The term ‘outdoorsy’ has long been monopolised by rosy-cheeked, hiking-boot-clad souls who breathlessly conquer mountains before most of us have woken up on a Sunday morning, but I’m here to stake a claim on it for the less physically adept.
I’m the other type of outdoorsy. I want to devour books on a deck chair. I want to warm my skin in the faint glow of the English sun. I want fresh air in my lungs and birdsong in my ears. I want the twinkly garden dinners Nigella is always hosting, but more than all of that – and here’s the rub – I want to be warm.
England in autumn or winter isn’t exactly the frozen tundra, but I’ve already started exchanging flirty glances with the thermostat. The summer nights Danny and Sandy famously chirruped about in Grease are fast exiting stage left, and so I, outdoors but inert, am seeking something that will keep me toasty as the days get shorter and we head into midwinter.
Enter: Eco Fuego, a wax-powered fire pit brand with a conscience.
An innovation in outdoor lounging, the El Fuego by Eco Fuego is a wax-powered fire pit that aims to keep you cosy while emitting 90 per cent less CO2 than its wood-fuelled counterparts.
The El Fuego claims to kick out a powerful heat while leaving very little trace – no wood smoke, no ash, no embers, no stinging eyes, no stinky clothes, no scrambling in the dirt for kindling to get a fire going. It lights in seconds and burns powerfully into the night.
Well, that’s what the package says, but does it live up to expectations?
How I Tested
To test this fire pit, I assembled it on my own in my back garden, noting how easy it was to put together, the ignition time and how long the flames took to really catch. Since it’s billed as eco-conscious, I was also keen to monitor any smoke levels and see how easy it is to maintain (spoiler: no cleaning involved).
El Fuego Eco-Fire Pit Key Specs
- Dimensions: 37cm x 31cm (inc lid)
- Material: metal
- Weight: 20kg (inc fuel)
- Colours: natural wood or graphite grey
- Burn time: 8 hours per refill
Set up
Out of the box and ready to light in around a minute. Screw the El Fuego’s four feet in, slot the drum in and that’s it. You’re good to go.
All you have to do from here is peel back the paper from the top of the wax block and place it in the fire drum. It is, for all intents and purposes, a giant candle, complete with a big square wick - one touch of a lighter and you’re away.
A heat-proof base is advisable to stop the lawn from getting a little crispy if you’re planning on a long burn. Eco Fuego does sell its own, but really, anything heatproof will do.
Handily, I found a long-forgotten bit of paving slab at the bottom of the garden, so after a brief arm wrestling match with a gang of local spiders, I was ready to burn, baby, burn.
Design
The El Fuego is a handsome little fella! The metal exterior - available in wood black or wood original - is painted to look like a rather convincing tree stump, so it blends into my garden setting quite neatly. It lit in a flash, but the flames themselves took a good 15 minutes to get lively. Once it was roaring away, it was delightful.
Performance
Despite a decent breeze blowing through the trees on the nights I took the El Fuego out for a spin, the fire never felt unwieldy and the foot-tall flames gave off a nice, gentle heat. Not the roaring, smoky heat of a bonfire, mind you, but a pleasing warmth (and no plumes of smoke to follow you around either). I could have stayed out toasting my tootsies in the garden for hours.
Despite the fact that I am 39 years old, anything fire-related tends to make me cast my eyes sideways for an adult. Surely no one is trusting me with this? With that in mind, the simplicity of extinguishing the flames quickly became one of my favourite features. Slide the El Fuego’s lid over the top of the drum and the fire is instantly out. Magic!
To get it going again, simply light it up again, just as you would a candle. With no fuel other than the wax, there’s no ash or timber shrapnel to deal with either. It really couldn’t be simpler.
The promise of a clean burn ran true, too – my clothes smelt fine afterwards and my eyes bore no brunt. While the lack of smell is something to cheer for here, I’d be very interested to try the citronella wax (there’s also talk of a cinnamon-scented wax, though I have struggled to find any for sale).
Cost - is it worth the price?
While the RRP of £179.99 for a both functionally and aesthetically very well-designed fire pit isn’t a huge pill to swallow (after all, it’s sturdy enough that you’ll only ever have to buy it once), £26.99 per eight-hour wax refill does feel a little hefty. That amounts to around £3.37 an hour, which relegates it to occasional use only.
For a weekend talking/drinking/dancing around the fire pit with my nearest and dearest? A bargain. For a weekend reading on my tod? Let me just pop inside for a jumper…
Verdict
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The El Fuego is a well-designed bit of kit that will elevate your garden hosting to no end. It really is lovely to sit by the fire, having made very little effort to get it going.
Sometimes you wonder why they keep reinventing the wheel; other times you thank your lucky stars we’re not all running our little feet off in a Flintstones car. As far as this fire pit is concerned, it definitely falls into the latter – a fire that’s easy to start, even easier to stop and a great companion for those who cherish their time under the stars. No choking on smoke, no fears of the fire gaining independence and running off down the valley. I’m sold.
That said, those refill costs add up quickly, so pick your uses wisely.
Buy now £179.99, Amazon
