Cal Flame Monterey: Is 90,000 BTUs Overkill Outdoors?

Six hundred pounds. That is the first number worth sitting with on the Cal Flame Monterey, because it tells you more about this fireplace than the BTU rating does.

Outdoor fireplaces come in two broad flavours. There are the ones you assemble on a patio and could theoretically move again, and there are the ones that become part of the property. The Monterey is firmly the second kind — a one-piece build on a 16-gauge galvanized steel frame, reinforced with Hardiebacker tile backer board, standing 59" tall and 48" wide. It arrives finished and it stays where you put it.

90,000 BTUs is a lot of fire

The Monterey runs a 22" double burner rated to 90,000 BTUs. For comparison, a good indoor gas fireplace sits somewhere between 25,000 and 40,000.

That difference is not showing off. Outdoors you are heating people, not a room, and every bit of warmth you produce is being pulled away by moving air. A burner sized for a living room would look pretty and do very little on an open patio in October. The Monterey is sized so that the fire still does its job when the temperature drops — which is the entire reason to own one.

Inside, the firebox measures 34" high by 22" wide by 20" deep and is lined with a brick pattern. A 24" log set with black lava rocks comes with it, so there is nothing else to buy to get a proper flame on the first evening.

The three finishes are a real decision

The Monterey comes in stucco, cultured stone, or Cal Faux stone. This is not a colour swatch choice — the three read very differently from across a garden. Stucco is the quiet one and disappears into modern architecture. Cultured stone has weight and texture and suits an older house. Cal Faux splits the difference and is the safest pick if the patio has a lot going on already.

Take the time on this one. It is the part you will look at every day, and it is not something you change your mind about later.

Monterey, Cabo or Sahara?

Cal Flame builds three closely related fireplaces and the difference comes down to the mantel:

• Monterey — extended bottom mantel. A shelf that runs the width of the unit.
• Cabo — no bottom mantel. The cleanest, most contemporary of the three.
• Sahara — wrap-around bottom mantel, which returns down the sides.

If you entertain, the Monterey's mantel earns its keep as somewhere to put drinks and serving dishes down. If you are after the most minimal silhouette, the Cabo is your unit. The Sahara is the most traditional of the three.

The specifications

Plan the delivery before you plan the patio

Back to that 600 pounds. This is not a two-person carry, and it will not go through a standard garden gate on a hand truck without planning. Before ordering, walk the route from where the truck can stop to where the fireplace will live, and measure the narrowest point.

You will also want a gas line run to the spot, which is a job for a licensed installer and worth quoting before you buy rather than after. The unit is ANSI certified and comes with full line drawings so your installer can work out clearances in advance.

Worth it?

At $5,254 the Monterey is not an impulse purchase, and we would not pretend otherwise. What you are buying is a permanent structure that turns a patio into somewhere people actually sit in October and November — which, if you use your garden the way most people wish they did, is the whole point.

See the Monterey with all three finishes and the full line drawings here. Free shipping over $299.

Still comparing? The rest of our outdoor fireplace range is here, and if you would like a hand working out whether the Monterey, Cabo or Sahara suits your space, send us the dimensions and a photo and we will tell you honestly which one we would put there.