Gas Fire Pit and Fire Table Buying Guide: Burners, BTU, Media, Ignition and Installation

The gas fire pits we get called back to service rarely failed at the flame. The burner rusted in two seasons, the propane tank froze up in November, or the co-op board asked for it to be removed. The flame is the easy part. This guide covers the rest. We sell and install gas fire pits, fire pit tables, fire bowls and drop-in burner systems across the five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and South Florida, and these are the questions that come up at the showroom counter every week.

Fire table, fire bowl, kit or custom burner: which format?

There are four ways to get a gas flame into a yard, and the right one depends on how finished your space already is.

A fire pit table is a complete appliance: body, burner, valve, ignition, usually a lid. Most are chat height (16 to 25 inches) and propane versions hide the tank in the base. This is what most homeowners with an existing patio should buy. A fire bowl is the same idea in a round or square vessel without a tabletop, usually hard piped for natural gas, and fire and water bowls add a scupper for pool edges.

A ready to finish kit is a metal frame with the burner and plumbing mounted; your mason wraps it in stone or stucco. The fire pit kits collection also has paver-block and DIY burner kits. A drop-in burner, linear or round, is for fully custom work where you build the enclosure and we spec the burner, pan, valve and ignition.

Which body material lasts: GFRC, steel, stainless, Corten or copper?

GFRC concrete (glass fiber reinforced concrete) is the dominant material in good fire tables. It is cast with alkali-resistant glass fibers and polymer, so it is roughly half the weight of poured concrete, never rusts, and takes hand-applied finishes from smooth limestone to rough rustic. The Outdoor Plus, American Fyre Designs, Firegear and XO all build in it. The caveats: color varies piece to piece, hairline surface cracks are normal and not covered as defects, and a 48 inch piece still weighs 200 pounds or more.

Powder-coated steel is lighter and more contemporary. Warming Trends AON tables and Fire Garden chat tables are built this way. The coating is typically warranted for a year against defects, not chips or fading, so touch up chips early. Stainless bodies are the call for salt air on the South Shore or in Jupiter; ask for 304 and expect some tea staining near the ocean. Corten and copper are meant to weather, Corten to a stable rust brown and copper from penny bright to green over years, and both are excluded from finish warranties for that reason. The Julius 48 inch copper bowl looks better at year five than at delivery.

Natural gas or propane (and what about hidden tank tables)?

If a gas line is possible, natural gas wins on every count but one. It never runs out mid-party, it burns cleaner with less soot on the media, it costs less per hour, and in cold weather it does not lose pressure the way a propane cylinder does. The one count it loses on is installation: in New York City the line must be run by a licensed master plumber under the NYC Fuel Gas Code, and on Long Island and in New Jersey a licensed plumber and a permit are the norm. We handle that as part of the install.

Propane is the answer when there is no line or the unit has to move. A standard 20 pound cylinder sits in the base of a hidden tank table like the Outdoor GreatRoom Beacon or the Fire Garden Chat Table, or in a slide-out drawer like the American Fyre Designs Contempo LP Select, which takes a horizontal 20 pound DOT cylinder. Three things to know:

• A 20 pound cylinder runs a 65,000 BTU burner on high for roughly 6 to 7 hours. Turn it down and you double that. Keep a spare.
• Cold strains the tank. As the temperature drops, the cylinder cannot vaporize fast enough to feed a big burner, so the flame shrinks. That is physics, not a defect.
• Propane is heavier than air and pools in low spots, which is why every propane enclosure needs low vents.

Most tables ship set up for one fuel with a conversion kit for the other. Electronic ignition models usually have to be ordered for one fuel and cannot be converted in the field, so decide before you buy.

How many BTUs do I need?

BTU per hour is the burner's maximum gas consumption, not a promise of warmth. An open flame sends most of its heat straight up; what you feel is radiant heat from the flame and the hot media, and it drops off fast with distance. Treat BTU as a flame size and reach number.

One caution: a tall flame and a strong wind do not mix. A 180,000 BTU flame on a windy rooftop whips sideways and warms nobody. On exposed sites, a glass wind guard matters more than another 20,000 BTU.

Which ignition type is safest?

Ignition is where cheap units and good units separate, and the difference is not convenience. It is whether gas keeps flowing after the flame goes out.

Match lit. Open a key valve, touch a lighter to the burner. No batteries, nothing to fail, and no flame sensing: if wind blows the flame out, gas keeps coming until someone notices. We sell plenty to custom pit clients who want zero electronics, but we steer families and rooftop installs away from it.

Push button spark with thermocouple (TPSI, pulse ignition, flame sensing valve). A battery igniter lights a pilot and a thermocouple holds the valve open only while it senses flame. Lose the flame and the valve snaps shut. This is standard on most mid-range tables, including the Fire Garden Chat Table and the AFD Contempo, and it is the minimum we recommend where children will sit.

Electronic ignition (AWEIS, DSI, hot surface, low voltage). A control module powers an igniter, opens the pilot, proves flame, then opens the main valve. It runs from a wall switch, remote, timer or home automation, and it relights automatically after a blowout. The Outdoor Plus runs its systems on 12 volt low voltage through a transformer, with a glow plug that heats about four seconds before the pilot opens; Firegear's AWEIS and the Outdoor GreatRoom direct spark system plug into a 120 volt GFCI outlet. Either way you need an electrician as well as a plumber. The Firegear Sanctuary comes in all three ignition styles, which makes it a useful comparison.

Our rule: match lit for a custom pit a pro will babysit, thermocouple push button for most homes, electronic for rooftops, pools, rentals and anyone who wants the flame on a wall switch like a light.

Stainless or brass burner?

The burner lives in the fire, under wet media, through freeze and thaw. It is the part most likely to fail and the one most worth paying for.

304 stainless steel is the standard from The Outdoor Plus, The Outdoor GreatRoom, XO and Firegear. The Outdoor GreatRoom backs its Crystal Fire Plus burners for 10 years residential, and The Outdoor Plus warrants its burner rings for life. The failures we see are thin, unspecified stainless or plated steel burners on imported tables that rust through in two or three seasons. If the product page will not tell you the grade, assume the worst.

Brass is what Warming Trends builds its Crossfire burners from, and it is a different design. Instead of ports in a tube, machined brass jets pull air into the gas stream (a venturi) before it leaves the burner. The result is a taller, brighter, more orange flame per BTU, and Warming Trends says it uses less gas doing it. Brass does not rust, and the burner carries a lifetime warranty. The Crossfire linear brass kit and the 48 inch round Crossfire kit (350,000 BTU) are what our custom clients ask for by name. The gas line has to be sized for the appetite, but for a showpiece pit it is the burner we would put in our own yard.

Fire glass, lava rock or logs?

Media hides the burner and radiates heat. It is also the easiest thing to get wrong.

Lava rock is porous, cheap and forgiving. Most quality units ship with a bag, and many makers want a base layer of lava under anything else so gas disperses and water drains. New lava can hold moisture and pop the first few burns. The Warming Trends rolled lava and the Outdoor GreatRoom tumbled lava are the smooth versions worth the upgrade.

Fire glass is tempered glass made for fire features. It sparkles and reflects the flame. Use only glass rated for fire pits, and keep it shallow: The Outdoor Plus manuals call for no more than 2 inches of media above the burner and no more than an inch actually covering the ports. Deep glass is the most common cause of soot and hard starts. One wrinkle: The Outdoor Plus advises against fire glass on propane units, because propane can pool under a dense glass bed. On LP, lean toward lava or keep glass to a thin dressing over lava. The Crystal Fire Plus glass gems are sized for Outdoor GreatRoom burners; the full fire glass and media collection has the colors.

Log sets give a round pit a wood-fire look but can disrupt the flame on a linear burner, and some makers void the warranty if the logs are not their own. Ask first. And never use river rock, pea gravel or anything non-porous: trapped moisture turns to steam and the stone can fracture violently.

What installation is required? Ventilation, clearances, decks and roofs

Ventilation. Any enclosure around a burner, especially one with a propane tank inside, needs cross ventilation. The Outdoor Plus specifies one square inch of cross-vent opening per 25,000 BTU, with at least two vents in the side wall placed low. Other makers quote a flat 18 square inches on opposing sides. Low placement matters because propane sinks. Factory tables have this built in; custom stone enclosures do not, and we see masons seal them tight because nobody told them otherwise. Never seal the bottom of a bowl or pan either.

Clearances. The manual for your unit wins. For reference, The Outdoor Plus electronic bowl manual calls for 48 inches from the burner to combustible walls and 96 inches overhead; The Outdoor GreatRoom quotes 24 inches from the burner edge to a combustible side wall and 72 inches above the burner. Both measure from the burner, not the table edge.

Pergolas and covered patios. Yes, with conditions. The Outdoor GreatRoom allows two side walls plus a cover, or three walls plus a cover with at least 30 percent of the wall area permanently open. A fully enclosed room with a roof is off the table for any gas fire pit. Under a roof the overhead clearance governs, and a low ceiling over a tall Crossfire flame will scorch.

Wood decks. Most factory tables are approved on wood decks because the burner sits in a pan well above the deck; The Outdoor GreatRoom states all its tables are fine on wood decking. Open bowls and custom pits are different: The Outdoor Plus requires non-combustible panels under a fire feature on a combustible surface. Composite decking softens with heat, so ask us before you set a bowl on it.

Gas pressure. Natural gas burners want 7 inches of water column; propane wants 11. A low blue flame points to pressure or a fuel mismatch. A huge flame with sooty tips usually means a burner jetted for natural gas is being fed propane. Both are a plumber visit, not a defect.

What are the NYC propane, co-op and HOA rules?

New York City is stricter about propane than anywhere else we work. The rules are written around barbecues, but they govern the cylinder itself, so we apply them to fire tables.

• At a one or two family home, the NYC Fire Code (section 307.5.3, as summarized by the Department of Buildings) allows a propane appliance with no more than two 20 pound cylinders.
• In a multiple dwelling (apartment building, co-op or condo), the Department of Buildings states it is illegal to store a standard propane barbecue on a balcony, roof deck, roof, rear yard or courtyard. A 20 pound cylinder in a fire table base is the same cylinder. In a multifamily building in the five boroughs, plan on natural gas or an ethanol fire table.
• Natural gas appliances must be connected by a NYC licensed master plumber and the piping tested under the NYC Fuel Gas Code.
• Keep any open flame appliance at least 10 feet from anything that can catch fire, including building walls, deck rails and furniture.

Outside the city, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and New Jersey towns have their own open flame and setback rules, and we confirm them for every install. On top of the code, co-op and condo boards and HOAs almost always have house rules on open flame, usually stricter than the code. Get written approval before you order, and bring the spec sheet and clearance drawing. Boards say yes far more often to a natural gas unit with electronic ignition and automatic shutoff than to anything with a tank.

For a Manhattan or Brooklyn terrace with no gas and a board that will not allow propane, the EcoSmart Mimosa 40 and the other EcoSmart ethanol tables run on bottled bioethanol with no line and no cylinder. Expect about 20,000 BTU and 7 to 9 hours per fill: ambiance with a little warmth, not a heater.

Winter use, covers and the common complaints

Winter. Natural gas fire pits run all year in New York. Propane tables lose output in the cold because the cylinder cannot vaporize fast enough; a 65,000 BTU burner on a 20 pound tank at 25 degrees gives you a modest flame. If you want big fire in January, that is one more argument for a gas line. Keep snow off the burner and never light one with ice in the pan.

Covers. A burner cover (concrete lid, a glass lid like the Outdoor GreatRoom glass burner cover, or a stainless plate) keeps leaves, rain and ice out of the pan. A full fabric cover protects the finish over winter, and most manufacturers want the burner covered whenever it is idle. Two rules: never cover a wet table, and on GFRC use only a breathable cover like The Outdoor Plus canvas covers, never a plastic tarp. For a propane table over winter, close the valve, pull the cylinder and store it outdoors, then cover the burner and table.

What owners complain about. After enough service calls, the pattern is consistent:

• Wind blows it out. Any open flame will, and a thermocouple or electronic system then shuts the gas off, which is it working. The fix is a tempered glass wind guard and placement out of the prevailing wind. Electronic ignition relights automatically; match lit does not.
• Soot on the glass. Too much media over the burner, a blocked air intake, or propane through a natural gas burner. Propane soots more than natural gas even when everything is right.
• The burner rusted. Almost always a thin, unspecified stainless burner on an imported table. This is why we lead with brands that publish the grade and warrant the burner for ten years or life.
• It will not light. On propane, an OPD valve tripped or a cold, nearly empty cylinder. On electronic systems, a dead transformer, a wet igniter, or media piled on the pilot. Keep one layer of media clear of the pilot and sensor.

All fire pitsFire pit tablesFire bowlsFire and water bowlsLinear burnersRound burnersReady to finish kitsFire glass and mediaGas tiki torchesEthanol fire tables

Our recommended models

These are the pieces we spec most, chosen for burner grade, ignition safety and how they have held up on service calls, not for the catalog photo.

Fire pit tables

BEST OVERALLThe Outdoor PlusDel Mar 60 inch GFRC Fire PitA 65,000 BTU 304 stainless burner in a GFRC body with 18 finishes and a choice of match lit or electronic ignition covers most patios we see.View details →BEST FOR HEATWarming TrendsAON 48 inch Square Steel Fire TableThe 180,000 BTU brass Crossfire burner throws a campfire scale flame that warms people five feet away, and the flush cover turns it back into a table.View details →BEST VALUEThe Outdoor GreatRoom CompanyBeacon 48 inch Round Propane TableA hidden 20 pound tank, a 55,000 BTU Crystal Fire Plus burner with a 10 year warranty and a concrete top, ready to light the day it arrives.View details →BEST FOR PROPANEAmerican Fyre DesignsContempo LP Select Fire TableThe slide out drawer takes a horizontal cylinder so tank swaps take two minutes, and the thermocouple valve shuts the gas off if the flame dies.View details →

Burner kits, chat tables and no gas options

BEST FOR CUSTOM PITSWarming TrendsCrossfire CFBL Linear Brass Burner KitAll brass venturi jets with a lifetime warranty are what we put in a custom linear pit when the client wants the tallest flame per BTU.View details →BEST FOR ELECTRONIC IGNITIONFiregearSanctuary Rectangular Concrete Fire TableIt comes match throw, TPSI or AWEIS, so the same 75,000 BTU table can run from a wall switch or remote with a five year warranty behind it.View details →BEST FOR SMALL SPACESFire Garden44 inch Gas Chat TableA 44 inch chat height table with a hidden tank drawer and pulse ignition with safety shutoff fits a small patio without looking like an afterthought.View details →BEST FOR CITY TERRACESEcoSmart FireMimosa 40 Fire Pit TableBioethanol needs no gas line and no cylinder, which makes it the fire table a Manhattan or Brooklyn co-op board is most likely to approve.View details →

Which should you choose?

For most homeowners with a finished patio, a 60,000 to 80,000 BTU GFRC fire table on natural gas with thermocouple or electronic ignition is the right buy, and the Del Mar is the one we quote first. Step up to a Crossfire burner kit when you want a showpiece and have the gas line to feed it. In a city apartment building, skip the tank debate entirely and go natural gas or ethanol.

Frequently asked questions

How many BTUs do I need for a fire pit table?

For a table four to six people sit around, 60,000 to 80,000 BTU is the comfortable range. Below 50,000 is ambiance with little warmth. Above 100,000 is a campfire-scale flame that eats propane, so plan on natural gas at that size.

Can I put a gas fire pit on a wood deck?

Most factory fire pit tables are approved for wood decks because the burner sits in a pan well above the surface, and The Outdoor GreatRoom explicitly allows all its tables on wood decking. Open bowls and custom pits usually require a non-combustible panel underneath. Check the manual for your unit and keep the clearance to railings.

Can I use a gas fire pit under a pergola or covered patio?

Usually, if the space is partially open. The Outdoor GreatRoom allows two walls plus a cover, or three walls plus a cover with at least 30 percent of the wall area permanently open, with 72 inches of overhead clearance above the burner. A fully enclosed room is never acceptable for a gas fire pit.

Is propane allowed for fire pits in New York City?

At a one or two family home, the NYC Fire Code allows no more than two 20 pound propane cylinders. In apartment buildings, co-ops and condos, the Department of Buildings says storing a standard propane appliance on a balcony, roof, roof deck, rear yard or courtyard is illegal. Natural gas run by a licensed master plumber, or an ethanol fire table, are the options there. Confirm with FDNY and your building before you buy.

Fire glass or lava rock, which is better?

Lava rock is cheaper, drains better and is what most manufacturers want as a base layer. Fire glass looks better, but it must be fire-rated, kept to about 2 inches or less above the burner, and The Outdoor Plus advises against it on propane units because propane can pool under a dense glass bed. Many owners run lava underneath with a thin layer of glass on top.

Why does my propane fire table have such a small flame?

Three usual causes. The tank valve was opened too fast and the OPD safety valve choked the flow (close everything, wait, reopen slowly). The cylinder is cold or nearly empty. Or the burner is jetted for natural gas and needs the propane conversion. A low blue flame points to pressure; a huge sooty flame points to a fuel mismatch the other way.

What is the difference between match lit and electronic ignition?

Match lit has no flame sensing: if the flame goes out, gas keeps flowing until you close the valve. Push button systems with a thermocouple shut the gas off when the flame dies. Electronic ignition does that and also relights automatically, runs from a wall switch or remote, and can tie into home automation. It needs power and costs more, but it is what we recommend for rooftops, pools and rentals.

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Written by the NYC Fireplaces & Outdoor Kitchens team. Last reviewed October 2026. We sell, install and service the products discussed here.

Sources:NYC Department of Buildings, Barbecue Safety Tool Kit (NYC Fire Code 307.5.3 and Fuel Gas Code), The Outdoor Plus Quick Reference Installation Guide, The Outdoor Plus Manuals and Documents, The Outdoor GreatRoom Company FAQ, Outdoor GreatRoom Crystal Fire Plus Burner, American Fyre Designs, Firegear Outdoors Burner Systems, EcoSmart Fire Gas Fire Pits. Specifications change; always confirm with the manufacturer's current installation manual.