Are Fire Tables Worth It

Thinking about adding a fire table to your backyard? The short answer: yes, if you want real flame and genuine zone heating without the cost and hassle of a gas installation. An EcoSmart bioethanol fire table is freestanding, needs no plumbing or gasfitter, and gives you a focal point that works as well on a rental balcony as it does in a permanent entertaining area. Here's what the investment actually buys you.

What You're Actually Paying For

As Aussies, we like our outdoor living, and a fire table extends the season on either side of it: the last cool evenings of autumn and the first ones of spring, plus the odd Melbourne winter night when everyone still wants to be outside. The value case isn't just ambience, it's what you don't have to do to get it.

No Installation, No Ongoing Trade Costs

A built-in gas fire feature typically runs $3,500–$15,000 once you include the unit itself, plus $500–$2,000 for a gas line and $800–$1,500 for a licensed gasfitter to connect it; even a simpler gas set-up lands around $2,000–$7,500 all-in, and most gas units need a service every year or two at $150–$300 a visit. A bioethanol fire table skips all of that. It arrives ready to use, sits wherever you place it, and never needs a technician, a certificate, or a standing gas connection charge.

Materials: What You're Choosing Between

EcoSmart's Fire Base 40 comes in concrete or teak finishes; concrete is heavier (67.7 kg) and holds a sharper, architectural look, while teak (54.9 kg) brings warmth and is lighter to reposition. The compact Pod 30 (38.04 kg) suits a smaller courtyard or apartment terrace where a 1-metre-square table isn't practical. None of these need sealing against a gas connection or venting; the choice comes down to how the piece looks in your space and how heavy you're happy to lift.

Real Heat, Honestly Described

The AB8 burner puts out 6 kW (21.56 MJ/h), enough to comfortably warm a zone of up to 60 m² around the table. That's genuine supplemental heat for the people sitting near it, not whole-yard or whole-room heating, and it's worth setting that expectation correctly before you buy: a fire table warms the circle around it, it doesn't replace an outdoor heater for a large open deck.

Running Costs, in Real Numbers

Fuel is e-NRG bioethanol, sold separately in 20 L cartons of 5 L bottles. Delivered pricing lands between $6.00/L (buying 10 cartons at a time) and $6.63/L (buying 2), so a full evening at the burner's 1.1 L/hr full-flame rate costs roughly $6.60–$7.30 an hour. Fit the Efficiency Ring that ships with the unit and consumption drops by about a third, closer to $3.30–$5.10 an hour, while a single 8 L fill stretches from 7–9 hours at full flame to 9–11 hours with the ring on. There's no annual service fee and no supply charge sitting in the background between uses.

Ignition, Media and Everyday Use

Lighting the AB8 burner is manual: a lighting rod and a fire lighter, no pilot light or push-button ignition, since there's no gas line to prime in the first place. It's a small trade-off for skipping the installation cost entirely, and most owners find it becomes routine within a couple of uses. If you want a look around the flame, tempered glass media (rated to 700°C) is the option EcoSmart offers; there's no lava rock in the range, since the burner produces the heat directly rather than radiating it off a heated stone bed.

Is It Worth It for an Australian Backyard?

Fire tables are gaining ground here because they suit how Australians actually entertain outdoors: no fixed installation, no fuss between uses, and a genuine flame rather than a simulated one. Coastal properties should factor in salt air when choosing concrete versus teak, and anyone in a colder pocket, a Hobart or high-country Victorian winter, will get more use out of it across more of the year than someone in a milder climate. Add comfortable seating and some low lighting around it and the table earns its keep as the actual centre of the outdoor space, not just a nice-to-have on the edge of it.

You May Also Like:

• Are Fire Tables Safe On Composite Decks
• Are Outdoor Fire Tables Safe
• Can A Fire Table Be Used Indoors
• Can A Fire Table Get Wet
• Can You Leave A Fire Table Outside In Winter
• How Safe Are Fire Tables

Hayden Pearson

Learn More

About the author:
“I have a real passion for helping transform outdoor spaces so people can relax, connect and entertain with confidence and pride. With My Acre, I love guiding homeowners to create beautiful and functional outdoor living areas."