Summer and patio heaters

As we head into the height of summer, now is the best time to buy and make use of a patio heater.

Patio heaters come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and they can be fuelled by gas or electricity. You can even get a fire pit that burns solid fuels like wood and coal.

Even so, most people opt for one of the tower heaters that run off propane or butane and that can easily be refilled in a gas bottle or larger cylinder. Heaters of this kind tend to have a flat round base with a long and narrow tower section that supports a burner that has a heat reflecting cowl above it. Heaters like this produce instantaneous heat and they are easy to operate and look good at night.
Smaller table standing versions of these tower heaters are available and they can be less intrusive and easier to store when not in use.

The other main alternative is the infrared electric heater which warms up anything that is infrared light shines on. This kind of heater can be cheap to run, but it provides zero ambient heat and will only increase the temperature of people and objects that fall in the path of its rays.

The fire pit is an interesting option. A proper fire pit is a pit that you excavate and then build a small wall around. It is really nothing more than a fire with a structural wall around it, however you can make fire pits very elaborate and if you pave the area around them and add seating they can be very attractive. Fire pits will work as barbeques, which doubles up their function.

It is possible to get a stand alone fire pit from some outdoor and DIY stores called fire bowls. These fire pits are quite small and are not really fire pits at all. Even so they can provide heat and some warmth to a garden or patio.