The amount of BTU a fire pit has is extremely important, it will determine how much heat your fire pit will produce and how big is the area it will heat up. So it’s important to make the right choice right from the start.
Most fire pits have a BTU between 30,000 and 100,000, so 50,000 falls in the middle. But 50,000 BTU can still be good depending on your needs. 50,000 BTU is ideal if you want a small fire pit for you and your family.
Now let’s see how 50,000 BTU translates into real life temperature, how much space 50,000 BTU will cover, and if it’s enough for you, or if you need more.
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How BTU translates into heat
BTU stands for British thermal units, and it’s defined as the amount of thermal energy needed to raise the temperature of a pound of water by a single degree Fahrenheit at sea level.
Unfortunately BTU doesn’t really translate into degrees Fahrenheit, BTU is mostly used by physicists and manufacturers, it has little to no meaning for consumers like us. The only thing that you can know for sure is that more BTU means more heat, but it’s not exactly clear how much.
So the only thing that I can do to give you an idea of how much heat you should expect is to tell you about my personal experiences with my fire pit.
I live in Ohio and I would say that we have an average temperature every season, it’s not exceptionally cold during the winter but it’s still cold, summers are hot but not too hot, etc. So depending on the climate of your state you might get different results.
During summer the heat coming from the fire pit is more than enough, you don’t have to stay too close to it, and even when the wind is blowing the heat won’t go away. So for the summer a 50,000 BTU is enough.
During winter things are completely different, in my opinion 50,000 BTU is not enough if you want to spend a few hours around the fire pit. You will need to have a lot of clothes on you, and you will have to get very close to the fire, which can get very dangerous if you wear an inflammable jacket. If you have warm winters 50,000 BTU might be enough, but otherwise I would say that you need more.
During spring 50,000 BTU should be enough, depending on the weather, the start of the spring is always colder than the end so, with only 50,000 BTU you might have to wait for the middle of the spring to fully enjoy your fire pit.
During autumn, you will probably have to put a sweater on you at some point, or a jacket, but up until the end of the autumn you should be able to enjoy your 50,000 BTU fire pit completely.
So that’s how I would describe the efficiency of a 50,000 BTU fire pit. As I said depending on where you live things might work out differently, if you live in a colder area you might want something more powerful, but if you live in a temperate or hot area, with the exception of the winter 50,000 BTU should be enough.
Another important thing to take into consideration is how big your fire pit is going to be, and how many people will usually sit around it.
Is 50,000 BTU big enough?
Another important thing to think about is if 50,000 BTU is big enough. As you can imagine a bigger fire with more BTU will heat up a bigger area.
Again, this is very hard to point out in exact real life numbers but here are two approximations based on my personal experience.
A 30,000 BTU will be able to heat up to 7 – 8 feet around, while a 100,000 BTU will be able to heat up to 15 feet around it, under normal circumstances.
Here are two illustrations that will help you get a better idea of how that looks.
So if you want to sit with 10 or 12 friends around the fire pit, and feel the warmth of the fire, you will need quite a few BTU, but if you only want it to stay with a few friends, or family, you won’t need that much BTU.
Final Thoughts
If you want a medium sized fire pit for you and your family, or a few friends, 50,000 BTU should be enough. But if you want a place for large groups, you will need more than that.
My final suggestion is that if you are not satisfied with the amount of heat offered by the gas models, you should look into a more traditional wood burning fire pit, they will output a lot more heat than most gas models on the market.
And in the end here are a few common questions that will definitely end up having about fire pits.
Related Questions
How do I prevent rust from appearing on my fire pit? In order to prevent rust you can:
- Move the fire pit in a dry room, or any place with a roof should prevent most rust from appearing.
- Cover your fire pit using a metal or wooden lid, or a synthetic cover. But make sure that the fire pit has cooled off before you cover it.
- Removing the ash from the fire pit is also very important, as ash absorbs a lot of humidity from the air.
- The most important thing that you can do is to regularly clean and inspect the fire pit.
How do I remove rust from a fire pit? To remove rust from a fire pit you can use:
- Vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Soft drinks
- Baking soda
- Potatoes
- A mix of them
- Commercial products like: WD-40 and CLR
After you remove the rust you should get some Sandpaper, Spray Sealant, Spray Paint. After that you should remove all the paint using a coarse grit sandpaper, then use a finer sandpaper and remove all scratches. Apply a thin coat of sealant, after it dries apply the pain, and then another coat of sealant. Make sure that you try to make the coatings as even as possible, otherwise the paint will come off.
Do propane gas fire pits smell bad? Propane fire pits shouldn’t smell bad. You might feel a small hint of gas when you turn the fire pit on, but that should be the only bad smell that you feel.
If the bad smell persists there might be a problem with the fire pit, the regulator, the propane tank or dust.
To check if the regulator of the tank has a problem you can make some foam with some water and soap and spread it where they connect. If bubbles start to form, then you have a gas leak. In which case you can try to see if the gasket is damaged and if the regulator is tightly screwed. If this doesn’t solve the problem you should call somebody to check the fire pit.
If the gas smell appears when the fire pit is turned off, it usually means that the fire pit is broken, in which case you should call somebody to repair it.
Another cause for the bad smell can be dust. Excessive dust will usually give off a burnt smell. This smell usually tends to disappear after some time, but in some cases the residu can stick to the rocks that fill the fire pit, in which case you will have to wash the rocks.
In case you have a technical problem the best thing that you can do is call somebody that is trained to deal with those kinds of problems. Don’t try to repair them yourself, it can be very dangerous.
How long do fire pits last? A fire pit can last anywhere from one year to a lifetime. It all depends on how well you maintain it.
In the case of wood burning fire one of the most important things that matter is what you are burning. Things like magazines contain chemicals that can damage the fire pit. Wood that has been painted or treated in any way will also damage the fire pit. So only burning firewood will increase the lifespan of your firepit.
Removing the ashes is also very important. Ashes absorb humidity from the air, so letting them sit in the fire pit for long periods of time is like having your fire pit filled with water.
In the case of gas fire pits it’s extremely important to dust them off. Dust doesn’t only leave an unpleasant smell but over time it can damage the interior of the fire pit.
For both types of fire pits it is also extremely important how you store them, leaving them uncovered year round, will drastically reduce their lifespan.