Patio Heaters Buying Guide (2027)

Draw the chairs first. A dining table with six chairs in a circle wants a mushroom reflector above the middle, because its heat falls in a circle. A lounge set facing one direction wants an infrared bar aimed at the seats, because its heat travels in a beam. A party with guests standing and moving wants a pyramid column as a warm landmark, because people gather around a flame. BTU only matters once the shape matches the seating, and a well-shaped 11,000 BTU tabletop beats a mis-shaped 50,000 BTU mushroom for the table it serves.

Makers quote diameter, listings quote square footage, and neither is measured in wind. Convert diameter to a circle in your head: an 18 ft diameter circle has a radius of 9 ft, and comfortable warmth usually ends a step or two inside the claimed edge. Square footage figures hide the same edge effect behind a precise-looking number. For infrared bars, ignore circles entirely and think in rectangles: the beam footprint in front of the bar, at the mounting height the maker specifies.

Propane costs recur with every tank, and the tank routine, exchange, storage, lifting and swapping, is the real ownership chore. Electric heat costs recur on the bill instead, with no tank chore, but the Bromic bar needs a 230 to 240V circuit and the DR-338 needs only an ordinary outlet. Compare the two honestly: propane is cheap to start and chore-heavy to run, fixed electric is expensive to install and chore-free to run, and movable electric splits the difference with a lower output.

Measure overhead height before falling for a pyramid: 89 to 91 in of column plus the clearance makers require above it rules out low pergolas and many covered patios. Measure sideways clearance too, since propane manuals ask for feet of clear space around the heater and above it, and a heater squeezed against a fence or a curtain is a hazard, not a bargain. Electric bars have their own clearances, including an 8 ft mounting height for ceiling mounting on the Bromic, which rules out low ceilings just as firmly.

Every propane heater in this category is rated for wind below about 10 mph, and makers warn that efficiency drops below about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. A patio that funnels wind between buildings will defeat any propane shape, and the answer there is either a windbreak, a sheltered corner or an infrared bar that heats people rather than air. If wind is permanent, do not buy a taller pyramid hoping height helps: height catches more wind, not less.

Year one is about heat, year two is about whether the heater still lights. Electronic and pulse igniters fail first after storage, usually from a dead battery, a dirty burner or a corroded connection, all of which a cover prevents. Buy the cover if one is not included, store the heater upright and covered, remove the tank for long storage, and test the igniter before the first party of the season, not during it. A heater that lights reliably in year three was stored well in years one and two.