How do I winterize my gas fire pit at the end of the season?
In Waynesville, winterize earlier than you would down in Asheville — at nearly 2,650 feet the first hard freeze arrives sooner and the cold hangs on 10 to 15 degrees colder, so shut the pit down in early fall. Kill the fuel, dry the burner and pan, and cover it tight, or bring a freestanding unit indoors once the tank's off.
A longer freeze means a longer risk window
Waynesville's heating season runs about three weeks longer than the lower valleys, which cuts both ways for a fire pit. You get more good cold evenings out of it — Hazelwood and Frog Level patios earn their keep — but the burner also sits exposed to freeze-thaw for more months than a pit in town ever does. Every one of those cycles is a chance for water to work into the ports and rust them.
So don't drag your feet on shutdown. Once you're done using it for the year, clear the burner and pan of leaves, dry everything, and get the cover on before the first real freeze rather than after it.
Fuel, mixed either way
Waynesville runs a mix of natural gas and propane, so start by knowing which one you've got. A propane pit gets the tank closed at the valve, disconnected, and stored upright outdoors in a shaded, ventilated spot — never in a basement, a closet, or living space. A natural-gas pit fed by a buried line just gets shut off at its own valve for the season so nothing seeps into a cold, idle burner.
If the pit was already slow to light or burning uneven when you closed it out, that's worth a look before winter, not after. We're 35 minutes west in Haywood County — call (828) 545-0525 and we'll get it right.
Fireplace help in Waynesville
We install and service fireplaces throughout Waynesville and the rest of Haywood County — just 35 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
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