How much gas does a fireplace use per hour at full input?
Out in Mills River, where large rural lots run on propane and the open valley invites outdoor living, the gas-use answer splits two ways: an indoor fireplace burns about its rated BTU per hour — a third of a gallon of propane for a 30,000 BTU unit on high — while an outdoor gas fire pit is a much thirstier animal at 60,000 BTU.
The fire pit uses roughly double an indoor unit
The Napoleon Uptown square gas fire pit is rated 60,000 BTU on propane — about two-thirds of a gallon an hour running full out, twice what a typical indoor fireplace pulls. That's worth knowing before you plan a gas fire pit for entertaining season in the Mills River Valley or up around Banner Farm: bigger flame, more gallons, so we size the tank and line for it deliberately rather than as an afterthought.
Indoor units and your tank
For the house itself, the input rating tells you tank life. A 30,000 BTU fireplace sipping a third of a gallon an hour on a few cool evenings a week won't threaten a 250- or 500-gallon tank the way a furnace would. Modulate it down and it stretches further. We'll walk through your unit, your typical use, and your tank size, and coordinate the tank with your propane supplier.
Plan the outdoor line before entertaining season
The open valley here is made for outdoor fire, and late spring is the time to run the buried, outdoor-rated gas line before the season starts. We're a licensed gas contractor, we permit with Henderson County and pressure-test every line, indoor or out. It's 25 minutes from our Asheville showroom. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Mills River
We install and service fireplaces throughout Mills River and the rest of Henderson County — just 25 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.