Choosing A Patio Gas Fire Pit Or... A Real "Space" Heater?
Jul 24 '02 (Updated Sep 04 '02)
The Bottom Line ...there are a wide range of products that fall into the categories of the sensible, the dangerous and the downright ridiculous.
Gas fire pits for the backyard patio are yet another example of new toys for boys. Over the past couple of years, as sales of gas fireplaces for indoor use began to level off, a number of manufacturers turned their efforts to patio heaters and decorative gas fires for the backyard. At first glance, it seemed like a silly idea for a product and upon closer inspection of some of the products now available, there are a wide range of products that fall into the categories of the sensible, the dangerous and the downright ridiculous.
If you're the kind of person who enjoys a little bonfire on a cool summer evening in the backyard, but you live in an urban neighborhood, there's a very good chance that there are local ordinances banning any kind of wood fire in your backyard. In some regions of North America that ban extends to suburban residences and is intermittently imposed and lifted according to weather conditions and air quality. Some municipalities have imposed permanent bans against burning wood altogether either in the backyard or in homes, in order to improve the local air quality.
The answer to your problem is often a gas fire pit, which are exempt from these local by-laws. Your questions should relate to which of the many types available are best suited for your backyard. There are propane and natural gas versions available and usually these are convertible from one fuel to the other.
THE DOWNRIGHT STUPID
I've seen a few of these products advertising a gas input rate of up to 80,000 Btu's per hour. Well, you're sure to get a real bonfire out of that little beauty. The one I looked at comes complete with lightweight ceramic fiber logs and embers. The burner is little more than a casting, shaped like a small dome with holes punched in it to let the flames shoot out.
Problem Number One: At 80,000 Btu's per hour this unit is going to cost you a lot more to operate on an hourly basis. If you're burning propane, you're going to need a pretty large propane cylinder or be prepared to change a standard 20 lb tank every few hours. This product is also coming dangerously close to the maximum gas flow rate that a 20lb propane tank will allow, before locking out.
Problem Number Two: Ceramic fiber logs, burners and embers are porous and will readily absorb the rain that falls on them, making them weak and unstable. Not exactly a smart material choice for a product that is designed for use outdoors. At some point someone is going to forget to cover it up after a night of use and the next morning you're going to find a soggy mess where your new gas fire pit used to sit.
Problem Number Three: I've seen the flame that this particular gas fire pit produces and I really don't believe there's any need for a three foot flame shooting up into the night sky. In a good wind, the thing burns out of control. They very quickly burn under the logs in a good wind and leave behind soot blackened logs. I certainly wouldn't want to see little children sitting too close to this thing with a breeze in the air.
THE DANGEROUS
You might think that the "Downright Stupid" also covers "The Dangerous" and in some ways they are synonymous.
Many of the products I've seen require the operator to light the burner by hand. In other words, turn on the gas, toss in a match and run. Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen to me.
There's very little in the way of warnings about what you should not attempt to use a gas fire pit for. Unlike a wood fire, when you drop a marshmallow into the fire, it's probably going to block up a few gas ports, rather than get consumed in the ember bed. These things are not designed to be used for outdoor cooking. They're designed strictly for flame effects.
Some, I've looked at, sit directly on the ground and are surely going to burn a ring around the grass they're sitting on or leave a nice black spot on your wooden deck, if it doesn't set the deck on fire altogether.
A number of them only include the burner assembly and the logs, leaving the finishing to the imagination of the home owner. They make suggestions of different kinds of rocks and patio stones. Unfortunately, they leave too much up to the imagination of the consumer, many of whom lack either the experience or the common sense to construct a safe fire pit in a safe location.
THE SENSIBLE
I'm going to break with tradition, when in the past I've written generic advice about gas appliances, I don't usually get into specific product brands. However, I've recently looked at a new product designed as a backyard fire pit and the common sense behind it's design features make it worthy of an honorable mention.
The product is Manufactured by a company called Sundown Patio Products, a division of Waterloo Gas Products, in Waterloo, Ontario.
They appear to be the first company to offer a line of low Btu, (27,000 Btu's per hour) outdoor patio fireplaces. The fire is totally enclosed on all four sides with tempered glass to protect it from the wind and other outdoor elements. It offers a realistic wood fire from all viewing angles, from a hidden steel burner, with lightweight concrete logs, a coal bed and an adjustable gas control to turn down the flame even lower than the maximum 27,000 Btu's and push button ignition to a pilot light.
Aside from addressing my previous safety concerns about high Btu input types and open flames, the entire cabinet sits about four inches off the ground and is approved for use on combustible decks. It's a lightweight, unit that can be located just about anywhere in the garden with an enclosed roof and a little vent cap. They have this line approved for natural gas or propane and they've even designed a matching propane tank housing to hide the propane cylinder.
An easy to open front door allows the consumer access to give the glass a quit wipe from time to time. However, with the flame totally enclosed in a glass housing, there is not going to be much of a sooting problem with this type of product.
If you are interested in having a cozy little fire pit in your backyard, this is a product I can endorse. It offers low cost of operation, it's safely enclosed, high enough off the ground or the deck on sturdy metal legs, safe to light and nicely designed to fit into a garden environment.
They offer a rectangular model they call The Solarium, a six-sided version, they call The Gazebo and a corner model that can be installed in the corner of a deck within 10" of a combustible wall, they conveniently called The Cornerstone. All come preassembled in a box, ready to be hooked up to a propane tank or the natural gas line.
Anyone who has read some of my previous reviews will know that I'm a firm believer in using common sense when selecting and using any gas-fired appliance. The fact that this company has looked at the existing products on the market and designed a product to address all of my safety concerns, prompted me to mention them.
No, I do not have shares in the company.
As for the others out there. What can you say about something that blasts away at up to 80,000 Btu's, straight into the sky and is built out of a material that's not much stronger than paper-mache? I'll take an adjustable, low Btu unit, constructed out of steel glass and concrete, with a push button safety pilot any day of the week.
An additional feature of the Sundown Patio fireplaces is that, being totally enclosed, you will actually get the benefit of some heat from them.
Take care.
Regards,
The Gasman
The folks at Sundown Patio Products, do have a website and this is the URL link to it. Just cut and paste this link to have closer look at the features I feel go into a good and safe product.
http://www.waterloogasproducts.ca
Their email address is waterloogasproducts@bellnet.ca.
I was also able to come up with the telephone number for their parent company, Waterloo Gas Products, if you want to get one of their brochures, pricing or to find the nearest dealer to see one. (519) 725-0196.
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