After a great evening with friends and loved ones and dining outdoors by your propane gas fire pit, the next step is to begin to plan your cleaning routine. Caring for your propane firepit is the optimal way to guarantee its readiness for use and effectiveness for every season. Usually, many enjoy sitting around their gas fire pit during the winter months and on cool evenings. After the season is over, it’s best to thoroughly clean the firepit to keep it in shape for next time.
Why should you clean and maintain your propane firepit?
Like any mechanical equipment, cleaning and maintaining your propane gas fire pit is important for various reasons. Whether you have a gas fire pit table or other gas fire pit, both require proper cleaning and maintenance to guarantee their long-term use. Here are reasons to ensure your firepit is constantly cleaned and maintained.
It helps to sustain the style and shine of the firepit
Poorly maintained fire pits soon lose their appeal, making them seem old and out of place in your patio or backyard. Taking the effort to clean and maintain them on schedule will preserve the style of the fire pit and make it look as appealing as always. Ultimately it continues to add beauty to your space while keeping you warm on cold days.
Durability and value for money
Only a fire pit maintained as advised by the manufacturers will last a long time and ultimately give value for the money spent. Poor maintenance could lead to the conduits rusting and the fire pit unit gradually falling apart after a while. In the end, it might no longer be as effective as expected and could shorten the service life span of your fire pit.
To ensure proper hygiene
In the case of fire pit tables, cleaning and maintaining the fire pit is important to ensure hygiene, especially if you eat around the table. You don’t want your table surface harboring germs from food debris and droppings. Just as it’s unsafe for you, it could equally affect the functionality of the fire pit over time. Cleaning your propane fire pit will keep your surfaces hygienic for mealtime use and conversations.
Identify areas requiring immediate attention
Thoroughly cleaning and maintaining your fire pit helps you identify any faults requiring attention or fixtures needing adjustment. Without maintenance, you may ignore carrying out important routine checks that would ensure the effective working of the fire pit. While routine checks are important to the overall functionality of your fire pit, consistent cleaning helps you save time on such checks, as you can do both simultaneously.
Practical Steps to Clean and Maintain Your Propane Gas Fire Pit
Fire pits are of various types and powered by various fuel sources, including natural gas, coal, or firewood. In this guide, we’ll explore how to clean and manage your outdoor propane fire pit in detail, so it continues to serve you for every reason and also offers value for your money in return.
1. Allow the burner to cool off before commencing cleaning
Switch off the fire from your propane gas supply as soon as you’re ready to clean it and allow it to cool off. Ideally, you should not use water to douse the fire from the gas burner. Water is not ideal for shutting out fire from the gas supply, as it could get into the burner ports and damage other components within the fire pit unit.
2. Disconnect the propane tank
Shut up the valves on the propane gas supply line to your fire pit so that you can easily disconnect the gas tank. Ensure that this is done with intentionality and great care to avoid gas spills and wastage during the disconnection process.
3. Check the gas supply line and entire unit for debris
It’s common to find dried leaves, insects, or food debris within the fire pit unit. Take out the lava glass or pebbles in the fire to give room for proper cleaning and expose any residue of dirt hidden within the compartments. Use a pipe cleaner to run along the edges to clear off spider webs within the unit. Observe the gas line closely for leaks in any area. Also, look through the vents and drains to remove all debris stuck within them.
4. Wipe the surface with soapy water
Have a bucket of mild soap handy and a soft piece of cloth. Dampen the cloth in the water and wipe the surface of the fire pit thoroughly. Also, don’t forget to run it along the edges of the gas pipe for a thorough job. Check the burner area and also run the cloth along the fire pit edges for thorough cleaning. Ensure that the cloth is damp and not dripping water to avoid damaging the unit in the cleaning process.
5. Allow it to air before assembling
Once you’re done cleaning up the surface of your propane gas, allow it some time to air. It allows you to see any area still harboring stains and gives the damp areas sufficient time to dry off. After this, you can then reassemble the unit for the next use. Check to ensure that all valves are properly connected and the gas can flow with ease to ignite the fire pit burner.
6. Use the fire pit cover
This is important if you’ll not be using the fire pit any time soon. Our propane fire pit tables come with handy fire pit covers that allow you to cover up the fire compartment and protect it from being exposed to the weather. Also, it helps to prevent debris, insects, and other contaminants from getting into the fire pit compartment while you’re away. Other fire pit designs may also provide cover to protect the unit when it’s not in use.
Other Maintenance and Care Tips for Your Gas Fire Pit
Cleaning your gas fire pit can be as frequent as you want it to be, although you can take on a thorough maintenance routine annually or twice a year. Here are other care tips for your propane gas fire pit.
1. Routine check with qualified personnel
Except you’re an expert at handling fire pits yourself, it’s important to get an expert to assess your fire pit once a year. An expert can easily identify any challenge you may be overlooking or may not have noticed. They often have the right tools to access and make necessary repairs to your propane fire pit table if there’s a need for it.
2. Replace rusty or faulty parts
Once you notice that a part of the fire pit unit is not functioning as effectively as it used to, don’t hesitate to replace them immediately. It saves you the risk of further damage to the unit or any potential hazard once you make the necessary changes in good time.
3. Check with the manufacturer for the right replacements
Not all fire pit manufacturing brands have parts that can easily replace each other. It’s best to check with your brand manufacturer for the right replacement for the specific model. This helps you to ensure that the replacement is as effective as the former one and would equally be a perfect fit for your fire pit.
4. Always refer back to your installation manual
Don’t go about your maintenance without referring to your manual as a guide. It will help you save more time during the maintenance process, and you’ll also find important details about your propane gas fire pit that you need to keep handy during the process.
5. Assess the unit for gas flow
If you notice that the gas flow to the burner is not as fast as it used to be, then you may need to assess the gas supply line thoroughly. The easiest way to notice this is to monitor the flame of the fire to see if it has reduced from its usual size. Once you’re certain it gives off a small flame despite it being set at the highest size, here are a few things to do;
- Be sure that there’s no leak, as it may be the reason the tank is supplying gas at a low rate
- Also, confirm that your propane tank still has enough gas within it to power the gas supply
- Check the gas regulator and turn off the valves
- Remove the hose from the fire tank
- Reconnect the gas back to the burner to check the flame
- Replace the burner or seek expert help to troubleshoot it.
Conclusion
The best way to ensure continued use of your propane fire pit is to ensure constant cleaning and maintenance of the unit. Debris from dirt and food droppings can easily reduce the effectiveness of the unique and the warmth supply. Hence routine cleaning with warm soapy water after disassembling each part will help to get the best out of your fire pit. Covering up your fire pit and turning off the propane gas when not in use is the perfect way to take care of your unit and ensure its durability. If you want to know more details about how to maintain other fire pits, you can check our another outdoor fire pits maintenance guide to find more information.