Patio Heaters: Tabletop vs Free Standing
Table top gas patio heaters have many benefits over our larger free-standing gas heaters as well as a few drawbacks.
If you are considering buying a propane gas patio heater, we are here to compare both styles to help you make the right decision.
Benefits of Tabletop Heaters
The size and weight of these products bring in a number of convenient advantages over full sized garden heaters. The first thing to point out, is the cost! These heaters are much more reasonably priced, and their compact size means delivery costs are subsequently much smaller too. Although small heaters are not as powerful, the affordable price make it possible to buy several of these & achieve the perfect alfresco dining atmosphere. The assembly is very straight forward and no steps ladders are required. The clip on hose & regulators are a unique design feature for easily connecting and disconnecting to the gas supply, and the hose can be easily fed through a parasol or umbrella hole. The reduced size makes these table heaters easy to carry, they take up less storage space and being made from stainless steel means they are cleaned quickly.
Drawbacks of Tabletop Patio Heaters
The most prominent downside of tabletop heaters is that they have not been built for commercial use in mind. Being less powerful, you would need many of these heaters to provide warmth in large areas, making this potentially less cost effective than the full-sized patio heaters. There is also no housing for the gas cylinder, meaning that unless the tables themselves have cylinder storage, this product is not ideal. These could be kept in adjacent cabinet, however you would have to ensure that the hose would not become a hazard. The length of hose can also be an issue as it takes far longer for the gas supply to reach the appliance, and must be purged for a couple of minutes after each use.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while some of the features of tabletop patio heaters are not ideal for commercial use, these are things that can be worked around. They have many convenient attributes that make them low maintenance products and the price makes them much more affordable. Table patio heaters are ideal for domestic outdoor dining areas or in commercial settings where the floor space is precious. While we would recommend our free-standing gas patio heaters are better suited to bars and wide-open spaces.
If you own one of our heaters and have something to add to the list, we would love to hear from you! Please fill out our contact form below.
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