Gas Fire Bowls

What to Know Before You Buy

Five decisions matter most for a gas fire bowl.

• Size and clearance. The makers in the fire bowl guide publish bowls from 24 to 70 inches across, and the clearance steps up with burner input. The guide on how big a fire pit should be works out seating distance, and the outdoor fire bowl guide lists sizes and inputs by maker.
• Material. Bowls come in glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC), copper, steel and stainless, and each weathers differently. The materials guide covers weight, patina and warranty terms.
• Fuel. The Outdoor Plus and Prism list their concrete bowls on propane or natural gas, so the choice follows your supply. Natural gas or propane compares pipe size, tank runtime and conversion.
• Fire only or fire and water. A fire-and-water bowl adds a scupper that spills water over one edge, plus a water line and, for electronic ignition, wiring. The guide explains how fire-and-water bowls work and which trades they involve.
• Media. What fills the pan has its own rules. See fire glass or lava rock. The Outdoor Plus's 2026 fire bowl manual lists approved fire glass among acceptable media, but its 2024 quick reference guide does not recommend fire glass, sand or fire media in any propane fire or fire-and-water feature, so ask the maker before you put glass in a propane bowl.

Sizes, Output and Fuel

Most bowls in the fire bowl guide are rated 45,000 to 65,000 BTU per hour. The outliers are the 48 inch Cazo at 160,000, the 70 inch Moderno at 125,000 and Firegear's Sanctuary 2 at up to 145,000.

A finished bowl is heavy. Prism lists the Moderno 3 at 78 pounds and the Moderno 70 at 650, so a pedestal has to carry real weight. A natural gas bowl needs a line sized for its full input, and a licensed gas fitter sets that. The gas line sizing calculator shows what to ask for.

Who Makes Them

These makers' own documents show they build gas fire bowls. The order is not a ranking.

Prism Hardscapes, of Cerritos, California, makes the Moderno line, eight round bowls from 30 to 70 inches across. Its Copper Collection puts three Moderno bowls in hand-hammered 99.9% copper, and its page lists a 20 inch cross burner for the copper Moderno 1 where the GFRC Moderno 1 lists 15. A separate Pool Collection covers fire, water and fire-and-water features.

The Outdoor Plus, of Ontario, California, makes fire bowls named Cazo, Sedona, Maya, Luna and others, in GFRC, concrete, copper, steel and stainless. Cazo GFRC comes in 24, 31, 36 and 48 inches and lists 18 colors. Its fire-and-water bowls include Cazo, Maya and Sedona versions plus self-contained Paradise Falls units. Bowls in GFRC, powder coat and stainless carry a 1-year warranty, and natural weathering of copper and corten is not warrantied.

Firegear, of Huntington, Indiana, mostly makes burner hardware. Sanctuary is its GFRC fire table and bowl series, the Abode is a GFRC fire-and-water bowl and the Levelle is a steel fire bowl.

HPC Fire Inspired, of Miamisburg, Ohio, builds finished pieces around its burner inserts. They include the Copper Bowl Series, the Evolution 360 hammered copper bowl, spun aluminum bowls and fire-and-water series.

Rules and Placement

A fixed-in-place gas bowl is an outdoor decorative appliance under the fuel gas code. The 2024 International Fuel Gas Code, Section 635.1, requires it to be listed to ANSI Z21.97 and installed per the maker's instructions. Each state adopts its own edition, so start with the fire code library.

Clearances scale with input. The Outdoor Plus asks 36 inches to structures and combustibles up to 65,000 BTU and 48 inches from 66,000 to 200,000, with 96 inches overhead. Its 48 inch Cazo therefore needs 48 inches and its 24 to 36 inch bowls need 36. Prism asks 4 feet to the sides and 6 feet overhead. The clearance checker lists more makers, and your local authority has the last word.

Near a pool, the distances in the manuals are to structures and combustibles, and the electrical wiring is the pool question. The Outdoor Plus lists its low-voltage DC ignition for use within 5 feet of water and its plug-and-play version for at least 5 feet away, and it calls for a qualified electrician and local inspection approval.

A fire-and-water bowl needs a gas line, a water line to the scupper and, with electronic ignition, low-voltage wiring, so plan on a licensed gas fitter, an electrician and a plumber or pool builder. The Outdoor Plus's 2020 manual asks for a 3/4 inch water supply line capable of 12 to 15 gallons per minute, and Prism lists 15. Neither manual names a pump, and The Outdoor Plus's self-contained units carry their own.