Can You Use a Bioethanol Fireplace Outdoors?

Yes — with one condition that decides everything: the space must be sheltered from wind.

Not covered, necessarily. Not enclosed. Sheltered. A covered terrace, a balcony with a wall on the windward side, a courtyard, a pergola with sides. What does not work is an exposed patio on a breezy evening, and understanding why makes the rest obvious.

Why wind, and not rain or cold

A bioethanol flame sits in an open burner, fed by fuel vapour rising from the surface — see how a bioethanol fireplace works. It has no enclosed combustion chamber and no forced air supply. Moving air does two things to it, both bad.

It disperses the vapour before it can burn, so the flame gutters, shrinks and can go out. And it can push the flame sideways out of the burner opening, towards whatever is next to it.

Cold is not a problem — the fuel burns the same at 5°C as at 25°C, and the flame is more welcome. Rain is only a problem while it is falling on the burner. Wind is the whole question.

What counts as sheltered

Works well:

• A covered terrace or veranda
• A balcony with a solid wall or railing on the prevailing wind side
• A courtyard enclosed by walls
• A pergola with side panels or planting
• A corner formed by two walls of the house

Does not work:

• An open lawn or exposed patio
• A roof terrace with no wind break
• A seafront or hilltop position
• Anywhere you would struggle to keep a candle lit

That last one is the practical test. If a candle would stay lit where you plan to put it, a bioethanol fireplace will work there.

The glass does most of the work

Model design matters more outdoors than indoors. A fireplace with tempered glass surrounding the flame is far more tolerant of moving air than an open burner, because the glass forms a physical wind break at the point where it counts.

A tall glass cylinder is the most forgiving shape of all: the flame sits well down inside it, protected on every side.

Outdoor-specific safety

The usual three rules apply — cool before refuelling, snuffer never water, one metre of clearance — and outdoors adds a few more.

A level, stable surface. Decking boards, gravel and uneven paving all invite a tip.

Clearance includes what is overhead. A parasol, an awning, a pergola beam or overhanging branches all sit in the danger zone. One metre applies upward too.

Watch what is downwind. Cushions, throws and outdoor curtains move in a way indoor furnishings do not.

Never refuel outdoors in wind. Vapour disperses unpredictably and pouring becomes harder to control.

Bring it in, or cover it. Rain sitting in a burner dilutes leftover fuel and encourages corrosion — our maintenance guide covers storage.

Our full safety guide covers the indoor rules in detail, and the lighting guide the sequence itself.

What to expect on heat and duration

Indoors, a bioethanol fireplace warms a room of up to 30 m². Outdoors that figure is meaningless — there are no walls to hold the heat.

What you get instead is radiant warmth in a radius of a metre or two: enough to make a September evening on the terrace comfortable an hour longer. Place it close to where people are sitting rather than in the middle of the space.

On duration, plan for one session rather than a whole night. Tabletop models give 45 minutes to an hour per fill — which happens to be the length of an aperitif or a dinner outdoors. The floor-standing ORA 80 gives around three hours.

Which models work outdoors

CYLINDER 40 is the most wind-tolerant — a tall glass column with the flame set deep inside, visible from every side, at 41 cm.

APEX uses tinted tempered glass in a triangular form that shields the flame while keeping it visible, and it is the most sculptural of the three on a low outdoor table.

TABLE at 32 cm is made to sit on an outdoor dining surface, low enough to see across.

The floor-standing ORA 80 also works on a covered terrace, and its weight makes it the most stable choice on decking.

Use the same fuel outdoors as in — 96 to 97 per cent, made for fireplaces. See the fuel guide, and the choosing guide if you are still deciding. The full range is in our bioethanol fireplaces collection.