Match-Lit vs Electronic Ignition for Gas Fire Pits: Which to Buy

Match-lit means you hold a lighter over the burner and open a key valve by hand. Electronic ignition lights the burner from a switch, remote or app, and a system like HPC's shuts down by itself if the pilot goes out. For most backyard fire pits I'd buy match-lit, ideally with a flame-sensing safety pilot. Pay for electronic only when you need to light it from somewhere else or the install is commercial, poolside or high output.

We don't sell any of the brands named here yet. Every figure comes from the maker's own manual, linked where it appears.

How Each Ignition Type Works

Match-lit. It uses no electricity and almost no parts. The Outdoor Plus manual has you hold a lit long lighter over the burner, open the key valve slowly, then set the flame height. To shut it down, close the valve and pocket the key. If it doesn't light, close the valve and wait. The wait differs by manual: HPC and The Outdoor Plus say 5 minutes, and Prism's Embarcadero guide says 10 seconds. Use your own manual's figure.

Flame-sensing (a safety pilot). HPC's push-button insert lights a small pilot with a battery spark while you hold the valve knob in, which gives the thermocouple time to heat. The start-up steps say 20 seconds and the troubleshooting table says 30. After that you turn up the main burner. If the pilot goes out when you let go of the knob, HPC points first to a thermocouple that hasn't heated yet, is dirty or has failed.

Electronic. HPC's EI Series manual lays out the full sequence. A hot surface igniter glows for five seconds, the pilot valve opens, and the main valve opens only once the thermocouple is hot. If the pilot blows out, the system shuts down and restarts on its own. After 15 failed attempts, about 15 minutes, it locks out until you cycle the power. Prism's PH-NEXTGEN is also hot surface ignition, at 13 volts DC, with diagnostic LEDs.

Sources: The Outdoor Plus comparison flyer and electronic data sheet; HPC manuals linked above.

Code and Listing Requirements

The International Fuel Gas Code says a permanently fixed-in-place outdoor decorative appliance "shall be listed in accordance with ANSI Z21.97 and shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions" (IFGC 2024, Section 635.1). California puts the same rule in its Mechanical Code, Section 931.1.1.

The listing standard doesn't ban match-lit. The current edition, Z21.97-2017, reaffirmed in 2022, added a rain test that took effect January 1, 2020. As Intertek's notice reproduces it, burners "without a safety shut-off device shall not become extinguished," while burners with one may go out if the gas to the main burner shuts off automatically. Both designs can be listed. HPC's match-lit inserts are certified to Z21.97 on select models (its manual cites the 2014 edition), and The Outdoor Plus prints a certification mark on its plain match-lit option.

Your inspector checks the listing on the product as built. HPC sells a "Non-Certified" category alongside its certified inserts, and its burner kit manual carries no listing mark. The Outdoor Plus warranty says certified models "cannot be altered or modified in any way." Read the label before you buy, and ask your local building department what it will accept.

What Each System Needs for Power

Match-lit needs nothing. Battery spark needs an AA battery (HPC) or AAA batteries (The Outdoor Plus). Electronic needs a planned circuit:

• HPC EI: 120 VAC at 1 amp, or 24 or 12 VAC at 4 amps through a Class II 100 watt transformer. HPC says every electronic install should use a GFCI-protected circuit and requires a wall switch for safety shutoff.
• The Outdoor Plus: 110 V plug-and-play with a built-in transformer, or a 12 V system with an external transformer. Its manual calls for a metal outlet box inside the enclosure, and makes two things conditions of the warranty: dedicated wiring for each fire pit, and a control box above grade with drainage.
• Prism PH-NEXTGEN: 13 volts DC.

Hard wiring is a job for a licensed electrician working to the National Electrical Code, which both HPC and The Outdoor Plus cite.

Where Each System Fails

Match-lit depends on the person at the valve. Without a safety shutoff, gas keeps flowing until someone closes the valve, which is why the HPC and The Outdoor Plus manuals both say never to leave an operating fire pit unattended.

Flame-sensing adds a thermocouple and a battery. HPC's troubleshooting table lists a knob released before the thermocouple heats, a dirty or faulty thermocouple, a dead battery, and a dirty igniter or wrong electrode gap. Its manuals also warn that media piled over the pilot can smother it.

Electronic adds the most parts, and water is the biggest risk to them. HPC says to clean soot off the thermocouple every six months, and to replace any control part that has been under water.

Sources: HPC warranty, The Outdoor Plus warranty.

Retrofitting Ignition on a Fire Pit You Own

Prism describes PH-NEXTGEN as built for new installs and retrofits, a drop-in replacement for its older PH-IGNITE system. The page doesn't say whether it fits a bowl that shipped with a key valve, so ask Prism. Prism's ignition choice also changes the appliance rating. The Embarcadero is rated 65,000 Btu/h with manual ignition and 85,000 with PH-Ignite, which can change your gas line size and clearance tier.

The Outdoor Plus lists its Flame Sense Valve as "Add-on ONLY, cannot be bought separately," and its warranty says all ignition types must be installed with its own product. HPC sells an FPK Push Button Ignition Kit, but its page doesn't say what it fits. Ask HPC before buying it.

Choose the ignition when you buy the fire pit. If you retrofit later, use the same maker's kit for that model, have a qualified gas technician install it, and confirm with the maker and your building department that the listing still holds.

Which Ignition I'd Buy

Plain match-lit is fine, and electronic ignition is mostly for people who will not walk outside with a lighter. For a fire pit you light yourself and sit beside, match-lit is my default. It has the fewest parts, and with no wiring there's nothing to lock out. If the budget allows, add a flame-sensing pilot so the gas stops if a gust puts the flame out. The Outdoor Plus rates its plain match-lit for residential use only.

Electronic earns its cost when you want a wall switch, remote or timer, on hospitality and commercial installs, beside a pool with a low-voltage system its maker rates for poolside use, and on built-in burners where, as on Prism's Embarcadero, the electronic version carries a higher rating. Skip it where there's no power at the pit. HPC's EI inserts are not for small LP tanks at all.

Call a licensed installer before you add gas piping, add a circuit, or change the ignition on a unit you already own. Size the line with the gas line sizing calculator and check distances with the clearance checker. If you run on a cylinder, the propane runtime calculator shows how long it lasts.