How much gas does a fire pit burn per hour?
More than an indoor fireplace, because a fire pit is open flame with no glass to trap heat — it's built to be all show. A 60,000-BTU pit like Napoleon's Uptown burns roughly two-thirds of a gallon of propane an hour on high, or about 0.6 therms of natural gas. Turn the valve down and it drops fast.
Why pits run rich
There's no sealed firebox and no glass on a fire pit, so the burner is sized to throw a big, lively flame you can see and feel from across the patio on a cool mountain evening. That means a healthy BTU rating — often 40,000 to 60,000-plus — and healthy fuel use when it's wide open. Napoleon's Uptown square pit, for example, is a 60,000-BTU LP unit built to be all show. To estimate any pit's draw, divide its BTU rating by about 91,500 for propane gallons per hour, or by 100,000 for natural gas therms per hour — so that 60,000-BTU Uptown pulls roughly two-thirds of a gallon of propane, or about 0.6 therms of gas, every hour on high.
That's why cylinders empty quickly
Run a 60,000-BTU pit wide-open off a 20 lb cylinder and you'll be swapping or refilling after just a handful of evenings — and around here, a cold cylinder on a frosty night can't vaporize fast enough to feed a big burner, so the flame sags right when you want it most. Most pits have an adjustable valve, though, and dialing it down for atmosphere rather than a bonfire stretches the fuel considerably — half-flame is still plenty of glow for conversation. Even so, if the pit is a regular part of your evenings, hauling cylinders gets old fast and makes a strong case for a permanent supply.
The set-and-forget fix
Hard-plumbing the pit to your home's large propane tank or the natural gas main means it runs as long as you like with no refills, no dead cylinder mid-gathering, and no cold-tank flame sag. We bury the outdoor-rated line, size it for the pit's load, permit it with your county, and pressure-test it before it ever sees flame — licensed gas work that a landscaper or hardscaper legally can't do in North Carolina, no matter how nice the stonework. One accountable company from the gas source to the fire. Call (828) 545-0525 for a free assessment.
Related questions
- How long will a 20 lb propane tank last on a gas fire pit?
- Can I connect my fire pit to my home's large propane tank instead of a portable cylinder?
- How is a gas line run to an outdoor fire pit or outdoor fireplace?
- Why does my propane fire pit tank frost over or lose pressure while burning?
- How much does it cost per hour to run a propane fireplace?
- How do I know if my house has natural gas or propane?
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