Fire pits for the last good weekends of the year
The Outland firebowl has the record the rest of this page lacks; among the propane tables the cheapest Ciays is still the one that earns its price.
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Side by side
The picks
Outland Living 893 Deluxe, 19-inch propane firebowl
Tied for the best star average here at 4.8, on the largest rating pool on this page by a wide margin. A 58,000 BTU portable bowl with a cover and a carry kit, so it goes camping as readily as it sits on a deck.
Watch outA bowl, not a table: there is no flat surface to put a drink on, and no list price to judge a discount against.
Ciays 43-inch Rectangular Fire Pit Table, 60,000 BTU
Forty-three inches of table, 60,000 BTU, a 304 stainless H-burner and a wind guard, for about $78 more than the 28-inch. If you seat six, this is the shape that works.
Watch out43 inches of table needs real deck space, and its 2,719 ratings are the same rating count three of these eight listings report.
Ciays 28-inch Propane Fire Pit Table, 50,000 BTU
The cheapest thing here and the right size for most decks: 28 inches, 50,000 BTU, CSA-certified, lid and lava rocks in the box. A round footprint fits a small patio without taking it over.
Watch outJust over 1,800 ratings is the thinnest record here, so it has not been out long enough to show a failure pattern either way.
Bali Outdoors Fire Pit with Poker
A poker in the box, which tells you more about the fuel than the title does — you do not stir a gas burner. Sits between the Ciays tables on price with a larger rating pool than any of them.
Watch outThe listing names neither fuel type nor dimensions, so confirm both before ordering.
Ciays 28-inch Fire Pit Table, CIFPT3-N1
Same 28 inches, same 50,000 BTU, same lid and lava rock as the budget pick, at about $47 more when we last checked. Nothing in the listing explains the gap.
Watch outNo struck-through price here, so there is nothing suggesting the asking price is a deal.
Sunnydaze Crossweave 36-inch, wood burning
Thirty-six inches of wood-burning fire pit, which is a real bonfire rather than a burner under lava rock. No tank, no regulator, no fuel cost beyond whatever you already have stacked.
Watch outWood means smoke, ash and a fire you cannot switch off. Check local burn rules before buying one.
Ciays 43-inch Fire Pit Table, ceramic top
Same 43-inch footprint as the steel one, with a ceramic tabletop, glass wind guard and lid. You are paying roughly $44 more for the surface you set drinks on, and losing 10,000 BTU to get it.
Watch outCeramic tops chip, and the listed output is lower than the cheaper 43-inch model's.
Solo Stove Bonfire, 19.5-inch smokeless wood
A double-wall stainless burner that pulls air up through the base and reburns the smoke, which is the one design here that answers the main objection to wood. Tied for the best average on this page, with the Outland.
Watch outThe most expensive thing here, and smokeless means much less smoke, not none — a damp log still smokes.
What actually matters here
- 01BTU is a fuel-burn rate, not a measure of delivered warmth. An open burner radiates upward, so a higher number mostly buys taller flames and a shorter tank.
- 02Propane and wood are different products with the same name. Gas is instant, clean and metered by a tank you have to refill; wood is free to run, smells right, and commits you to smoke, ash and whatever your town allows.
- 03A CSA certification means the gas train, regulator and hose passed a third-party safety standard. On an appliance you light with a spark igniter next to a propane cylinder, it is worth insisting on.
- 04A wind guard matters more than it looks like it should. Without one, a breeze flattens the flame, kills the heat you were sitting near, and burns fuel doing it.
- 05Lava rock and fire glass do the same job: spread the flame and hide the burner plumbing. Glass looks tidier and costs more; lava rock is cheaper to top up when pieces crack.
- 06Steel tables left uncovered through winter rust at the welds and around the burner pan first. A cover is the cheapest life extension available.
Questions people actually ask
- How long does a propane tank last in a fire pit table?
- A full 20-pound tank holds roughly 430,000 BTU. At 50,000 BTU per hour that is about eight and a half hours at full output, and most people run the flame lower than full. Cold weather drops tank pressure, so expect less on a late-fall night.
- Are smokeless fire pits actually smokeless?
- They produce far less smoke, not none. The double wall preheats air and feeds it back over the fire, which burns off much of what would otherwise leave as smoke. Wet or resinous wood still smokes, and so does the start-up before the pit comes up to temperature.
- Can I put a propane fire pit table on a wooden deck?
- Generally yes, because the heat goes up rather than down and the base sits on feet. What matters is overhead and side clearance: keep it out from under umbrellas, awnings and low branches, and follow the clearance figures in the manual. Never run one indoors or in an enclosed porch, since a burning flame produces carbon monoxide.
- Do I have to use the lava rock or fire glass?
- Yes, on a gas pit. The media diffuses gas across the burner so the flame spreads evenly instead of jetting, and it shields the burner from weather. Run the pit bare and you get an ugly flame and a shorter burner life. Both kinds degrade over a few seasons and get topped up, not replaced wholesale.