Do propane fire pits put out any heat?

[opnspaces]

I like the heat and ambiance of a good wood fire when camping. But after more than 35 years of camping I'm finding that I'm starting to not enjoy constantly moving around the fire pit to stay out of the smoke. So I've been considering a propane fire pit, but I'm concerned about the heat output.

What are your thoughts? Do the propane pits put out a decent amount of heat compared to a modest wood fire?

[irishtom29]

Best fuel is acetylene. When I was a field construction boilermaker working winters outside in Chicago we'd make salamanders from a piece of 6-8" pipe with legs welded to it and holes burned in it. Then stick an acetylene torch in it, nice heater.

[Sjm9911]

There decent, get one , especially for the fire bans. You can always buy wood and have a real fire some nights also. For me it was a bit of both , convenience and bans. You can come back late , light it up in no time and shut it off with a turn of a knob. Good for rainy days, soaked firewood and the like. I dont travel with firewood, as its not kiln dryed. ( trying to stop the bugs, yea thats a big deal) Sometimes i do take lumber scraps but they burn too quick. Just get it.

[kellem]

way2roll wrote:

kellem wrote:

way2roll wrote:

kellem wrote:


A Propane firepit would have to be quite small to be considered portable as Lava rock is dense.

Lava rock isn't dense at all. Quite the opposite, it's very porous and light.

The 2 bags of lava rocks that came with our firepit were indeed porous but definitely not light.....a cinder block is also porous.

SMH. Lava rock isn't heavy. Maybe you need to hit the gym.

City people !

[way2roll]

kellem wrote:

way2roll wrote:

kellem wrote:


A Propane firepit would have to be quite small to be considered portable as Lava rock is dense.

Lava rock isn't dense at all. Quite the opposite, it's very porous and light.

The 2 bags of lava rocks that came with our firepit were indeed porous but definitely not light.....a cinder block is also porous.

SMH. Lava rock isn't heavy. Maybe you need to hit the gym.

[kellem]

way2roll wrote:

kellem wrote:


A Propane firepit would have to be quite small to be considered portable as Lava rock is dense.

Lava rock isn't dense at all. Quite the opposite, it's very porous and light.

The 2 bags of lava rocks that came with our firepit were indeed porous but definitely not light.....a cinder block is also porous.

[obgraham]

Kind of funny: I recall as a kid my Dad yelling at me about closing the front door: "what are you trying to do, heat the whole outside?"
A gas fire pit strikes me as a bit of a run down that road!

[way2roll]

kellem wrote:


A Propane firepit would have to be quite small to be considered portable as Lava rock is dense.

Lava rock isn't dense at all. Quite the opposite, it's very porous and light.

[way2roll]

opnspaces wrote:
A 4 foot flame? I can just picture the propane cylinder freezing up.

At full open on our camp chef the tank starts to frost up. It's a decent flame and I am sure a pretty good lp draw.

[Alan_Hepburn]

The portable pit we carry is rated for a maximum output of 52,000 btu - it keeps us warm in most cases...

[opnspaces]

A 4 foot flame? I can just picture the propane cylinder freezing up.

[4x4van]

We, too, have a Camp Chef propane fire pit. At first startup, it gives out very little heat, but as the lava rocks heat up, it gets better. It does NOT put out as much heat as a wood fire, but part of that is due to it's smaller diameter, which is typically smaller than a normal wood campfire. If it's a mild evening, it works fine, but if it's cold, it just doesn't put out the body-warming heat that a typical campfire does.

There is a "fix", however. I replaced the stock fixed regulator with an adjustable regulator that goes up to 5psi (standard is 0.5psi, I believe). Although I never use it that high (it gives a 4'+ high flame!!!), I do often turn it up to about 2psi.

[MrWizard]

Just so you know

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There is no URL in the posted image link for the photo
And 3 pixels by 2 pixels would only be a dot on the screen

[Terryallan]

bucky wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
Kind of hard to make stick biscuits over a gas fire? Or Smores either.

Our grand children would debate your statement haha.

Need coals to correctly cook stick biscuits. Flame burns them.

[CabinetmakerII]

We use our propane fire pit a LOT! We learned a trick to help spread the heat to those sitting around the fire. We hung an old satellite dish from a Shepard's Hook over the fire. Works great! I will try to post a picture but have never had much luck doing so...