About Bushman Burners
A short history of Chimeneas and what they do?
Originally, all clay open fire garden heaters imported from Mexico were known as Chimeneas. As the story goes Chimeneas originated many years ago by Mexican tribesmen looking to develope something that could be used as both a form of heating and something to cook in. The original Chimenea was designed to keep the rain off the fire and the family warm using merely a couple of sticks.
Unfortunately the Chimeneas currently imported are unable to withstand the thermal shock associated with a sudden down pour of rain. In Mexico when the cooking pot or Chimenea cracked and fell apart, they simply scooped up some more mud or river clay together and made another one. Burners that are made by Bushmam are built to specifically withstand the typical English weather and because they are made from Industrial clay, you will not get burnt if you touch the outside of the burner.
Consequently, due to the generally low quality of clay used in the manufacture of so many Chimeneas imported into Europe, several companies appeared in Mexico all claiming to manufacture better quality Chimeneas using superior clay. Some companies disappointed with the quality of Mexican clay used, decided to use Mediterranean clays and had the Chimeneas fired to a very high temperature to enable them to withsatnd bigger fires to be made in them.
Unfortunately the higher the temperature in the firing process, the more brittle the end result becomes and therefore the less tolerant the product was to thermal shock or rapid temperature changes making them ideal for Mediterranean dry climates but fundamentally flawed for our wet, cold and freezing English climate.
Chimeneas in Terracotta tend to be fragile and unable to cope with the cold English climate.
In order to overcome the fragile nature of the Clay or Terracotta Chimeneas, other companiesdecided to manufacture a range of garden heaters in Cast Iron. Rather than improving the original Mexican Chimenea, a new range of products hit the shelves. This new range of Cast Iron heaters become so hot when lit that they are very dangerous in that a mere brush with them can leave you with horrific burns.Another thing to bear in mind is that after the first firing of these Cast Iron chimeneas, the paint effect tends to burn off leaving a rusty looking Chimenea.
The only Garden heaters (Chimeneas) that are made specifically to withstand the English Climate along with all the critical factors above, is the range of Bushman heaters which are handmade in England.
The range of Bushman Burners are all individually handmade from a blend of Industrial Fire Clays that are designed to withstand temperatures in excess of 1200 degress C coupled with the fact that all Bushman Burners are reinforced with a wire mesh which holds them together so that even if you do get a thermal craze, it will not fall apart like an inferior Chimenea. Furthermore, only the Bushman Burner range of heaters are capable of withstanding the temperatures associated with burning all smokeless coal, house coal, Charcoal and logs.
Unlike the simple clay Chimeneas, the range of Bushman Burners can be left outside all year round even in the frost and snow.
Furthermore, the holes in the face of the Bushman Burners have been designed and manufactured bigger so that you are able to feel more of the raw heat and see more of the fire when burning. In summary, it does not matter which of the range of Bushman Burners you go for as they are all Chimeneas / heaters in the simple form of the word - but are far superior to any of the competition including simple clay Chimeneas, Cast iron or Aluminimum.
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