learning towards a . They are great looking heating devices that can add a little flair as well as heat to outdoor entertaining area.

So what do you need to know when you are considering buying a chiminea? The first thing that you need to think about is what type of chiminea you want to purchase.

Things to Consider When Buying a Chiminea:

Are you looking for a chiminea strictly for heating purposes or do you want one that you can also cook on. If you want to cook on your chiminea look for one with a removable chimney.

There are many styles available that allow you to cook all sorts of food from pizza to jacket potatoes.

Materials:

While the original chimineas were made out of clay, today you can purchase chimineas made out of any of a number of materials including metal.  So its simply a matter for you to decide what will look best in your yard and what type of durability you want as some of the styles are more likely to break than others.

Clay Chiminea – While clay is traditional for making chimineas, it is also fragile. Over time, and use, the clay chimineas can become brittle and break easier than those made of other materials.

Copper Chiminea – While copper is a very beautiful metal to look at, it also can be a little less sturdy than some other metals because of its softness. Take this into account when considering it for a chiminea.

Cast Iron Chiminea – Cast iron is a very strong and very sturdy metal. It will hold up for generations of use. The down side of cast iron is its weight, as it is very heavy.

Size:

The next thing to think about is the size of chiminea you want to have in your yard. Chimineas range from small tabletop sizes to very large furnace-like pieces that can heat a large area.

When it comes to size, you will need to know how much space you have for the chiminea not only  in width, but also in the height that you have available.

Remember, a Chiminea has a top where heat will rise out of, so you want to make sure there is nothing that will burn or could be damaged by heat that is too close to that space.

A chiminea is a beautiful piece of heating equipment that will look stylish wherever it sits.


Garden Sun GS4400SSWhether you just want to get a jump on being outside this spring or live in an area where it’s always a little chilly in the evening, you may be looking for a way to take back your life and yard and not feel like a slave to the indoors.

The Instant comfort  Garden Sun GS4400SS Floor Standing Propane Powered Patio Heater With Push Button Ignition is a great way to do that. This unit is easy to set up and once on, will start putting out 41,000 BTU of power that will heat a nice chunk of your patio or backyard entertaining area.

By chasing the chill out of the night air with the Instant Comfort Patio Heater, you will be able to retake the outdoors sooner in the season than you ever could before.

Want to move to a new location to play outside? Not a problem. With wheels on the bottom you can simply lean and roll this unit to where you want it. And with a brushed steel finish, it can handle being outdoors and still look great.

When it comes to fuel, this unit is a dream. A standard propane tank powers it and one tank can offer up to 12 hours of heating time, meaning fewer refills.

What We Like:

  • The wheels make it easy to move around
  • It has a great value for the price
  • It is easy to follow the instructions to set it up and get it working.
  • You get a lot of heat for a little fuel. It doesn’t seem to use it up too quickly.

CLICK HERE to buy the Instant Comfort Garden Sun Outdoor Patio heater.


 

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