AZ Patio Heaters Antique Bronze Fire Pit

I don't write many lengthy reviews but I am going to write a few lines here to help those that come after me in purchasing this fire pit. First of all, I am giving this a five star rating because of the bang for the buck. When you get it all put together, this fire pit is substantial, it kicks off pretty decent heat and it looks very nice. That's a win in my book.Couple of setup tips to come but before that, I also highly recommend you purchase either some nice looking glass beads - the glass that comes with it is pretty lame as others have noted, or if you want more heat, purchase the lava rocks that Amazon recommends. Also, I strongly recommend you purchase the square Duck brand cover that Amazon also recommends. I bought the lava rocks and the cover and very happy I did. The Lava rocks generate heat after a while and the cover fits this thing perfectly.Now, installation tips:1) It weighs a ton, you won't be able to move the box by yourself, but it's pretty well packaged so I just took the major pieces out of the box in my driveway and carried them to where I was going to set it up. Made it much easier. There aren't that many pieces, they are just big and really heavy as a whole.2) this is for all the guys (like me) out there that think they've got it all figured out...READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM SLOWLY AND METHODICALLY STEP BY STEP! The instructions are very good but like most stuff from China, they rely on pictures and so-so English to get you through. If you follow them carefully though, it goes together exactly as they say.3) Assemble at least the top on a flat surface, not on the grass in your backyard. You need a flat service to have the seams of the top come together evenly.4) it's takes a while to assemble. If you're one of those that was good with those questions on standardized tests like "how will this weird shaped picture shown on this piece of paper look when it's all assembled?", then you may be able to knock this thing out pretty quickly but for me it took nearly three hours to assemble. It's not that it's hard to do, it's just that you have no idea how all the pieces are supposed to fit together so you really have to take your time to make sure you get it right the first time around. If you mess up putting the top together, the rest of the process will be problematic. Again, take your time and you should be fine.5) Tools - The unit comes with bolts and those star head screws - lots of them. You need a power drill and a ratchet or it will take you a week to put the thing together.6) Attaching the top to the base. The directions have you assemble the top piece first, then you assemble the base, then the top attaches to the base. Here's my tip, once you assemble the base, put it where you are going to ultimately leave the fully assembled fire pit and then attach the top to the base. Believe me, once you attach the top to the base the fully assembled unit is big and very heavy.7) Lighting mechanism - the push button ignition. This is the one spot where they dropped the ball on the instructions. First, don't use the battery they provide, it's junk. Second, there are no instructions on how to install the battery for the ignition switch. After several tries I finally figured it out. It is actually very easy, you just unscrew the cap that has the red switch in it. That opens up a spot for the battery that you just slide in, screw the cap back on and it should be all set. Other people that have a gas grill with an ignition switch probably know that already but it was not intuitive for me and there are no instructions for this in the packaging.One final note for those that may be used to a wood burning fire pit. A gas fire pit is very convenient, looks nice, no muss no fuss. But, it will not kick off anywhere near the kind of heat you get from a wood fire pit. Also, the heat is contained to the top of the unit where the flame is. In other words, you don't get any heat down by your legs when you are sitting around a gas fire pit. So, if you are looking for convenience, ambience and a good place to make s'mores with the kids, gas fire pit is great. If you are looking for something to sit around on colder nights to keep everyone warm, then you need a wood burning fire pit.I hope this is helpful for others. All in all a good unit that we are enjoying.