How do I adjust the flame height on my gas fire pit?
On most gas fire pits, you set the flame height with the control knob or key that feeds the burner — turn it toward high for taller flames, toward low to bring them down. Match-lit and push-button pits both use this same valve. Turn it slowly and let the flame settle. On a propane pit, keep the tank valve fully open and adjust at the pit's own knob.
The valve is your dial
A gas fire pit's flame runs off an adjustable gas valve, worked with either a knob or a removable key at the pit. Once it's lit — by match, push-button spark, or electronic ignition — you rotate that control to open the valve wider for a bigger flame or throttle it back for a low, mellow one. Go slowly and give it a couple of seconds to respond; opening it too fast can make the flame lift and flutter. On a Napoleon Uptown or any LP pit, the propane tank valve stays all the way open — you regulate the fire at the pit's control, never by cracking the tank partway.
Weather and wind change what looks right
Outdoors, the flame you set isn't the flame you always get. A stiff mountain breeze — and our ridges and valleys funnel wind hard some evenings — will flatten and scatter a low flame, so you'll often run a fire pit a touch higher outside than you would indoors just to keep it steady and lit. Cold, dense winter air behaves differently than a mild fall night, too. If gusts are strong enough to keep blowing the flame around or snuffing it, that's your cue to turn it down and shut it off rather than fight it. A fire pit is meant to be attended, not left running in bad weather.
If the flame won't come up or burns uneven
A fire pit that won't reach full height, sputters, or burns lopsided usually has a fuel-delivery issue: a near-empty propane tank, a regulator starting to fail, or burner ports and media clogged after sitting out through the seasons. Fire glass and lava rock piled over the ports also choke the flame — media should sit around the burner, not bury it. If yours won't flame up right, call (828) 545-0525 and we'll check the gas side.
Related questions
- How do I use the push-button or electronic ignition on a gas fire pit?
- How windy is too windy to use a gas fire pit?
- Can I rearrange or add more fire glass or lava rock in my gas fire pit?
- What's the proper way to shut down a gas fire pit after using it?
- How do I light a match-lit gas fire pit?
- How do I light the pilot light on my gas fireplace?
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