Table Top Fire Pits

What Is a Tabletop Fire Pit?

A tabletop fire pit is a small, self-contained flame built to sit on a surface outdoors: a patio dining table, a bar top, a deck rail ledge or a balcony side table. There is no gas line, no chimney and no installation. You fill it, light it, and bring it in afterwards.

These are ambiance, not heat. A tabletop unit gives a real flame at close range and almost no meaningful warmth, which is what the manufacturers state on the units themselves. If you want to be warmer on the patio, a full fire pit or a patio heater is the right category.

Where a Tabletop Fire Pit Earns Its Place Outside

It solves a small number of outdoor problems very well.

• Balconies and small decks, where a full fire pit will not fit and there is nowhere to put one anyway.
• An outdoor dining table, as a centerpiece that does not drip wax or block the sightline across the table.
• Extending an evening at the table people are already sitting at, rather than moving everyone to a separate fire.
• Rentals and apartments, where nothing can be installed and a gas line is out of the question.
• Alongside a larger fire feature, lining a table or a bar while the main fire pit does the work.

Wind Is the Thing to Plan For

Outdoors, the shape of the unit matters more than anything else, because a small flame in an open burner is easily disturbed.

• Glass-surround boxes shelter the flame from draughts and put a barrier between the fire and anyone reaching across the table. These are the most reliable outdoors.
• Lanterns and convertibles fit a glass chimney over an open firepot, which is the same idea in a taller form. Worth choosing if one piece has to work on a breezy porch and an indoor table.
• Open bowls and firepots are the most decorative and the best-looking unlit, which matters on a table in daylight. They are also the most wind-sensitive, so they suit sheltered patios and covered porches.

Fuel: Ethanol, Gel, or Propane

• Ethanol is poured into the burner and gives a taller, more mobile flame. You let the unit cool fully before refilling and snuff it rather than blowing it out. Browse the tabletop ethanol fireplaces.
• Gel arrives in a sealed can that drops in, so there is nothing to pour or spill and nothing to carry back inside half full. It also allows sculptural shapes an open reservoir cannot. The full range is in gel fireplaces.
• Propane appears on a small number of outdoor tabletop lanterns running from a compact cylinder.

Check the can size before buying fuel. Gel units are usually built around one specific can, commonly 13 ounces, and the wrong size will not seat properly. Fuel is in fuel and accessories. Never substitute another fuel, and never use camping, automotive or lamp fuel.

Bringing One Indoors

Because these are ventless and the flame is small, many are rated for indoor use as well, which is unusual for anything burning a real fuel. Not every model is rated for both, so check the specific unit before moving it inside. If the piece will live on a dining table or a console rather than a patio, start with the tabletop fireplaces, which is the same category framed for indoor use.

Using One Safely

• Let it cool completely before refuelling. Pouring ethanol into a hot burner is the single most dangerous thing you can do with one, and cooling takes longer than you expect.
• Snuff it, do not blow it out. Most units include a snuffer.
• Set it on something stable and heat-tolerant, away from runners, napkins and overhanging edges.
• Never move it while lit, even a short distance.
• Bring it in or cover it when it is not in use, so weather does not sit in the burner.

Explore Related Fire Pit Styles

Looking for something else? Browse the rest of the range:

• Table Top Fireplaces, the same scale framed for indoor use
• Fire Pit Tables, full-size furniture with a burner built in
• Fire Bowls, freestanding sculptural pieces for a patio or pool surround
• Portable Fire Pits, floor-standing and made to move with you
• Fire Pits, every format and fuel we carry