Purchaser’s guide to patio hearers.

Patio heaters function by the use of radiant heat to increase, by approximately ten degrees, the temperature of an outdoor leisure area such as a patio table, the area around a swimming pool, or simply a favorite chair outdoors. Radiant heat operates as sunshine without the ultraviolet rays, by heating the objects which are struck by its waves and not the surrounding air. Patio heaters are perfect for locations with extended cool seasons which average about fifty or sixty degrees of temperature. Their popularity soared once smoking was prohibited indoors and so were favored items outside of restaurants and pubs. Patio heaters have also achieved popularity among homeowners, along with fire pits which are made to safely burn logs. There are even propane patio heaters which are mobile and can be used in tailgating or in camping.

Most outdoor patio heaters use propane, also known as LP gas, as a fuel, delivered from the same type of reusable tanks that power gas grills, while other models may be attached to natural gas lines. The tabletop models of patio heaters take the smaller, expendable propane gas cylinders. Alternatively, there are also wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted radiant patio heaters which use electricity as their power source. The fire pits and patio fireplaces are fueled by wood, either normal firewood logs or the rapid-lighting pressed-wood logs. Patio heaters may turn relatively mild weather into a pleasure to sit outdoors, but experimentation indicates that they are much more effective in sixty degree temperatures than when it is a cooler fifty degrees. But wind is the true bane of both gas and electric patio heaters. While it may make the wood fires of the pits blaze charmingly, it may also push the smoke wherever you want to sit, so their suitable placement, and perhaps the inclusion of a wind break or fence, may cause a very noticeable difference in the warmth felt from a patio heater. Wind interrupts gas-fueled patio heaters more than it affects the warmth of electric patio heaters, which keep producing the same amount of heat regardless. An expert from Schaefer Fans, a firm which manufactures electric patio heaters and sells gas models, advises that wind upsets the flame pattern of a gas patio heater, decreasing the heat emanating on the upwind side and possibly causing it to be too hot on the downwind side. It is the wind chill, though, which causes all patio heaters to be less useful in windy weather, regardless of the amount of heat emitted.

The Quartz Patio Heater for Year-round

This type of patio heater is resistant to the weather, hangs on a wall and uses an ordinary electric outlet to get its power.  Some models can emit four thousand BTU’s of heat per hour,  radiated into a space of approximately ten feet by ten feet. Wind has no effect upon the electric patio heaters but wind chill is a concern for people. They do not require reusable tanks and air pollution is not a consideration. Further, the heaters which are installed on the wall are the safest for children and animals. On the downside, they do emit additional light and an orange glow, and it may be necessary to purchase more than one heater to comfortably warm your area.

Heaters for the Table Top

These budget-friendly tabletop heaters are quite small and effective. Built for positioning on an outdoor table, it sends out warmth in a circle with a diameter of up to ten feet. The output of heat produced may be adjusted from 7,000 to 11,000 BTU’s per hour. Its stainless-steel base, shaped as a hexagon, hides a one pound expendable cylinder or propane. A reusable propane tank may also be utilized, but neither the container nor the connector hose are standard equipment. As with gas powered patio heaters in general, it is prone to being affected by wind, and is most efficient in weather that exceeds sixty-five degrees of temperature.