A patio heater can be a basic necessity for nearly any household an
d that’ because having a patio is a major part of your house. As it can be a beautiful place that connects your cozy living space to the outside natural world where there’s fresh air and openness. At the same time, being outside on your patio can have its negatives and that would be because there can be cold weather and therefore purchasing a patio heater is completely justified.
The only question that’s left is what patio heater should you be purchasing and that’s where we come in. In this Household Harbor review, we’re going over this AmazonBasics patio heater and how it’ll be able to serve you during those chilly Autumn days, cold Winder days and also those cool Summer nights as well, since being warm is basically a synonym for being comfortable.
Function
When it comes to the power output of heat, this AmazonBasics patio heater does a good job as it provides 46,000 BTU of heat. This amount is usual for most patio heater within its class and that’s basically good thing as you’re 46,000 BTU is basically enough to get you a 9-foot diameter of heat. This is a good amount of heat coverage that you’re likely going to just need one AmazonBasics patio heater. At the same time, if you need more because you’ve got an important event coming up and need to accommodate more people then we recommend just purchasing another one as the quality that you’re getting is actually quite good for the price.
Feeling the Heat:
Also, 46,000 BTU is basically the max level of the patio heater, and you can, of course, adjust the heat from the dial, which we’ll get to later. Also, if you’re wondering just how intense the heat is, the closer you are to the patio heater, the more you’ll feel the heat, but at the same time, it radiates off the heater and therefore it’s not intense to the point that you feel like you’re melting.
Something interesting that we found and that was a good thing, is that you can actually feel the heat at your feet. Meaning the patio heater sends it out and also down.
Fuel Usage:
The power consumption with this AmazonBasics patio is very good and that means it doesn’t use a lot of power. It’s a propane-powered patio heater, so if you thought it was powered by natural gas or electricity then you’re out of luck. It takes a 20LB propane gas tank and even though it’s advertised to last as long as 10 hours, it can actually last quite a lot longer than that depending on how you’re using it.
Keeping it at low or medium can lengthen your use of the propane that you’ve got and it could mean that you just need a single propane tank for every season. Or may you just want to use it in the Autumn or Winter, you can very well just use a single propane tank for just those two seasons combined.
Design
Assembly
Putting the propane tank together is troublesome if you don’t mind reading the instructions carefully, but at the same time, this isn’t something that you’re going to want to take lightly when it comes to putting it together. As placing things in the wrong area can create a hazardous situation for you and your family. If you do find that it’s too difficult to put together on your own, Amazon does offer expert assembly meaning that someone which has experience placing this patio together, can do it for you.
At the same time, if you find that you’re competent enough, then you should have no trouble. As all the screws, screwdriver and instructions come with the patio heater. You’re mostly just placing parts together for larger pieces and start with the base. Then you place the stock portion along with the top headpieces and also the reflective dome. One thing that can really help with putting this patio heater together is the help of someone else. As having someone hold the base could be useful and also having them hold certain small pieces while you screw them in can be more useful too.
Overall, there are ways to make assembly easier but overall, you’re likely able to do it, especially if you’re spending money on it.
Actually using It
When it comes to actually using this AmazonBasics patio heater, it’s quite easy, but there are steps. You have to lift the propane covering tank at the bottom of the patio heater. Connect the hose to the propane valve and then full turn on the propane tank. Then wait about 30 seconds.
Then turn the dial to 9:00 and press the dial in and wait about 1 minute. Once you do that, at the same time, you should press the red ignition button that can be found at the bottom of the dial and that will light the unit with the pilot light. Wait about 15 seconds once you do that and then turn the dial all the way to high and that will result in a patio heater being turned on. Then you can turn the dial to whichever amount of heat that you desire.
When it comes to moving this AmazonBasics heater around then you’re going to be using the wheels at the bottom. Of course, the patio heater should be off while you’re moving and once you do, you just tilt it at the location of the wheels so you can just pull it wherever you desire.
Size and Weight:
It’s tall patio heater and that’s because it’s 7 feet tall and about 4 inches. This is actually a pretty high as you don’t want the patio heater to obstruct you or your guest when they’re walking around.
Build
Structure and Material:
Build quality of this AmazonBasics patio heater is actually very good when you consider just how low the price is and even though many people may say that you get what you pay for; in this case, you’re getting a pretty solid product. However, there are different variants, and some of the versions of this patio are not stainless steel. Getting the stainless steel one is your best bet for one that doesn’t rust or stain.
With that said, no matter what type of patio heater you’re getting, you’re absolutely going to want to have a cover for it if you’re leaving it outside, as even the elements can compromise stainless steel. Another thing we recommend is that if you’re leaving it outside even with the cover on, make sure that it’s sided up against your house so it doesn’t tip over. That’s because some winds up to 20 MPH can very well tip this patio heater over.
Speaking of tipping over, it uses a safety feature called tip over safety. That means if it’s at about a 30-degree angle and falling over, the patio heater will automatically turn off.
Another thing is that if you’re worried about large flames with this patio heater, then you shouldn’t be. The flames are quite large when you first turn it on but they die down once the heater is on for a while.
Safety:
The AmazonBasics patio heater does make a little noise, but it’s not to the point of being interruptive for when you’re having a conversation. Also, a question that seems to get asked quite a lot is if you can use this patio heater in a location where there’s ceiling and you can, but only in certain circumstances. However, make sure that the ceiling if about 2 feet or higher from the patio and that’s because the top of the reflective umbrella can get very hot when you have the heater running for a long while.
Summary:
Function:
With 46,000 BTU the diameter of heat is 9 feet and that’s enough to accommodate your entire family. Or if you want to have more heat coverage purchasing another one of these is also an option as the quality for the price is very good.
Design:
Using this patio heater is quite straightforward as you just need the propane tank at the bottom and just use the dial and the red igniter button to actually turn on the patio heater. One of the difficult parts can be to actually assemble this heater but expert assembly is available from Amazon if you need it, and it can be useful to have someone else help with building it.
Actually using this patio heater is done through the dial, and one of the best parts about using it is just how little fuel it actually uses. You won’t have a graveyard about propane tanks and that’s good news.
Build:
It’s a well-built patio heater, but if you want the best-built one then you’re going to have to go with the stainless steel version as it’s able to withstand wear and tear better. Getting a cover is a mandatory thing if you’re leaving it outside and you’re going to want to place it in a secure location even with the usage of covering. It makes use of automatically turning itself off if it accidentally gets tipped over.
Conclusion:
Overall, Amazon has made quite a solid patio heater that has all the basic features, which make it an awesome patio heater to own and use.