Patio heaters are indispensable appliances, especially during cold climates. While its main function is to keep you and your family warm during those cold nights, it can also come in handy during occasions. Be it birthdays, dinners, get together, or even parties, patio heaters can be counted on to keep your patio’s temperature within a reasonable range. You often find families without one remaining indoors every day simply because they can’t cope with the cold outside. For just a small amount of money, you can easily purchase one of the best propane patio heaters. And then have your family spend the majority of their evenings outdoors where they can catch as much fun as possible.
Patio heaters have a lot of features in common thereby making it really difficult to choose one. That shouldn’t be a problem any longer as you’ll get to read outdoor propane heater reviews of highly-rated products in the market. You’ll also get to learn about their amazing features and the slight differences between each. Armed with this information, you’ll see how easy it is to choose a high-quality product for your home. Without wasting any more time, find below three of the best propane heaters currently in the market.
AmazonBasics Outdoor Patio Heater (Commercial & Residential)
AmazonBasics is a popular name when it comes to the manufacture of office and home equipment. Their Outdoor Patio Heater is equipment designed to provide warmth for you and your family during cold climates like winter. Once placed anywhere in your compound, the heat begins to radiate around thereby keeping everyone warm for as long as required. Designed to work on powerful propane gas, this model is capable of keeping a moderate gathering of people warm so don’t hesitate to hold that dinner, get-together, or parties. Invite your friends and be sure that they’ll be comfortable in your home no matter how cool the evening becomes.
Features
Easy Piezo Ignition System
Starting a gas heater manually could be tiring at times. However, AmazonBasics eliminates that stress by designing this product with an easy to use piezo ignition system. All you have to do here is push a button and watch the flame come on. As soon as the heater is on, you can control the heat level by using a large variable heat control knob to either increase it to its highest, reduce it to its lowest, or turn it off.
Shut-off Tilt Valve
In order to prevent any danger that may arise as a result of the heater being knocked over while on, a shut-off tilt valve is fitted in it. What it does is instantly turn off the flames as soon as it senses a sharp tilt.
46,000 BTU Heating Capacity
With a maximum heat output of 46,000 BTUs, you have all you need to keep your family warm even in extreme cold. Its ability to heat about 18 feet in diameter makes it an ideal alternative to fire pits; so whether your compound is a large one, or you have a lot of guests to entertain, be rest assured because you have a heater that delivers.
Silent and Efficient
Noise can be irritating especially during cool silent nights when you want to either catch fun, reminisce about the previous week, or plan what the coming week should look like. The AmazonBasics heater is silent, yet efficient. It radiates heat continuously at the heat level set without the presence of open flames, or smoke.
Stylish Steel Design with Multiple Powder-Coated Color Options
Apart from the fact that this model is powerful and efficient, it is coated with bronze. Thereby improving its stylish looks and making it rhyme with the beauty of your patio. Its steel construction makes it sturdy while the powder coating protects it from corrosion.
Sturdy Base and Wheels for Easy Mobility
You need to add appropriate weights to the base of the heater to ensure it remains firm during winds. The weights to be added are in the form of sand or water. The base has a reservoir system that houses the weights desired to be used.
Considering the fact that this heater is heavily coupled with extra weights that you may have already placed in the reservoir, changing its position can be a problem. The problem is however solved with the smooth-rolling wheels fitted below the base. The wheels make it easy for you to move the whole unit simply by pushing it to your desired location.
Drawbacks
This unit is rated highly in the market and there is hardly any drawback on it. The only problem you are likely to encounter is while setting up the unit. Users have complained that the instruction manual is poor and unlikely to guide you through the setup but that shouldn’t be a problem for a tech-savvy person. If however you still find it difficult setting it up alone, get a companion and you’ll have it done in a short time.
We have also prepared a detailed review dedicated to this model.
Hampton Bay 48000 BTU Stainless Steel Patio Heater
How best do you rekindle the love in your family than spending the cool winter evenings together? At times the cold could be too much and you’ll definitely require equipment that can increase the temperature to a moderate level. The Hampton Bay Patio Heater is definitely that equipment you need. Its innovative design coupled with its high efficiency will not only keep your home warm, but will do it in style, luxury, and value.
Features
Piezoelectric Ignition System
Just like other propane patio heaters, the Hampton Bay is fitted with a piezoelectric ignition system which makes lighting up very easy. All you have to do is to rotate the heat level knob so that the gas fills the pilot, after which a push on the igniter instantly fires it up.
High Capacity Heat Output
With 48,000 BTU of heating capacity, the heater is capable of keeping about 200 square feet warm. If the area where you require heat is that large, then placing this unit in a strategic location will ensure that the heat goes around the area evenly. If the patio is twice as large, then you’ll need to go for two of these units and the good thing is that it is affordable.
Convenience in Style
Apart from the fact that this heater is efficient and offers a lot of conveniences, it is also designed in a stylish manner using durable stainless steel construction. It instantly adds to the elegance of your home while performing its basic duty. All you need to do is choose an ideal location, purchase a 20 Lb. cylinder filled with Liquid Propane (LP) gas to be fit at the base of the heater, fire it up and you are good to go. A full 20 Lb. propane tank is likely to last for 10 hours which is more than enough for your evening get-together, or parties.
Easy to Assemble
The manual included in this product clearly shows how to assemble the different parts into one unit thereby making your job easier. If you are a tech-savvy DIY person, you may not even need the manual to assemble it. But for those who have little time to waste, simply follow the guidelines in the manual and you’ll have the heater standing tall in a few minutes.
Drawbacks
The only drawback noticed for this equipment is the fact it does not have any wheels. Therefore is you need to move it more often, you might want to look at another, more portable, product instead.
AZ Patio Heaters, Hiland HLDS01-GTSS Quartz Glass Tube Patio Heater
AZ Patio Heaters have been in existence since 2002. The company devoted huge sums of money and effort to ensure that you get the best for your home. With over 10 years of experience in the manufacture of patio heaters, you can always count on them whenever you need to get through that cool-season warm and fine. Entertain your guests conveniently during winter with AZ’s stylish 89 inches tall Hiland HLDS01-GTSS Quartz Glass Tube Heater in such a way that they’ll always want to be invited back to your home.
Features
40,000 BTU Heating Capacity
Although not the largest patio heater in the market, this unit is guaranteed to work as efficiently or even more than the others. 40,000 BTU of heat should be able to radiate as far as 15 square feet diameter warming up space within pretty quickly. Simply place it at a strategic location and you’ll have all the warmth you need for that cool evening relaxation.
Quick and Easy Access to the Propane Tank
This AZ’s unit is designed in such a way that you gain instant access to the propane tank. Once you notice that you are out of gas, all you need do is:
- open the access door
- unscrew the valve from the tank
- pull out the gas cylinder
Stylish and Unique Design
Hiland HLDS01-GTSS features a quartz glass tube built into a bronze-finished pyramid base. The design is quite unique unlike the others in its category. Those are made to have a base as usual, and a pole on which the burner is mounted. Here, the burner is a part of the base and shoots visible flames up to the top cover of the appliance. The larger area taken by the flames will definitely provide more intense heat than that of other manufacturers.
Unbeatable Quality and Durability
Quality and durability are two essential features that must be guaranteed by manufacturing companies. A product with high quality and poor durability will in the end give up before its time. A product with poor quality and high durability may be manageable, but the best to expect is a product with both features intact. AZ is a company that guarantees you not just high quality, but an unbeatable one with durability. All their products passed through rigorous tests to ensure that you don’t go through the stress of returning them back for repairs. Their models are also CSA and ETL certified. So be confident of the fact that you are purchasing one of the best propane patio heaters in the market.
Solid Wheels for Easy Movement
A unit that has a cylinder filled with gas is definitely going to be heavy thereby restricting one from making frequent changes to its position. In order to avoid such limitations, this model provides you with two solid wheels that move freely whenever you have to move your heater to a different position. All you need to do is tilt the equipment in the direction of its wheels so that you transfer the weight and can therefore pull it towards the new position.
Support is always at Arm’s length
AZ patio heaters come with a 1-year warranty against manufacturer defects. If you have a complaint to make, simply call their support lines and you’ll be hooked up to their technicians. Those will try to rectify the problem on the phone or request that you bring it over if their office where defective parts will be replaced.
Drawbacks
There is no drawback to this unit except referring to cost. It is more expensive than Hampton Bay and AmazonBasics heaters reviewed in this same article.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Remember, the three products reviewed in this article are the best outdoor propane patio heaters you’ll find in the market. But since they have similar working features, it will always be difficult to make a choice. Taking a closer look at each, the first noticeable difference is the fact that AZ patio heaters have a 40,000 BTU heating capacity as opposed to the 46,000 and 48,000 on AmazonBasics and Hampton Bay respectively. Another noticeable difference is the fact that the AZ patio heater has a unique appearance and could blend better with your home. The final and probably most important is the fact that the AmazonBasics price is the lowest of all three units.
If you decide that the 6,000 BTU difference is not a problem and about the $60 to $80 difference is also not a problem, then you can go for the AZ brand. But I’ll recommend the Hampton Bay heater due to the fact that it has a larger heating capacity and also because of its higher amount of positive reviews. In fact, it is a #1 Amazon Bestseller at the time of this writing.
If you did not like any of these three models above, then take a look at our Fire Sense propane heater review.
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