American Fyre Designs Fire Tables, Fire Bowls & Fire Urns: 2026 Buyer's Guide

By the Outdoor Heat Direct fire feature team · Authorized American Fyre Designs dealer · Reviewed September 2026

Active models at OHD

12031 fire tables, 17 fire bowls

Typical output

60,000BTU/hr, most models

Body finishes

7plus 2 wood-grain tops

Certification

Z21.97ANSI/CSA 2.41 outdoor decorative

Who actually makes American Fyre Designs, and is it the same company as Real Fyre?

Yes. American Fyre Designs is a brand of R.H. Peterson Co., the same company behind Real Fyre gas logs, Fire Magic grills and American Outdoor Grill. R.H. Peterson operates out of 14724 E. Proctor Ave., City of Industry, California, and has been in the hearth business for more than 75 years. The American Fyre Designs line itself launched in 2013 as a dedicated outdoor collection of GFRC fireplaces, fire tables, fire urns and fire pits.

That parentage matters more than the marketing copy suggests. Almost no dealer mentions it, but it explains two things buyers notice: the burner hardware and valve trains come from the same engineering family that supplies Real Fyre products, and the ignition electronics run on R.H. Peterson's own RHP Connect app rather than a white-labeled third-party module. You are buying a concrete shell from a company whose core competence is gas burners, not the other way around.

The full American Fyre Designs collection at Outdoor Heat Direct runs 173 listings, of which 120 are currently active and orderable.

What is GFRC, and why does American Fyre Designs build fire tables out of it?

GFRC stands for glass fiber reinforced concrete. American Fyre Designs describes it literally as "a composite of cement, glass fibers, aggregates, and polymers," and notes that "special alkaline resistant glass fibers and polymers are used to reinforce the concrete instead of steel." No steel means nothing inside the wall can rust and spall the face off your table in year six — the most common failure mode in cheap cast concrete.

The construction is hollow, not solid. American Fyre Designs sprays a face coat roughly 1/8 inch thick, backs it with a fiber-loaded mix that gets rolled to drive out air pockets, then closes it with a final layer. Finished wall thickness is "½ inch to ¾ of an inch." That is why a 52-inch Contempo Rectangle weighs 350 lbs instead of the 900-plus lbs a solid pour would hit — the company puts the weight saving at 75% to 95% less than solid concrete.

Practical consequence: two people and a furniture dolly can place most of these. You still cannot drag one across pavers by the rim. See the rest of our GFRC fire feature range and the broader concrete fire pit category for how the material compares across brands.

What fire table series does American Fyre Designs make, and what do they cost?

There are twelve fire table families across the active catalog. Cosmopolitan and Contempo are the volume sellers — Cosmopolitan is the taller, more traditional 24-inch-high lounge table, Contempo is the low-profile 15.5-inch coffee-table height. Milan is the narrow 16-inch-deep linear unit. Voro is the faceted geometric one. Legend and Iron Saddle are the 60-inch rectangles with 36-inch linear burners. Calais is the oval. Fiesta is the 54-inch round. Reclaimed Wood versions of Contempo and Cosmopolitan carry a wood-grain top over the same GFRC body.

Prices are current Outdoor Heat Direct pricing for the lowest-priced configuration of each model. Where two BTU figures are shown, the first is the Manual Flame Sensing Control version and the second is the FyreStarter Bluetooth version. Milan low-fire output varies by fuel; confirm before spec'ing.

Shape matters more than series name when you are matching existing furniture. Browse by round fire tables or rectangular and linear fire tables if that is how you shop.

What finishes does American Fyre Designs offer, and which ones hide dirt?

Seven body finishes, split into four standard colors and three antique treatments, plus two wood-grain finishes used on Reclaimed Wood tabletops. Every finish is hand-applied, and American Fyre Designs states outright that products "are individually handcrafted and finishes shown are subject to slight texture and color variation." Two tables in the same color will not be identical twins.

If your patio sits under pine, oak or anything that drops pollen, skip Black Lava. It shows every yellow speck and every water spot. The three antique finishes are mottled by design, which means seasonal grime and hard-water rings disappear into the pattern instead of sitting on top of it. White Aspen is the easiest to keep looking clean in dusty, low-rainfall climates.

Should you buy match lit or FyreStarter Bluetooth ignition?

American Fyre Designs publishes three control types, and the official names matter when you are reading a model number:

• Key Valve (V-series): a wall-key style valve you open with a removable key, lit with a long lighter. No electricity, no battery, nothing to fail. Model suffixes look like 783-xx-11-V4xC.
• Manual Flame Sensing Control (M-series): a control knob with a thermocouple. The flame holds the valve open; if the burner blows out, gas shuts off. Still no household power required. Suffixes M2, M4, M6, M7.
• FyreStarter Bluetooth Control (H-series): hot-surface igniter plus electronic control, operated from a knob or from the RHP Connect app on iOS or Android, with hi-low flame adjustment. Requires a 120V power source. Compatible models include Firetable series 215, 216, 450 and 580–581; Firebowl series 430, 435 and 731–736; Firepit series 685–689; and Lantern 716. Some FyreStarter models add Type A and Type C USB ports.

Buy FyreStarter if you already have — or can cheaply run — a GFCI outlet within reach of the table, and if you want higher output: FyreStarter versions of Legend and Iron Saddle are rated 75,000 BTU/hr against 65,000 for the Manual Flame Sensing versions. Buy Key Valve or Manual Flame Sensing if the table is going somewhere with no power, if it is a propane unit you plan to move, or if you simply do not want a hot-surface igniter to replace in year seven.

How many BTUs do American Fyre Designs fire tables put out?

The baseline across most of the GFRC catalog is 60,000 BTU/hr on natural gas or propane. Larger dining-height models such as Cosmopolitan Square Dining (642) and Fiesta Dining (775) step up to 65,000 BTU/hr. The 36-inch linear burner models — Legend and Iron Saddle — run 65,000 BTU/hr with Manual Flame Sensing Control and 75,000 BTU/hr with FyreStarter Bluetooth Control.

The Milan linear tables are the outlier at 100,000 BTU/hr on high, with a low setting available. That is a lot of fire coming out of a 16-inch-deep body, and it is why Milan reads as a fire wall more than a table. Fire urns run a 12-inch stainless burner rated up to 60,000 BTU/hr.

One caution on published LP numbers: some key-valve configurations are rated lower on propane than on natural gas. The 783 Contempo Rectangle spec sheet for the V4 key-valve build lists 60,000 BTU/hr natural gas and 50,000 BTU/hr LP, while the current firetable manual lists 60,000 for both. Pull the spec sheet for the exact model number you are ordering rather than trusting a category page.

What fire bowls and fire urns does American Fyre Designs make?

Seventeen active fire bowls and four urns and lanterns. The bowl families are Marseille (the classic tapered round, 24–48 inches, with or without a water spout), the plain round Fire Bowl series in 32/36/48 inch, the Chat Fire Bowl series at chat height in the same three diameters, and Bordeaux in petite square, square and rectangle. Urns are Wave at 20 inches and Eclipse at 23 inches, plus the Nest and Magnolia lanterns.

Note that a plain 32" Fire Bowl and a 32" Chat Fire Bowl are not the same product — the Chat version is raised to seating height. Compare the full American Fyre Designs fire bowl range, the cross-brand fire bowl collection, or the fire urn collection if you want a vertical accent instead of a centerpiece.

American Fyre Designs vs Prism Hardscapes: which GFRC brand should you buy?

These are the two GFRC lines we sell, and buyers cross-shop them constantly. They are genuinely different products, not the same table with different badges.

Buy American Fyre Designs if you want phone control and hi-low flame adjustment, you need the tighter 3-foot side clearance because the patio is narrow, you want a matching outdoor fireplace from the same finish palette, or you want the longer 3-year structural warranty.

Buy Prism Hardscapes if your budget starts under $1,500, you want a compact pedestal bowl rather than a full table, or you prefer the softer hand-applied patina look. Prism also has more mid-size round and pedestal options at the low end. Full detail is in our Prism Hardscapes fire tables buyer's guide, and you can compare the live Prism Hardscapes catalog side by side.

Where they are equal: both are hollow GFRC, both need 6 feet of overhead clearance, both ship without fire media, and both are outdoor-only appliances. Neither brand is meaningfully tougher than the other in the field.

What clearances and gas pressures does the installation manual require?

American Fyre Designs firetables are certified to ANSI Z21.97/CSA 2.41 for outdoor decorative gas appliances. The installation manual specifies a minimum side clearance of 3 feet from the unit edge to any construction, and 6 feet 0 inches from the top of the unit to any overhead construction. Clearance below a firetable is listed as 0 feet, so combustible decking beneath the unit is permitted for firetables.

Gas supply pressure is where most field problems start. For natural gas the manual states the minimum inlet supply pressure for input adjustment is 5 inches water column and the maximum is 10.5 inches w.c. For propane the minimum is 11 inches w.c. and the maximum is 13 inches w.c. A regulator drifting below those numbers produces the classic complaint: lazy yellow flame that will not hold on the far end of a 36-inch linear burner.

The 6-foot overhead number is not negotiable and it rules out most pergolas, covered patios and low umbrella positions. Check your local code too — our notes on fire pit regulations cover the common municipal restrictions.

Should you order the natural gas or the propane version?

Order natural gas if you have or can trench a gas line. You never refill anything, the burner runs at its full published rating, and you avoid the tank-hiding problem entirely. See the natural gas fire feature range.

Order propane if there is no gas line. American Fyre Designs handles the tank two ways. The L.P. Select models — Contempo 785, Legend LP Select, Legend Long LP Select, and the Reclaimed Wood LP Select versions — have a built-in propane tank cabinet inside the table body. The rest use a separate Contempo Tank / End Table enclosure at $416, or $497 in Reclaimed Wood. There is also a 10 ft propane extension hose with elbow fitting at $123 if you want the tank further away. Browse all propane fire tables and bowls.

Fuel type is not field-convertible on these units. The orifice and valve are specific to the gas. Order the right one the first time.

What does the American Fyre Designs warranty actually cover?

R.H. Peterson Co. warrants American Fyre Designs products to be free from defects in material and workmanship. Coverage is split in two tiers: 3 years on the exterior fire features and accessories — the GFRC body, in other words — and 1 year on valves, burners, electrical components and controls.

Read that carefully, because it is the opposite of what most people assume. The concrete gets the long warranty; the gas hardware gets twelve months. If you are buying a FyreStarter Bluetooth model, the igniter and control module sit in the 1-year bucket. That is one more argument for Key Valve or Manual Flame Sensing Control on a table you expect to keep for fifteen years.

The finish is hand-applied and the manufacturer states up front that color and texture vary between units, so normal variation is not a warranty claim. Neither is weathering on an uncovered table. Covers run $174 for square and round, $205 for rectangular, and $231 to $281 for the Reclaimed Wood versions — cheap insurance on a $4,000 table. A cover also does most of the work in our gas fire pit winterizing checklist.

American Fyre Designs FAQs