Prepare your fire pit for the winter
In this blog post, I will tell you how to winterize your propane fire pit or fire table in 5 simple steps. You know that having a wonderful outdoor fire pit adds great value to your property. It also makes your outdoor enjoyment with your family more comfortable and cozy.
You must remember that if you ignore the value and the beauty of your fire pit and allow it to be soaked in the snow, you will not be able to enjoy it the next spring season.
Prepare your fire pit for the winter:
- Step 1: You must carefully clean your fire pit:
- Step 2: Shut off the gas line and close the gas valves:
- Step 3: Winterize the propane tank properly:
- Step 4: Cover your fire pit:
- Step 5: Store the fragile glass wind guard indoors:
If you have a fire pit that does not use propane you can skip step 2 and 3. Scroll on to read the 5 detailed steps which are equally helpful in winterizing your fire pit or fire table:
Step 1: You must carefully clean your fire pit:
Your fire pit was not in use throughout the hot summer months. It is most likely that some dry leaves, dead insects, dirt, dust, debris, stones, bird droppings, or water could have fallen into the burners, gas valves, gas pipelines, and around the propane tank of your fire pit. Whether you are planning to carry your outdoor fire pit for indoor storage or you are planning to leave it outdoors for the winter, you must make sure that it is 100% neat and clean.
Unwanted moisture, dust, mud, grease, fat, slime, or grime can cause a lot of blockage in the portholes of your fire pit if you leave it on throughout the winter months. You must make sure that you carefully clean the gas pipelines and the portholes of your fire pit using a mild household non-toxic detergent every 3 to 4 weeks. In this way, it will save a lot of time and effort when you want to winterize it for the freezing months.
You must remember that your fire pit or fire table is a delicate object and it needs a lot of attention, so you must buy a soft bristle toothbrush for its cleaning. One of the areas that need a lot of time and attention for proper cleaning is the base of your fire pit or fire table. So you must not ignore the base.
Just remember that the pipelines and the gas valves of your fire pit are very fragile, so you must use the toothbrush with light and gentle strokes, otherwise, you will damage them beyond repair creating a hole in your wallet.
First of all, you must remove the accumulated dust and debris from the burner, portholes, and the gas pipelines of your fire pit. Secondly, you must wipe down the interior and the exterior sides of your fire pit with a clean piece of cloth soaked in mild household detergent and warm water.
On the exterior and interior walls of your fire pit, if you notice any scratches, you must use some metal polish to bring it back to its natural shine and gloss. Thirdly, you must spend some time to clean and disinfect the most beautiful part of your fire pit or fire table i.e. glass fire gems or fire media. Both glass fire gems and tumbled lava rocks can be soaked for some time in a bucket full of hot water and some mild household detergent.
You will have to rinse the glass fire gems and tumbled lava rocks carefully, to remove the accumulated debris and the built-up grease and grime around them. Remember that your toothbrush is the most helpful tool to reduce your effort and time in this task. Fourthly, you must use a piece of clean cloth soaked in a mild household detergent dissolved in hot water to wipe the ceramic logs of your fire pit.
You can also rinse your ceramic logs if you want. Finally, you must focus on cleaning the fragile glass wind guard of your fire pit. A piece of clean cloth damped in a mild household detergent dissolved in a bucket full of hot water is a good idea to wipe off the fragile glass wind guard of your fire pit.
When you have carefully cleaned and wiped out all parts of your fire pit, you must wait for at least 20 to 30 minutes so that they can dry out fully. Make sure that you never store your fire pit when its parts are wet, otherwise, they are prone to rust. Air drying the parts of your fire pit will prevent the formation of rust.
Step 2: Shut off the gas line and close the gas valves:
Whether you plan to leave your fire pit outdoor throughout the winter months or you plan to store it indoors, in both cases you must make sure that you shut off the gas line and close the gas valve for safety reasons. The gas line and the gas valve are both located at the base of your fire pit or fire table. You must very carefully and patiently observe and examine the rubber pipelines that supply gas to your fire pit.
If you notice any small cracks or signs of wear and tear in the rubber pipes that supply propane and gas to your fire pit, you must at once replace them because they can break into a fire and burn out your property. For the safety of your friends, family, and neighbors, you must never ignore the leakage of gas even if it is in a very small quantity. You must immediately seek the assistance of a professional mechanic to check and repair the defect or simply purchase a new pipeline from a store or an online shop.
It will take you only a couple of minutes to replace the broken old pipelines. And, will not cost you a fortune either. Now you must carefully examine the portholes in the burners of your fire pit.
If you notice any visible obstruction in the portholes of the burners of your fire pit, you must clear it immediately. If you ignore the obstructions in the portholes of the burners of your fire pit, they will increase the pressure in the pipelines which can also damage them beyond repair. For this, you will have to read the user manual of your fire pit and follow the instructions given in it.
Step 3: Winterize the propane tank properly:
Propane is a flammable gas. Mishandling it during storage can make a difference between life and death. Therefore, it is advisable to detach the propane tank from your fire pit or fire table before winterizing it for the freezing months.
Step 4: Cover your fire pit:
Whether your fire pit is weatherproof and waterproof or not, in both cases, you must make sure that it is properly covered throughout the winter season. After all, you have invested a lot of time and effort into making it clean and clear. You must not allow snowfall and rainfall to damage it again.
If you want to enjoy the full lifespan of your fire pit, you must make sure that it does not face the harsh weather elements directly. Sometimes rodents, moles, and other intruding animals mess up in your fire pit or fire table, so a reliable and strong cover will keep them off. Winter season is full of unexpected and unbearable storms, so I would advise you to take the small and precious glass fire gems, and fire media indoors for safe storage.
To protect your outdoor fire pit or fire table from the harsh and unbearable weather elements fully, you must use high quality and reliable vinyl cover which is available online and in stores at affordable rates. Sometimes your fire pit or fire table has a unique shape, design, size, or structure, for such fire pits, there are custom covers available. You must make sure that all the burners of your fire pit are fully covered to prevent them from freezing in the bitterly cold weather.
Step 5: Store the fragile glass wind guard indoors:
In the winter season, in most of the northern American or European regions, the pressure of the wind is very very high. So there is a great chance that the glass wind guard of your fire pit will get knocked off and shatter. Or the harsh wind could blow some small rocks, pebbles, gravel, marbles, or dry leaves in large amounts over the glass wind guard of your fire pit and break it.
To prevent this from happening it is advisable to detach the glass wind guard of your fire pit and carry it indoors for storage in a safe place. The glass wind guard of your fire pit is really expensive and this is why it is wise to keep it in a safe place throughout the winter season, to prevent more cost.
Final remarks
To sum up this blog post I would say that, to maintain the function and the beauty of your fire pit, you must invest some time and effort to winterize it properly. I am fully confident that the step-by-step guide above will be useful to you.
