How long does a propane tank last?

An O.G. TactiCool Fire Pit with a 20 pound propane tank

How long will my propane tank last?

We know you want to ask it, everyone else does. And I get it, you want to know how much propane you’re going to need to burn it down all weekend (pun intended). Or, there’s no way that flame in your pictures can be maintained, right? Slow down Ricky Bobby, we’ve got some answers for you.

I know you’re going to hate me for saying this… but. It depends. Why should I even keep reading then?! Just hang on there… It depends because it depends on how you want to use the damn fire pit. Do you want a big flame to attract the ladies like a moth to light? Because that works ya know. Or do you want a small sensual flame for you and the boys to hang out around with some cervezas? Regardless of what the answer is, and trust me, know ones judging over here, you can have the best portable propane fire pit this side of the Mississippi with just a little know how.

We definitely made these fire pits with the idea in mind that a tank of propane would last us a weekend of camping. But thats some car camping (or overlanding for you folks) where we can afford to carry a 20lb (pound) tank of propane. We have taken a 20lb propane tank out and camped for multiple nights burning our fire pit for at least five hours a night and even some in the morning and taken some propane home when we’re packing up.

Looking to take a smaller propane tank out, maybe a 5 or 10 pounder? Well that works too, we have multiple testimonies of people taking one of our portable propane fire pits camping and burning for seven hours on a 5 pound tank and still having gas left over. The 10 pounder will last even longer.

So the rule of thumb I like to use is about an hour per pound of propane, which is roughly a quarter of a gallon of liquid propane. That can vary based on a few factors, such as how high of a flame you want, how cold is it outside, what altitude are you at? All of these things factor into how long your propane tank will last. We say about an hour per pound based on a medium-ish flame. Thats hard to guage because what I think is medium is not necessarily what you think it is. But rest assured, if you take at least a 5lb tank out, you’re going to get plenty of burn time on your portable propane fire pit.

Now, lets talk the small green one pound tanks. These can be tricky, and although fully compatible with your TactiCool Fire Pit with the 1lb tank adapter, they’re not going to be as reliable as the bigger tanks. Theres some science and shit that goes into this, so let me try to make it simple. When you open the valve on the liquid propane tank, regardless of size, the propane tries to quickly escape the container. When it does that, there is a residual gas that rushes to occupy that now-empty space. This creates a chemical reaction that causes freezing temperatures. In larger tanks (5 pounds and greater) the bottle is able to absorb this reaction without much impact to the flow of propane. The one pound tanks are different, and can easily freeze over, which will stop the flow of propane all together, giving the impression of an empty bottle.

So what does this mean? Well, if you’re going to use a one pound bottle, you just need to control the flame a little better and realize that the pictures we’ve taken of it are to show the pure power of the fire pits. But thats not sustainable over a long period of time. But dont be mistaken, we’ve still taken our portable propane fire pit to the beach with a one pound tank and been able to burn it for an hour no problem. So you know, it aint the size that matters, its how you use it…

So to wrap this up, plan on about an hour of fire out of your TactiCool portable propane fire pit per pound of propane, but that can be expanded with some flame management. And if you’re going to use a one pound tank, just be prepared to pay attention and manage that flame a little more and boom, you’re cooking with gas (pun intended, again).