Portable and powerful – but can this gas patio heater's performance justify its cost to run?
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1. Specifications
2. Design
3. Performance
4. Portability
5. Maintenance
6. Storage
7. Verdict
As our Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater review discovers, there’s a good reason why tall freestanding gas patio heaters are a favourite of pubs and restaurants for heating outdoor spaces.
Not only is there no need to plug a gas patio heater into a power source – so you're not limited to placement as you are with an electric patio heater and can take it as far from the house as you like if you have a large garden – but they’re also great at heating big outdoor areas.
Outsunny’s Pyramid Gas Patio Heater is a more stylish example than most, equipped with either sleek black or silver panels and a glass tube in the centre, and offering two heat settings – low and high – with a bit of variation in-between, meaning you don’t need to make the choice between being roasting or freezing. Plus, as it’s tall, it’s as good for use when standing as it is sitting down, making it perfect for garden parties.
I've now tested out a range of bestselling patio heaters in my slightly exposed hillside garden, so I was eager to see how the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater would perform against the competition.
I tested the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater over several weeks, assessing ease of assembly and setup, ease of use, portability, its design features, and, of course, its performance, to see whether it could keep away the chill on a cool and breezy evening. Read on to find out how it performed compared to the best patio heaters on the market.
Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater review
Specifications
Heat type: Gas (propane)
Dimensions: H190 x W50 x D50cm
Weight: 22.5kg
Power settings: 2
Self-assembly required: Yes
Portable: Yes
Other features:
How I tested
Unboxing
My first impression of the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater when it arrived boxed, was its weight. Weighing in at 22.5kg, this is the largest, and heaviest patio heater I've tested.
Like similar gas patio heaters, the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater is made up of a lot of parts, and does require self-assembly.
However, majority of its components are packaged using heavy-duty corrugated cardboard inserts, which makes a refreshing change to tons of non-biodegradable foam and plastic.
It took me around 20 minutes to unpack all the parts needed to begin assembly, and all the parts looked like they had a good-quality finish and felt sturdy.
Unlike other patio heater's of a similar design that I've tested – in particular, the Dellonda Pyramid Gas Patio Heater which arrived with every one of its many components coated in hard-to-remove blue film – there was only one piece of protective film to peel off the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater.
Assembly
A word of warning; you will need to set aside an afternoon to assemble the Outsunny Pyramid Gas Patio Heater, especially if you’re doing it solo.
It took me 2.5 hours to assemble this gas patio heater by myself, although I feel it would be quicker with two people – one person to hold things in place while the other screws in would make it faster. It’s assembled in 13 steps, but many of these are subdivided.
A good-quality crosshead screwdriver is required but not included – this is because some of the screws are already in place and factory tightened hard, but need to be removed and replaced. They are just some of the many screws and washers that go into building the heater – I found the sheer amount of small fixings made the assembly more fiddly and slower than I anticipated.
The instructions are better than most for the general assembly, but, frustratingly, not in the right order. Only when you’ve assembled the heater are the wheels mentioned – and that they need to be added during the first step when constructing the base. The same is true of the straps that fix the gas bottle in place – they’re mentioned at the end but need to be attached as the base is built. Because of these errors, I was unable to attach these parts without taking the heater apart again.
Time-consuming self-assembly does seem to be part and parcel of investing in a gas patio heater of this price point, and although it only needs to be done once (or should do, if the instructions are clear!) it's an important point to factor in to your purchase decision. If you're less able-bodied or time poor, then this patio heater may not be for you. In that case I'd recommend the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Electric Patio Heater, which does a great job, and is ready to use straight out of the box.
Once you've assembled the main body of the Outsunny Pyramid Gas Patio Heater, you need to connect the gas supply. The heater is supplied with a propane regulator and hose – but neither of these are attached to each other or to the control unit, adding another step to the build.
I found it difficult to attach the gas hose to the burner by myself and needed assistance with this part. As it turned out, the push-on bayonet-style fitting of the supplied regulator was not compatible with the screw-in propane bottle I had purchased, so I spent £15 on a regulator that was.
On the plus side, the AA battery required to power the ignition was supplied, although details of where it needed to go (within the ignition knob) were hidden in the instructions for operating, not the section dealing with assembly.
Design
Despite a few hiccups with assembly, when finished, Outsunny’s Pyramid Gas Patio Heater is a stylish yet durable-looking bit of kit for your outdoor area.
Its black base panels add contrast alongside the rest of the gleaming metal, while the high borosilicate glass tube in the centre looks striking both when off and lit.
At the base of the glass tube sits the 11.2KW burner, which is lit and operated by controls concealed behind the front panel. Plus there’s an anti-tilt switch built in, so it’ll shut off automatically if knocked over.
Below the controls is where the gas bottle lives when connected up, hidden from view. As previously mentioned, there’s an integral strap to hold it in place. The optional wheels are sure to come in handy if you want to wheel the heater under cover when not in use, although a protective cover is included, and is great for keeping the heater dust-free and dry.
Performance
Gas patio heaters are often better at heating larger areas than electric models, and Outsunny’s Pyramid Gas Patio Heater is no exception. It does however, take some time to get going compared with an electric heater, so I found lighting it ten minutes or so before gauging its capabilities was best.
The controls are fairly simple – there’s an ignition button to depress when lighting, with a setting knob to one side, giving the options of pilot for the initial lighting, low, high and off. I had no issues with lighting it each time, and liked that the heat could be adjusted between low and high.
Perhaps of more concern are the running costs of this heater if you’re planning to use it a lot rather than occasional entertaining. The 3.9kg propane bottle I bought cost £54 but given the 11.2KW heater’s 815g/h gas consumption, this only lasted for around five hours when mostly used on full power.
Whether I was sitting or standing close by (about 30cm away), I could feel varying degrees of warmth from the Pyramid Gas Patio Heater. Only when I was sitting nearby at an angle, when there was a support in the way, did the heat sometimes feel intermittent. The heat was always better when standing – when sitting down, the heat reached my face and torso, but less my legs and feet. When standing near it on the high setting, the heat could be quite intense.
At about a metre away from the heater, the heat was milder when sitting down, though I could still feel a good amount on my face and upper body, even when on the low setting. When standing, on low, it felt pleasantly warm, while on high a metre away it could still provide an excellent level of heat given the distance. On windy days, the heat could sometimes get swept away, indicating that it’s best to use this heater when it’s still or only a little breezy.
I used a thermometer to check how hot the protective grill was once it had been running for a prolonged amount of time then turned off. As almost half the heat from a gas patio heater can go up into the air, the grill was not especially hot directly afterwards, about 60°C on average, which dropped rapidly to 37°C.
While the heater itself feels very durable, not everything on it is built to last. After a few days, the magnet holding the door released for some reason, letting the door fall, breaking the chain it was attached to and bending the panel slightly. The panel still fitted back into place.
Portability
The real boon of opting for a gas patio heater is the freedom to place it anywhere you want in the garden, without reliance on an outdoor power socket or the extension leads an electric patio heater might require.
This makes a gas patio heater a great option for a larger outdoor space, and we enjoyed being able to change location from our usual seating spot near to the house if we wished.
That said, although the wheels allow for the heater to be moved around as needed, it’s still quite tall and heavy, making it somewhat unwieldy when pushing it about, especially on uneven ground. Add in a gas bottle and it’s heavier still – so although this outdoor heater is portable, it’s best to pick a spot and leave it there.
Maintenance
There isn't much maintenance needed with this heater. The instructions advise cleaning with warm soapy water, without getting the controls and burner wet, and making sure that insects don’t nest inside it and cause blockages.
Storage
The included cover is incredibly handy, especially as the heater is so tall, you might struggle to find a spot in a shed for it – and the instructions specify that it should be stored upright. Otherwise, it should be stored in a sheltered place away from contact with inclement weather and without a gas bottle in place.
Verdict
Compared to other gas patio heaters I've tested, the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater is noticeably more stylish, feels more stable thanks to its shape and offers a good amount of control over its heat output, plus, it offers the same flexibility as to where it can be used outside.
It's also relatively affordable for a gas patio heater of its size and quality, and although assembling it is a faff and definitely not for everyone it is easier than other gas patio heaters I've built.
However, similar to other gas patio heaters, it might be affordable enough to buy, but its running costs are currently far higher per hour than an electric patio heater, and a lot of the heat you're burning through is lost into the air.
Used occasionally, this may not be an issue, and if flexibility of positioning is important to you then it remains hard to beat a gas patio heater for freedom of placement, especially if you have standing guests at an outdoor party that you want to keep warm. But, if you’re keen to make the most of your outside space on a regular basis, electric would be a more cost-effective option.
Ultimately, whether the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater is a suitable buy for you will come down to whether you want the freedom of placement gas offers, how often you’ll be using it as running costs are more expensive than electric, and whether you're willing and able to do the required self-assembly.
If you're looking for a patio heater that comes ready-assembled, then the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater is my top choice, although the area it can heat is smaller, and as an electric patio heater, you're reliant on access to an outdoor power source. And, if you're looking for an alternative tall patio heater that costs less to run, the Swan Column Patio Heater is a great electric option. Albeit one that's still dwarfed by the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater in scale, and heat output.
However, if you want a patio heater you can use far away from your property, that kicks out a good blast of heat, and that you'll only be using occasionally on cool, calm days, then the Outsunny 11.2kw Pyramid Gas Patio Heater is still a sleek, versatile, and powerful way to heat an outdoor area.
