Gas patio heater

There are many different options when it comes to selecting a patio heater. The choice includes the traditional clay or cast iron chiminea, the fire pit, the infrared lamp and probably the most popular of them all, the gas patio heater.

Gas patio heaters come in a range of sizes, shapes and heat outputs and, depending on the country in which you live, they will burn either butane or propane (USA). The gas is contained in a pressurised bottle which is replaceable or which can be refilled and fitting (connecting) is a very simple and safe process provided that it is undertaken with care.

Gas patio heater information and facts

Here is some useful information about gas garden heaters, i.e. how they work and how they are constructed. It should provide you with a quick overview of this heater type.

General design

Most of these heaters come in tower form. They stand on the ground or any level surface and the gas bottle sits in an enclosed base unit. This low centre of gravity keeps the heater stable and balanced and makes changing gas bottles easy.

A strong but narrow metal tube extends from the gas bottle holding base unit to the patio heater burner. This burner is usually about 2 metres high and above it there is a steel heat reflector (sometimes called a diffuser). It looks something like a large inverted metal dish. This diffuser or reflector helps to deflect the burner’s heat outwards and downwards creating a circle of warm air around the garden heater.

As a very general guide, the reflector and base stand (plate) will both be between 600mm (2 feet) in diameter and 1 metre (3 feet) in diameter for a 2 metre (6 foot) tall tower heater.

Many gas heaters of this design also incorporate an integrated circular table at mid height. This can be used for drinks glasses, plates etc during use.

Power and economy

There are many different companies manufacturing and selling gas powered garden heaters and they come with different power ratings and levels of efficiency.

At the top end of the garden heater scale there are burners that can produce up to 16 kw of heat and in some cases more. These heaters produce a large radius of warm air and they will burn anything up to 1 kg of gas in an hour.

The efficiency of the burner and the way in which it works with the reflector will have a bearing on how effective it is at generating warmth over an extended area. Some manufacturers claim that the heater can warm and area of up to 9 or 10 metres in diameter.

Heat economies can be made by buying a smaller output heater, however simply turning down the heat settings on a more powerful version will have the same effect, but additionally offer the option of greater heat outputs.

Information about comparative heater running costs can be found here heater economy.

Use

Most gas burning garden heaters have a single switch to turn the heater on and off. Heat output controls and a safety cut-off should ensure that the heater can be set to a suitable temperature and that it will desist from burning if it falls over. This makes the heater safe if it is inadvertently knocked to the floor.

Matches should not be required to ignite a garden heater of this type.

Finally, there are some smaller table mounted gas heaters that can sit on a table or elevated platform. These heaters are smaller, lighter and easier to move around.