What a Natural Gas Patio Heater Needs: Gas Line, Power and Conversion

A natural gas patio heater needs a fixed gas line from your meter, sized for its rated input by a licensed gas fitter, with a shutoff valve and a code-approved connection at the heater. Some models also need power: Bromic's wall and ceiling heater lists 110 V, and Heatstrip's wall heater runs its igniter on an AA battery. It is bought as a natural gas model, because two of the three makers covered here say not to convert it in the field.

This guide reads three makers' documents, the 2024 model fuel gas and fire codes, and one federal unit table. It does not rank heaters, and Firepit HQ has not tested any of them. It names no pipe size, because that depends on your load, your run and your code, and the gas line sizing calculator shows the method.

What Three Makers Publish for Natural Gas

Sources: Bromic manual pp. 5, 6 and 12 and cut sheet; Heatstrip manual pp. 6, 10 and 12; Lava Heat Italia Positano page and catalog pp. 9 and 16. Checked 2026-10-20.

These are the three makers whose natural gas heater documents were read for this guide. Other makers publish their own.

How the Gas Line Gets Sized

The fuel gas code starts from demand. The 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) says piping must supply enough gas to meet maximum demand, at no less than the minimum supply pressure each appliance requires (402.1). The load for sizing is the sum of the maximum input of the appliances served, assuming all of them could run at once, adjusted for altitude above 2,000 feet (402.2).

Two Bromic Tungsten 500 heaters on one line are 86,000 Btu/h before anything else is added. A grill, a fire table or a second zone goes on top of that number. The guide to what a natural gas fire pit needs covers a fire pit's side of a shared line. The natural gas versus propane guide for fire pits has the pipe capacity tables for the fire feature side, and the calculator takes the combined load.

For a sense of volume, the U.S. Energy Information Administration puts one cubic foot of natural gas at 1,036 Btu. Dividing each rated input by that gives about 25.1 cubic feet per hour for the Bromic 300, 41.5 for the Bromic 500 and 31.1 for the Heatstrip. That is arithmetic for context. A fitter sizes from your code and your utility's supply.

Supply pressure matters as much as pipe size. Bromic's natural gas models list a minimum inlet pressure of 6 in. w.c. and a maximum of 14 in. w.c., and the manual says to fit a separate pressure reducing regulator if line pressure exceeds 14. Its troubleshooting table lists supply piping that is too small as a cause of low burner tile temperature. Heatstrip supplies a regulator for its natural gas heater and says the unit and regulator operate on the outlet pressure printed in its manual.

Your fitter works from the code edition your jurisdiction adopted, which may not be 2024. The state fire code library is the place to start on state rules, and your building department knows which edition applies locally.

Shutoff Valve, Connector and Hose

The 2024 IFGC requires each appliance to have a shutoff valve (409.5). In the general case it sits within 6 ft of the appliance and upstream of the union, connector or quick disconnect it serves (409.5.1). The code lists the ways to connect an appliance in 411.1, including rigid pipe, listed outdoor appliance connectors, listed quick-disconnect devices used with listed connectors, and listed outdoor gas hose connectors used to connect portable outdoor appliances. For appliance fuel connectors, one is allowed per appliance, up to 6 ft overall, with an exception for rigid pipe (411.1.3.1).

The makers describe their own hardware. Bromic fits a manual isolating valve to the control box at the factory, and the supply connects to the box's 1/2 in. NPT female inlet. The CSA approved flexible connector Bromic supplies runs inside the mounting arm, from the control housing to the heater. Heatstrip says to install a shutoff valve outdoors, after the gas pipe exits the outside wall and before the quick-disconnect hose, or before the line enters the ground. It supplies a 12 ft natural gas hose.

That hose is longer than the 6 ft limit the code sets for appliance fuel connectors. The code treats outdoor gas hose connectors as a separate method, written for portable outdoor appliances, and the Heatstrip manual does not say which standard its hose is listed to. Whether the hose is acceptable on a wall-mounted heater is a question for the fitter and the building department. Confirm the arrangement before the heater goes up.

Both manuals also tell the installer to isolate the heater during pressure testing of the gas piping. Bromic and Heatstrip say the heater and its shutoff valve must be disconnected from the supply for tests above 1/2 psi, and isolated by closing its shutoff valve at or below 1/2 psi. This is why the valve has to be there and has to be reachable.

Does a Natural Gas Patio Heater Need Electricity?

Some do. A gas flame still needs something to light it and watch it.

• Bromic: the Tungsten Gas lists 110 V and under 2 A. It comes with a three-prong grounded plug and a 36 in. cord and can be plugged into a grounded receptacle or wired in by an authorized electrician. It has no on/off switch of its own, so the manual says to control it from the power supply.
• Heatstrip: the wall-mounted natural gas heater lights by a pull tab with a click, and the hardware pack includes an AA battery. Its troubleshooting table lists replacing the battery as a fix when the igniter does not spark.
• Lava Heat Italia: the Positano page lists electronic ignition on the Lava Lite and Capri and touch start with a remote on the 2G. It does not say what supplies the power, so ask before you plan an outlet.

Can You Convert a Propane Heater to Natural Gas?

The three makers point the other way.

Heatstrip's manual warns that natural gas models must be used with natural gas only and that "any attempt to convert the heater from one fuel type to another is extremely hazardous and will void the warranty." Lava Heat Italia's catalog says the change between propane and natural gas is the orifice, the regulator and the line, specified at order and not converted in the field, and that units are not field-convertible in either direction.

Bromic's manual lists propane and natural gas as separate models with different orifices, 0.85 mm for propane and 1.3 mm for natural gas, and marks the propane models "Propane Gas (LPG) Only." It prints no conversion procedure. Its troubleshooting table lists "wrong gas supplied to heater" as a cause of carbon on the burner tile.

None of the three documents describes a conversion kit. Some fire pit makers sell them, and the fire pit conversion section shows how those work. A heater is a different appliance with its own listing, so the answer for a heater comes from its maker. If you own a propane heater and want natural gas, ask the maker in writing before anyone opens it.

Where a Natural Gas Heater Can Go

Open air is the rule, and the makers word it the same way. Bromic allows a roof over no more than two walls, or more than two walls if at least 25 percent of the total wall area is completely open and at least 30 percent of the remaining wall area is open and unrestricted. Heatstrip prints the same three tests and adds that on a balcony at least 20 percent of the total wall area must stay open and unrestricted. Both want the heater protected from rain.

Heatstrip's warnings page is stricter than its location page. It says not to use the heater under any overhead and never in a garage, porch, shed, breezeway or other enclosed area. Its clearance diagram and brochure both list 500 mm of overhead clearance with the standard reflector, so the warnings page and the clearance data disagree. Ask Heatstrip which applies before you put the heater under a roof. Outdoor heaters for covered patios walks through the open wall arithmetic.

Sources: Bromic manual p. 7 and cut sheet; Heatstrip manual p. 6; Lava Heat Italia Positano page and troubleshooting page. Lava's two pages give different side distances, so confirm which applies with the maker. Checked 2026-10-20.

Heatstrip's warnings also say to use the heater at least 3 ft from any wall or surface and from combustible items such as vinyl or wood siding, which a wall-mounted heater cannot meet against its own wall as that line is worded. Read it with the clearance diagram and ask the maker.

The fire code's outdoor heater section is written for portable appliances. The 2024 International Fire Code (IFC) applies Chapter 41 to mobile and portable equipment used for temporary heating (4101.1). Section 4103.1.2 covers portable outdoor gas-fired heating appliances, sets 5 ft from buildings (4103.1.2.1.2), and allows only listed appliances that use a fuel gas container integral to the appliance (4103.1.2.2.1). A heater fixed to a wall and piped to the meter has no container, so on that reading the manual and the fuel gas code carry the weight. Your fire official decides how your jurisdiction reads it.

Wall or Ceiling Mounting

Both fixed mounts need the structure to carry the load. Bromic lists the Tungsten 300 at 33 lb and the 500 at 44 lb, calls for M8 flush head masonry anchors or equivalent in brick, or screws at least 60 mm long in timber, and says the anchoring must support the heater and any other load. Its wall bracket sets 0, 10 or 20 degrees, and a ceiling pole kit is also in the manual. Heatstrip's brochure lists the wall heater at 25 lb, a ceiling mount extension pole that lowers it or hangs it from a ceiling, and a recommended minimum mounting height of 6.5 ft with an 11.5 ft maximum outdoors.

How much heat a mount delivers is a sizing question. The BTU calculator and the guide to how many BTUs a patio heater needs cover it. Bromic's cut sheet lists 160 sq ft for the 300 and 215 sq ft for the 500 in ideal conditions. Heatstrip's brochure lists 172 sq ft. Compare those on your own exposure, and see how to choose a patio heater for the wider decision.

Who Does What

• Gas fitter: the supply line, shutoff valve, connector, leak test and any permit. Bromic requires that gas supply work be done by trained and authorized persons and that all connections be leak tested by an authorized person before use.
• Electrician: wiring for any model with a power supply, where the plug and receptacle are not enough. Bromic says electrical connections must be completed by trained and authorized electrical technicians only.
• You: inspect the hose before each use, keep the area clear of combustibles and have the heater inspected at least yearly by a qualified service person, which both Bromic and Heatstrip ask for.

Permit and licensing rules are local. Ask your building department before work starts, and check your local code and the appliance's installation manual.

What to Check Before You Buy

• The fuel version: a natural gas model, ordered as one, with no plan to convert.
• The supply: the heater's rated input added to every appliance on the line, a minimum inlet pressure your supply meets, and a licensed gas fitter's sizing.
• The power: 110 V, a battery or an unstated requirement, and who wires it.
• The location: the maker's open-air rules, the clearance table above and your ceiling height.
• The connection: the maker's hose or connector, where the shutoff valve goes and what your inspector accepts.
• The paper: the manual for your exact model, your adopted code and your permit.