Below is a video on How To Install A Bronson Gas Fire Pit
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Today we will be showing you how to install a Bronson gas fire place kit. This kit is made by The Outdoor Greatroom Company. We are installing the 52” round gas fire pit. They also make a 42″ square version as well. This kit comes setup for propane but it can be converted to Natural Gas with the included conversion kit. This kit includes 84 pavers, burner plate support, burner plate, control panel, 2 vent blocks, and tumbled lava rock as your fire media and propane regulator and hose. If you are going to use this on natural gas you will need to purchase a flexline that will go from the natural gas supply to the control valve. You will want to make sure you buy a whistle free flex line.
To start you will want to locate where you want to place the fireplace and make sure it’s on a level surface and around it is also level as you may want to use chairs to sit by it and enjoy the fireplace.
We have the placement of the fireplace so we are going to sweep the patio off as we are going to be using PL 500 landscape glue to glue the pavers/ block to the concrete patio and to each other to make it sturdy.
Now that we have the area cleaned off we can start laying out the first layer of pavers. You will want to measure the inside of the circle to ensure it is round. Once you are happy with the color of the pavers and the placement we can grab the caulk gun and the PL glue and glue them down to the concrete patio. It will take 20 pavers to make a complete circle or layer.
Now that we have the first layer glued down we can start the second layer. The second layer needs to split the seam of the first layer of pavers. It should be a staggered joint like a brick or block wall. In this layer we will be adding the 2 vent grates and the control panel. You will want the vent directly across from each other and you will want the control panel where it is easily accessible/ on the front side of the fire place. So we will lay the pavers out and the grates for the second course. I have decided since we are going four layers high with the pavers, so we are going to move the control valve/ panel into the third layer rather than the second layer so we will swap the control panel grate out for a paver. Once we are happy with the placement of the pavers we can flip them over and set them back and glue them into place. For the grates I just glued the sides, squeezed them and slid them into position and added a bead of glue along the backside that way you don’t see any glue when looking into the grates.
With the second layer complete we can repeat the process for the third row adding in the control panel on the most accessible/ front side of the fire pit. You may want to place some extra pavers on the stones that cover the vent grates as they seem to be a little bit slimmer and the pavers seem to tip in towards the grates. While that glue sets up let’s talk about the burner plate position. They want you to place the burner plate assembly 1 layer below your final layer that way it will hold in your fire media. For us we are going to go four layers high and then add the option cap stone so we are going to lay the four layer and then place the burner plate and then our cap stone. The cap stones come in two colors charcoal (gray) and limestone ( tan ).
We will repeat the process for the four layer of pavers. Place them all , once we are happy with them we can PL glue them down. Once we are done with the four layer we will let the PL glue setup overnight to ensure while we are installing the gas line, controls, burner plate we don’t move any of the pavers.
To finish off our incoming gas feedline we need to get that down to ½” so we will gas tape and Gasolia a 1” to ½” reducer and install it into the 1” gas ball valve. Once we have that installed we can tape and paste a ½” close piece of pipe and then a 90 degree elbow. We want the elbow to point towards the control valve. Once we have the 90 in position we can add a 3” piece of ½” pipe and then a ½” pipe thread to ½” flare adapter. Once we have that adapter installed we can now install a whistle free gas flex line. You will want to install a whistle free line so you don’t get that high pitched noise while the fireplace is in use. Now that we have the gas line installed we can move onto converting this fireplace to natural gas as they come ready to use propane.
So to convert it to natural gas we need to get a 10mm wrench and remove the two brass flares holding the u shaped pipe into the control valve. Once we have that pipe removed we can grab a flat screwdriver and remove the orifice. Depending on what burner plate you have you may need to reinstall an orifice back into where we just removed this one from. With that orifice removed we can reinstall the tube and tighten the two nuts. With the control conversion done we will move onto the burner plate.
So for the burner plate we need a 22mm wrench to remove the flexline going to the burner plate. Next we’ll use the same wrench and remove the orifice from the burner plate. We grab the natural gas orifice that came with the fire pit and swap it out. Once we have the natural gas one started we can use the wrench and tighten the orifice down. With the orifice swapped out we can grab a phillips screwdriver and loosen the screw on the shutter and slide it all the way close. Depending on your relation to sea level it could be from all the way closed to ⅛” open. consult your manual. Once we have it closed we can take the screwdriver and tighten the screw to hold the shutter closed. Once we have it shut and tight we can reconnect the flexline and tighten it.
With the conversion from propane to natural gas complete we are ready to place the burner support plate and the burner plate and the control panel. Well start by placing the burner support plate with the notch towards the control panel. Next we can place the burner plate down with the ignitor wires sitting in the notch in the burner plate support. Well feed the wires and gas line and thermocouple though the control panel hole.
We’ll start by connecting the thermocouple into the control valve. Then we’ll grab the ignitor and faceplate. Well remove the push in tip and the nut and slide the ignitor into the face place and tight then nut to hold it to the face plate. We’ll also slide in a double A battery to power the ignitor. Then we can put the push in tip back on as well. Next we can attach the two wires to the back of the ignitor like I said it doesn’t matter which one goes where on the ignitor. Once we have the wires attached to the ignitor we can hold the faceplate over our valve and align the holes and install the four phillips screws to hold the faceplate to the control valve. Once we have the face plate installed we can grab and install the gas feed flexline onto the control valve. Next we can take a 22mm and tighten the gas line and a 10mm to tighten the thermocouple. Once we have them tight we can place our knob on the control valve.
Once we have that all together we can turn the gas supply on and use mega bubble or soapy water to check for leaks. Once we have ensured we don’t have any leaks we can now use the four screws to tighten the burner plate to the burner support plate. I would recommend adding some anti-seize to the screws so that if we need to remove them later on down the road we can.
Now that we have finished with the burner plate we can now center it and glue it down in a few spots with the PL glue.. Once we have it placed and glued down we can go ahead and set our top cap stones. Once we are happy with their placement we can go ahead and glue them down as well.
With the top cap stones glued down we can now go ahead and put in the lava rock/ fire media. Well move it around so it is level around the entirety of the fireplace then we can remove the cardboard over the ignitor.
Once we have removed the cardboard it’s time to try it out. So we will push in and turn the control knob while depressing the ignitor. It may take a little bit to get the air out of the supply lines. Once it does light keep holding in on the control knob to give the thermocouple time to heat up to keep the fireplace lit. I also added another 3 10lbs bags of lava rock in addition to what came with the kit. 1 bag of 1″-2” and 2 bags of 1/2″-1″. To completely cover the burner plate.
So with the fireplace complete and working as it should, that’s it we have just shown you how to install a Bronson gas fire pit.
