Fire glass / beads for propane fire pit...

I am getting ready to buy about 330 pounds of it. Any of you have good or bad experiences with different kinds. I have found some places online that vary in price with some sales at $2-$6 per lb.

The interior measures 48"x48", glad we made it a bit smaller than original plan. I think my plan is to stick with something bigger in 3/4" to 1" size range.

Added some fire bricks under burners to take up some of the space.

I'd fill the space with silica sand and just cap that with the beads.

Talk to oldschoolboats about them. One got knocked out of a pit and he stepped on it, burnt the bottom of his foot

Heylam said:

I'd fill the space with silica sand and just cap that with the beads.

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This has crossed my mind, don't know much about it tho. Is it used to the burner level and then place fire beads over it and the burners?

I don't want sand blowin in my face, or my drink [emoji12]

fishing fool said:

Talk to oldschoolboats about them. One got knocked out of a pit and he stepped on it, burnt the bottom of his foot

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Ouch!!!

You should drop the burner lower and bury it. I'd keep the beads flush or below the top. Is the square pipe burner too??

We ended up with lava rock in ours. It will snap, crackle and pop until all the air pockets eliminated.

This is who I used for fire pit glass. http://shop.moderustic.com/Default.aspThey sell the glass by 5 gallon buckets. You can always use crushed lava rocks or something similar and less expensive as a base under the fire glass.
They are in Rancho. owner is a bit odd but knows his fire pits.

I wanted to go with sand and fire glass but I screwed up and used 1/2" pipe. It didn't deliver enough volume to give much of a flame with sand/glass. Moved the ring up and went with rock.

My recommendation, fill it up with as much sand or pea gravel as you need to get close to covering. Then throw some chicken wire over the top of the whole thing. I would recommend the rounded as compared to cracked type glass. You can find deals and coupons sometimes. The chicken wire will mostly keep the glass separate from the lower substrate and also keep animals such as your neighborhood cat from digging in it. Or in my case my stupid dog that thinks she is a cat. You can get nice stainless chicken wire for cheap that you will hopefully never have to replace...

Try BlazingGlass.com

Look into Feather Rock.
Way cheaper than Glass and when it is hot it actually will glow just like wood coals too!
http://arizonagasproducts.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=30_76&osCsid=ouvqh42f7ot5qks1gvv5va7g57&gclid=CjwKEAjw47bLBRDkgorklobUklESJAAGH4-RHiVRnoqTaGKN1xPNUD1ZPE11pzKfDgVN-U0Xyd7e4hoCFP_w_wcB

HOOTER SLED- said:

You should drop the burner lower and bury it. I'd keep the beads flush or below the top. Is the square pipe burner too??

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Hard to maybe see in the pic, the burners are about an inch below top of cap. Plan is to have glass flush but will prolly be higher in center. The square pipe is also burner [emoji3]

throttle said:

Hard to maybe see in the pic, the burners are about an inch below top of cap. Plan is to have glass flush but will prolly be higher in center. The square pipe is also burner [emoji3]

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And it's propane??? As in portable? Or your house is propane....no NG?

weasle said:

Try BlazingGlass.com

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This is one of places I was looking today. [emoji848] ordering some samples.

Fill under burner with sand to about mid point on burner, then top with glass. Should be minimal costs maybe 200 for glass. Lava rocks can and do pop and crackle, couple years back a customer's kid nearly lost an eye from lava rocks :eek
that outer burner looks pretty close to your cap stone, be careful with that also. Cap stone will likely get hot AF and will likely pop also. Best to have some clearance between burners and caps.

Backyard work lookin good :thumbsup

Be careful with too big of glass chunks. The gas doesn't dissipate as well as it should. And be careful with sand around the burner as it holds moisture and likes to rot the burner.

throttle said:

I am getting ready to buy about 330 pounds of it. Any of you have good or bad experiences with different kinds. I have found some places online that vary in price with some sales at $2-$6 per lb.

The interior measures 48"x48", glad we made it a bit smaller than original plan. I think my plan is to stick with something bigger in 3/4" to 1" size range.

View attachment 574951

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I hope you put a drain in there. I akwYs slope mine and dump it out a 1/2" pipe hidden in the stone

HOOTER SLED- said:

And it's propane??? As in portable? Or your house is propane....no NG?

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NG (no gas). I wouldn't call it portable. Plumbed all underground. 2 separate valves for each burner with plumbing leading to outdoor kitchen and bar area.

Finally made a decision after trying to find the product line and color that we liked based on availability of course.

330lbs for 16sq feet [emoji102][emoji85][emoji23]

fishing fool said:

Talk to oldschoolboats about them. One got knocked out of a pit and he stepped on it, burnt the bottom of his foot

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throttle said:

Ouch!!!

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That was so freaking painful! I couldn't believe the size of the burn from that tiny little pebble and of course it happened a few days before a Havasu trip.

That shouldn't happen with your pit, since it is raised up and it looks like you got some good sized pebbles :thumbsup:thumbsup

I filled mine with lava rock. On top of that I smashed a bunch of tempered glass shelving I had and used as a base. Then I applied a mix of gold and bronze glass.. came out great.

Be careful on sand... my friend did his in sand and after alot of rainfall, it hardened and the gas went down inside and exploded his entire firepit. It blew the sides right out of it!

.

Looks like I got here too late.

Use LARGE lava rock (it won't pop and break if using the right kind). The lava rock will emanate the heat better.

Make sure your gas tubes have holes point DOWN. Most put the holes up which causes long term issues (debris, water etc).

300lbs American fireglass, powder blue luster zircon.

Super stoked to have this up and going finally.