You can enjoy an outdoor fireplace nearly year-round if you live in parts of the country where the climate is more hospitable in the evenings. The desert southwest is a great place to enjoy one for a significant part of the year, barring the summers. Likewise, you can enjoy an outdoor fire in the cool evenings of the spring and fall months in the east, but will have to store it for the winter. This is an important point to note as the one you'll be buying should be somewhat portable or at least movable, depending on your preference.
The styles that you are most likely to come across are the round and portable, metal fireplace bowls with a mesh scree top. The top is to prevent the embers and sparks from landing on parts of your patio, like maybe an outdoor rug. These units can cost anywhere from $100-250 USD. For a more robust or large patio fireplace, you might be looking in price ranges of $750 - 1,500 USD.
You can also go with a different fireplace option. That is the patio fire pit. These are more permanent in nature but come with some advantages over the more portable units. With a firepit, you have a place to gather around that doesn't need to be moved around and stored. Sure, it's more permanent, but that can be one of its upsides, too. The fire pit tables allow you to create a similar experience at your bistro table on a smaller scale. Then, when not being used for a fire, it can be used for icing down your drinks.
A quality made metal style of portable fireplace unit will be made such that it will not be too heavy to move and thick enough material to avoid warping or melting with the high heat. Your unit should be able to last several years. While it may be hard to assess quality shopping online, you can read reviews before purchasing the fireplace.
If you are looking for your fireplace or pit to primarily provide heat for your patio, you'd be better off with a patio heater unit. These typically burn propane and can heat a fairly large area. They are also much more 'hands off' than a patio fireplace as well.
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