Smokeless, propane fire pits are the best options that money could buy. The convenience, ambiance, and warmth offered by them are unmatched. Wood-fueled fireplaces can never be as good, clean, and less laborious than propane fire pits.
If you are considering installing a propane-powered fire pit, it is important to know about the propane consumption and how long a propane tank will last on the fire pit. One needs to consider many factors to estimate the amount of fuel required to run the fire pit.
How Much Propane Does a Fire Pit Use?
Propane consumption varies depending on various sizes and propane fire pit types. A large fire pit with higher flames burns a lot of propane. Smaller fire pits with low flame do not use as much propane as the larger ones.
The accurate propane quantity consumed is not set in stone as it depends on the fire pit size to calculate how many propane BTUs to be used.
Depending on the fire pit size and type, the 20 lbs propane cylinder can last between 1 to 9 hours. The propane consumption is affected greatly by the BTU rating and flame size. Learn How Much Propane Does A Fireplace Use?
How Long Does a Propane Tank Last on a Fire Pit?
20 lbs of propane tanks are most commonly used for running fire pits. A 20 pounds propane tank holds 430,000 BTUs. The average burn time varies between 3 to 9 hours depending on the weather conditions and BTU ratings.
Here’s how many average hours you can get from a 20 lbs propane tank for different pit types and sizes.
H-Burner Drop-In Pans – This fire pit type comes in different sizes and BTU ratings.
- 18” x 6” Drop-In Pan – The fire pit has a 70K BTU rating, so, the burn time will be nearly 6 hours.
- 24” x 8” Drop-In Pan – As the size of the pit is increasing, so is the BTU rating. This size of fire pit has a 120K BTU rating, therefore, a 20 lbs cylinder will likely last 3.5 hours.
- 30” x 10” Drop-In Pan – The BTU rating is 125K, dividing it with the BTU of a 20-pound propane tank (430000÷125000) will give you an average hour of 3.4.
- 36” x 12” Drop-In Pan – It has the highest BTU rating of 165K, therefore, burn time will be lower, nearly 2.5 hours.
Linear Burner Drop-In Pans – It is another type of fire pit that comes in three different sizes.
- 30” x 6” Drop-in Pan – The run time is approximately 8 hours because of the 54K BTU rating.
- 36” x 6” Drop-In Pan – With a 65K BTU rating, the estimated time a 20 lbs tank will last is 6.5 hours.
- 48” x 6” Drop-In Pan – The 91K BTU-rated fire pit has a burn time of 5 hours.
Round Drop-In Pans – It has the following two main sizes
- 13″ Round Drop-In Pan – Rated 48K BTU, these fire pits last 9 hours on a 20 lbs cylinder.
- 19″ Round Drop-In Pan – This fire pit size has a 92K BTU rating and an average burn time of 4.5 hours. Learn about fuel services of wheat energy.
How to Get More Time From a Propane Tank?
Besides turning the gas lower, adding a glass wind guard will ensure less propane consumption. Wind guard protects the flame from the wind, enabling more propane to burn.
Especially during the windy weather, the flame blows back and forth, resulting in a significant quantity of gas not being burned. By shielding the flame, you will get more burn time from a propane tank.
Takeaway
It depends on the fire pit propane consumption rate. calculate the usage of the propane tank with a simple method, divide the BTU rating of the Propane tank by the BTU rating of the firepit.