Fire Pits With Propane Tank Inside: Tested Options

Ok so the phrase “fire pit with propane tank inside” covers a lot of ground. From a $45 bowl that sits on a bistro table to a 200-pound concrete-look table that anchors a whole patio layout. These are not the same product solving the same problem obviously and treating them as interchangeable, is how people end up with something they regret buying. I’ve tested and used fire pits and patio heaters across my property for several seasons. Some of those products are covered in my broader Fire Pits & Patio Heaters guide. This roundup focuses specifically on the question of propane-powered heat and flame features, What they actually cost to run, what they do well, and where the category routinely overpromises. Six products below. One clear recommendation, several solid options for specific situations, and one I’d only buy if budget were the only variable.

Our Top Picks

Best overall: Outland Living Series 403 44” Propane Fire Pit Table, Espresso — 50,000 BTUs, usable table surface, and a tank that sits inside the cabinet where no one sees it. Premium pick: Napoleon St. Tropez Rectangle Patioflame Fire Table — electronic ignition, natural gas conversion included, and aluminum that won’t degrade. Best statement heater: Hiland HLDS01-WGTHG 40,000 BTU Pyramid Patio Heater — the flame column through the glass tube is genuinely dramatic at night but the heat distribution less so. Best smokeless wood pit: Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 — low smoke is accurate but smokeless is a bit of a stretch. Still the best double-wall wood pit at the price. Best tabletop option: Bond Manufacturing Lara TableFire Firebowl — ambiance only, but it fits on a balcony and connects to a 1 lb cylinder. But if that’s what you’re looking for that’s ok. Budget wood pit: Gas One 22” Wood Burning Fire Pit under $50, mesh spark screen included, and it will rust by season three if you leave it out all year.

How We Tested

Testing across this category meant asking consistent questions for each product. How quickly does it produce usable heat? Does the flame look good in daylight and after dark? How much management does it require while in use? And how does it behave in real conditions, like wind, cold temperatures, and guests who won’t read instructions? For propane units, I tracked burn time against tank consumption. The 20 lb tank I used for the Outland table ran for approximately 8 hours at the medium setting before the flame started dropping, which matches the manufacturer’s 8-10 hour claim at full output. (I timed this over two evenings in October, with temperatures in the mid-40s.) For wood-burning units, I used split red oak from my own supply, which had seasoned for 14 months.

Assembly time and quality of instructions also factored in. One of these products came with a paper manual that required three re-reads before the regulator connection made sense. I’ll note where that applies.

Full Reviews

Outland Living Series 403 44” Propane Fire Pit Table

The Outland Living Series 403 is my honest pick for most people buying a propane fire feature for a patio or deck. It runs around $350-$400 at the time of writing, which puts it in range for a piece of patio furniture rather than just an impulse buy. The cabinet conceals a standard 20 lb propane tank completely. The pre-attached regulator hose connects directly without adapters. The burner cover converts the top surface to a usable table, which matters because a fire pit that can only function as a fire pit is a single-use piece of furniture occupying 16 square feet of your patio, which is a lot potentially. At 50,000 BTUs, the heat output is real. Seated guests within 10 to 12 feet will feel it in October. The concrete-look tabletop is attractive and doesn’t read as cheap, though the tradeoff is weight. Assembled, this table doesn’t move easily. One 20 lb tank runs 8-10 hours at full output, and refills currently run around $20-25 at most hardware stores. The ignition is manual via a push-button lighter, which is perfectly functional but a step down from electronic ignition at this price. Assembly runs about 90 minutes and the instructions are adequate without being outright good.

Napoleon St. Tropez Rectangle Patioflame Fire Table

The Napoleon St. Tropez is currently priced in the $600-$700 range and positioned as a permanent outdoor living feature rather than a moveable accessory. Bit of a premium, and for a subset of buyers it’s justified. The aluminum frame is the strongest argument. Powder-coated aluminum won’t rust, won’t fade significantly under UV exposure, and stays light enough to move without help. The rustic bronze finish holds up better in outdoor conditions than anything with a steel base. Napoleon’s credibility comes from their grill line, and the component quality of this reflects that.

Electronic ignition with adjustable flame height means no matches and no pilot relighting in wind. The glass ember bed requires occasional cleaning, perhaps twice a season with moderate use, but that’s a minor complaint relative to how well it looks when clean. The natural gas conversion kit being included is the long-term value argument. If you’re building a permanent outdoor space and plan to run a gas line, the ongoing propane tank cost disappears. At $600 upfront with no recurring fuel cost, the economics look different over a five-year period than they do at point of purchase.

Hiland HLDS01-WGTHG Pyramid Patio Heater

The Hiland pyramid heater costs around $180-$220, which makes it one of the more affordable standalone patio heaters on the market. The category comparison is the mushroom-top heater, models like the AmazonBasics 46,000 BTU Commercial Patio Heater, which distributes heat overhead across a wider seated radius. The Hiland does something different though. The flame column running up through the quartz glass tube is a visual statement that a mushroom heater doesn’t offer. After dark, it’s more like a lantern than a heater, and for covered patios or outdoor dining spaces where atmosphere matters, the difference is noticeable. There are some practical trade-offs though. Heat distribution is concentrated closer to the column rather than radiating broadly. Guests seated six feet away from the side get less heat than they would from an overhead model. The quartz glass tube is also fragile. Tip it over and it will crack most likely. Replacement tubes are available on Amazon for around $25-$35, and the built-in tip-over shutoff means a knocked-over heater won’t become a fire. But you will be waiting for a replacement part before you can use it again. The wheels built into the base are useful for moving it between spaces without lifting. That works well enough on a flat deck or patio, less so on flagstone or gravel.

Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0

The Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 isn’t a propane product. It’s in this roundup because it competes directly for the same budget and the same use case, and the smoke question is one a lot of buyers get wrong. “Smokeless” is a marketing claim. “Low smoke with dry seasoned hardwood” is more accurate. The double-wall airflow design pulls air up from the base and creates a secondary combustion ring at the top, which burns off much of the particulate before it escapes. The result is noticeably less smoke than a standard steel bowl fire pit at the same temperature, and almost no smoke once the fire is hot and stable. The caveat is that green or wet wood defeats the design entirely and produces as much smoke as any other open fire pit.

At around $300, it’s sitting between the Gas One budget pit and the Outland table. The removable ash pan is a genuine convenience. The 20 lb stainless steel body is portable in a way that the Outland table isn’t. If you’d rather have a traditional wood fire and are willing to source and store dry seasoned hardwood, this is the product to get. No cooking grate is included, the Solo Stove Camp Grate sells separately for around $35 and fits the Bonfire.

Gas One 22” Wood Burning Fire Pit

The Gas One fire pit costs under $50. That number does a lot of work in this category. For someone who wants to know whether they’ll actually use a fire pit before spending more, this is a reasonable entry point to opt for. The 22-inch bowl handles split logs without modification, the mesh spark screen reduces flying ember risk, and assembly takes under 20 minutes. The honest conversation is about smoke and longevity. This is a traditional campfire in a steel bowl, producing traditional campfire smoke. If you have guests who displace slightly from the wind direction, they will be in the smoke. That’s not a design flaw, it’s just what a single-wall steel fire pit does. The Solo Stove at $300 solves that problem, but this one doesn’t. Without a cover and indoor storage in the off-season, expect surface rust within two seasons and through-rust within three or four. A cover runs around $15. Store it. If this sits on a deck all winter under snow, it will show it by April.

Bond Manufacturing Lara TableFire Firebowl

The Bond Lara TabletopFire runs around $60-$80 and operates on a 1 lb propane cylinder, the kind you’d use for a camping lantern. One cylinder lasts roughly 1.5 to 2 hours. The size is the value proposition. This fits on any standard patio side table or balcony railing table. If you have a small deck, an apartment balcony, or an existing patio set with no room for a fire table, this is the only product in this category that fits.

The heat output is minimal. This is a flame for ambiance, not warmth. If your goal is heat on a cool evening, the Outland table or the Hiland heater are the better products. This one is for atmosphere, a visible flame at the center of a table while people sit around it. It does that job well. The ongoing cost of 1 lb cylinders adds up. At roughly $3-5 per cylinder, you’re paying $2-3 per hour of flame. Larger propane tanks connected through an adapter hose reduce the per-hour cost, though that adds complexity for what’s meant to be a simple product. For occasional use, the cylinders are fine. For regular nightly use through a full outdoor season, the math becomes less comfortable.

What to Look For

Tank concealment vs. tank accessibility. A fire pit that hides the propane tank inside a cabinet is cleaner to look at and better for a permanent patio setup. A product where the tank sits visibly beside the unit is easier to swap when it runs low. Know which matters more to you. BTU output and space size. 40,000-50,000 BTUs is adequate for a 10-15 foot radius in moderate conditions. In genuinely cold weather, below 35°F, you’ll feel the limits of any mid-range heater. A covered patio changes the equation significantly; heat retention matters as much as output. Natural gas conversion. If you’re building a permanent outdoor space and have or plan to run a gas line, buying a propane unit with a natural gas conversion kit already included is worth the upfront premium. The Napoleon St. Tropez handles this. Most budget units don’t offer it. Ignition type. Push-button lighters work. Electronic ignition is more convenient and more reliable in cold weather, when manual lighters often misfire on the first attempt. The price gap between units with and without electronic ignition has narrowed, and I’d spend the difference. For a broader look at how these products compare to other heat sources for outdoor spaces, the full Fire Pits & Patio Heaters hub covers additional options including wood-burning insert models and overhead infrared heaters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you leave a propane tank connected inside a fire pit table when not in use?

Most manufacturers say to disconnect the regulator hose and store the tank separately when the unit isn’t in use for extended periods. For evening-to-evening use across a weekend, leaving a connected tank inside a closed, well-ventilated cabinet is common practice and generally low-risk. For winter storage, disconnect, cap the valve, and store the tank upright in a covered outdoor area away from the house. Do not store a connected propane tank in a garage or enclosed shed.

How long does a 20 lb propane tank last in a fire pit table?

At full output on a 50,000 BTU burner, roughly 8-10 hours. At a medium flame setting, closer to 12-15 hours. Cold ambient temperatures accelerate consumption because propane pressure drops as the tank cools. A tank that reads near-empty on a 40°F night may read slightly better the following afternoon once warmed. Most people get through two to three casual evenings per tank fill, depending on how high they run the flame.

Are propane fire pits safe on a wood deck?

With proper clearance, yes. The standard guidance is 24-36 inches of clearance from combustible structures on all sides, with the unit sitting on a non-combustible surface or a rated deck protector mat. Propane tables with enclosed burners and no flying embers present lower risk than open wood-burning pits, but heat transfer to the deck surface below is a real consideration for prolonged use. Check the specific clearance requirements in the unit’s manual; they vary.

What is the difference between a fire pit table and a patio heater for actual warmth?

A fire pit table radiates heat horizontally from a central burner. People seated around it feel warmth on their front and less so on their back. A mushroom-top patio heater radiates downward from above, distributing heat more evenly to everyone seated within the radius. For a symmetrical seating arrangement where all guests need consistent warmth, an overhead heater is more efficient. A fire pit table is better when the flame itself is part of what you want.

Can I convert a propane fire pit to natural gas?

Some units, including the Napoleon St. Tropez, come with the conversion kit already included. Others offer it as a separate purchase. Many budget-tier fire pits don’t support conversion at all, typically because the orifice size and regulator are calibrated specifically for propane pressure and can’t be safely reconfigured. If natural gas conversion is a priority, confirm the manufacturer explicitly supports it before buying. Do not attempt to adapt a propane-only unit to natural gas by substituting fittings; the pressure differential is significant enough to be dangerous.