Radiant propane

Propane infrared heaters

The category quietly assumes infrared means electric and propane means warm air. Both assumptions are wrong, and the units that break them are cheaper and more wind-proof than either.

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This site has spent a lot of pages on one idea: some heaters warm the air around you and some warm you directly, and outdoors that difference decides almost everything. What we have implied along the way — and what most of the category states outright — is that radiant means electric and propane means convective.

That is a useful simplification and it is not true. The mechanism is set by how the burner is built, not by what the fuel is.

Read the middle row against the other two and the appeal is obvious. Radiant propane is the only thing on this site that combines infrared's indifference to wind with propane's independence from an outlet. Every other option gives you one or the other.

The reason wind ruins patio heaters is that a breeze does not reduce output — it removes the warmed air that output produced, before you feel it. That is a devastating problem for a convective tower and essentially a non-problem for a radiant emitter, because radiant energy crosses moving air largely unaffected and deposits itself in the first solid thing it meets.

Until now the site's answer to that has been electric infrared, with the caveat that it needs somewhere to plug in and something to mount to. On an open deck, a driveway, a dock or a site with no power, that answer runs out. Radiant propane is what is left, and it is genuinely good at the job.

Quick picks

Ranked for fit, not for hype. Output is the maker’s published figure; reach is computed from it or from the maker’s own radius claim, and the table says which. Tap a row for the full write-up, or go straight to the listing.

#	Product	Best for	Output	Reach	Price
1	Mr. Heater MH30TSDouble the burners and a swivel head, which is the version that actually solves the single unit's worst flaw — you can aim it. Still job-site equipment, but job-site equipment that reaches a seating area.	Radiant propane with real output	30,000 BTU	1,500 sq ft	$97.55 · Check on Amazon
2	Mr. Heater MH15TThe cheapest way to buy propane heat that behaves like infrared rather than like warm air. It screws onto a cylinder, needs no outlet, and looks exactly like the job-site equipment it is.	Radiant propane heat, cheaply	15,000 BTU	750 sq ft	$49.99 · Check on Amazon-8%
3	Hiland HLDS01The mushroom tower the whole category is a copy of. 48,000 BTU is enough for a genuinely open patio, and the parts are the easiest in the category to replace when something eventually fails.	A full open patio	48,000 BTU	2,400 sq ft	$315.00 · Check on Amazon

Reach marked “claimed” is the maker’s own published figure. Reach without that label is ours, computed from published output at 20 BTU per square foot for an open patio. Neither is a measurement we took.

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Top pick · Radiant propane with real output

Mr. Heater MH30TS Double Tank Top Propane Radiant Heater, Spark Ignition

Double the burners and a swivel head, which is the version that actually solves the single unit's worst flaw — you can aim it. Still job-site equipment, but job-site equipment that reaches a seating area.

Fuel

Propane

Output

30,000 BTU/h

Reach (computed)

1,500 sq ft · 21.9 ft radius

Cost per hour

$0.88

Reach is ours, computed from published output at 20 BTU per square foot for an open patio. Cost at $2.674 per gallon of propane. A 20 lb cylinder runs it about 14.4 hours at full output. We have not measured any of this in person.

What works

• The swivel head is the whole upgrade. A radiant heater warms what it points at, and being able to aim it upward at seated people rather than at their shins changes what the thing is useful for
• A hi-med-low regulator plus the option to run one burner or both, so it can genuinely be turned down — which matters, because at full output it empties a cylinder roughly twice as fast as the single-burner unit
• 30,000 BTU/h of radiant output is genuinely substantial; most of it reaches what it is aimed at rather than rising into the sky
• Same wind tolerance as any radiant heater, and still no outlet or wiring anywhere

What does not

• Still unmistakably work equipment. Chrome mesh guards on top of a gas bottle. It does not read as patio furniture and no amount of placement fixes that
• Outdoor only, like every tank-top heater. Enclosing it is a carbon monoxide problem rather than a comfort decision
• At 30,000 BTU/h it burns about twice as fast as the single unit, so the impressive runtime figures belong to the lower settings
• The maker publishes no coverage area, so the reach figure on this site is ours
• Directly on the cylinder means the whole assembly is only as stable as the bottle it stands on, which on soft ground is worth thinking about

Published specification
Rated input	10,000 to 30,000 BTU/h
Settings	Hi-med-low regulator; one or two burners, per the maker
Ignition	Electronic spark
Heat type	Radiant, per the maker
Aim	Adjustable swivel head
Construction	Chrome and stainless steel components
Mounting	Direct connection to a 20 lb bulk cylinder
Assembly	Assembled in Cleveland, Ohio; all components replaceable per the maker
Maker’s coverage claim	None published — the reach figure above is ours
Safety listing	Two tip-over safety shut-offs per the maker; no third-party listing published

Who it is for

Someone who wants radiant propane heat with enough output for a group, and who values being able to aim it more than they mind how it looks.

What it is not for

Anywhere enclosed, anywhere appearance matters, or anyone who wants to set it and forget it at full output all evening.

$97.55 · Check on Amazon

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Sources for this entry

• Amazon listing — Mr. Heater Original 30,000 BTU electric spark double tank top radiant propane heater
• Mr. Heater — MH30TS published specification (10,000-30,000 BTU/h radiant, electronic spark ignition, adjustable swivel head, chrome and stainless, 20 lb cylinder, two tip-over shut-offs)

2 · Radiant propane heat, cheaply

Mr. Heater MH15T Single Tank Top Propane Radiant Heater

The cheapest way to buy propane heat that behaves like infrared rather than like warm air. It screws onto a cylinder, needs no outlet, and looks exactly like the job-site equipment it is.

Fuel

Propane

Output

15,000 BTU/h

Reach (computed)

750 sq ft · 15.5 ft radius

Cost per hour

$0.44

Reach is ours, computed from published output at 20 BTU per square foot for an open patio. Cost at $2.674 per gallon of propane. A 20 lb cylinder runs it about 28.7 hours at full output. We have not measured any of this in person.

What works

• Radiant heat with no outlet required — the one combination electric infrared cannot offer and a convective propane tower does not deliver
• Wind barely touches it, for the same reason it barely touches electric infrared: radiant energy crosses moving air largely unaffected
• Our computed runtime from the published BTU range reproduces the 28 to 43 hour figure retailers quote for a 20 lb cylinder, which is a rare case of a published claim surviving arithmetic
• 3.3 lb and no base — it goes in a truck, and there is nothing to blow over in the sense a seven-foot tower can

What does not

• It is work equipment, not patio furniture. The maker's own listed uses are construction sites, loading docks, sporting events, hunting, fishing and camping. Patios are not on that list and the thing looks it
• Outdoor use only, stated plainly by the maker. No garage with the door part-open, no screened porch, no enclosure of any kind
• Match lit on this model, which in a breeze is genuinely annoying — the spark-ignition variants exist for a reason
• It sits at cylinder height, so it radiates at knees and shins rather than at a seated upper body. Aim is fixed by wherever the cylinder stands
• No published coverage figure, so any reach number for it is computed rather than quoted

Published specification
Rated input	10,000 to 15,000 BTU/h, adjustable
Heat type	Radiant, per the maker
Use	Outdoor use only, per the maker
Ignition	Match lit
Mounting	Screws directly to a cylinder; 5 lb minimum, 20 lb typical
Size and weight	9 x 8 in, 3.3 lb
Warranty	1 year limited
Maker’s coverage claim	None published — the reach figure above is ours
Safety listing	Tip-over safety shut-off switch per the maker; no third-party listing published

Who it is for

Anyone who wants radiant propane heat cheaply on an open deck, a driveway, a tailgate or a work area, and does not care what it looks like.

What it is not for

A furnished patio where appearance matters, anything enclosed or partly enclosed, or a seated group wanting heat at chest height.

$49.99 · Check on Amazon-8%

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Sources for this entry

• Amazon listing — Mr. Heater MH15T single tank top outdoor propane heater
• Mr. Heater — MH15T published specification (10,000-15,000 BTU/h radiant, outdoor use only, match lit, 3.3 lb, tip-over shut-off, 9 x 8 in)

3 · A full open patio

Hiland / AZ Patio Heaters HLDS01-CG 87 in Propane Patio Heater

The mushroom tower the whole category is a copy of. 48,000 BTU is enough for a genuinely open patio, and the parts are the easiest in the category to replace when something eventually fails.

Fuel

Propane

Output

48,000 BTU/h

Reach (computed)

2,400 sq ft · 27.6 ft radius

Cost per hour

$1.40

Reach is ours, computed from published output at 20 BTU per square foot for an open patio. Cost at $2.674 per gallon of propane. A 20 lb cylinder runs it about 9.0 hours at full output. We have not measured any of this in person.

What works

• 48,000 BTU is real output — on our sizing arithmetic that is a 2,400 sq ft open patio at the rule-of-thumb rate, so it is never the unit that is undersized
• Every wear part on this platform is a stocked commodity: thermocouples, control valves, dump switches and reflectors are all available separately
• The weight bladder in the base is the single most useful anti-tip feature in the category and most rivals leave it out

What does not

• An 87 in open-flame tower is the worst possible shape in wind — this is the unit our wind guide exists for
• The maker does not publish a coverage radius, so the reach figure we show is ours, computed rather than quoted
• Full output burns a 20 lb cylinder in well under a night. See the runtime arithmetic

Published specification
Rated input	48,000 BTU/h
Height	87 in
Fuel	20 lb propane cylinder, not included
Reflector	33 in aluminum heat shield
Safety	Anti-tilt cutoff and thermocouple flame-failure cutoff
Extras	Wheels, integrated table, weight bladder for the base
Maker’s coverage claim	None published — the reach figure above is ours
Safety listing	CSA certified per the maker's product literature

Who it is for

An open patio with no roof, where you need volume of heat and can accept swapping cylinders. Also the right answer if you want a unit whose parts you can still buy in five years.

What it is not for

A screened porch, a garage, or anywhere without open sky above it. It is an open-flame combustion appliance and needs genuine outdoor ventilation.

$315.00 · Check on Amazon

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Sources for this entry

• Amazon listing — HLDS01-CG, 48,000 BTU, 87 in, published specification
• AZ Patio Heaters — HLDS01 owner's manual (PDF)

Propane costs the same per unit of heat whatever burns it — about 2.9 cents per 1,000 BTU at the current US average. What changes with a radiant unit is that far more of that heat reaches a person instead of rising, so the cost per hour is lower simply because you need less output.

The runtime arithmetic is worth doing too, because it is one of the rare occasions in this category where a published claim survives being checked.

Compare that against a 48,000 BTU tower emptying the same cylinder in about ten hours and the practical difference is stark. A tank-top heater on low is a genuinely long evening; a tower at full output is two of them.

These are not patio products. The manufacturer's own listed applications for the single-burner unit are construction sites, loading docks, sporting events, hunting, fishing and camping. Patios are not mentioned, and the design reflects that — a chrome mesh guard screwed onto the top of a propane bottle.

There are three practical consequences beyond appearance:

1. 1Height and aim. The heater sits at cylinder height, so a fixed unit radiates at shins rather than at a seated upper body. The swivel-head model exists precisely to fix this and it is the main reason to pay more for it.
2. 2Stability. The whole assembly is only as stable as the bottle it stands on. That is fine on a flat deck and worth thinking about on grass or gravel.
3. 3Outdoor only, without exception. No garage, no screened porch, no gazebo with the sides down. This is not the same caution we apply to towers under a roof — it is a harder line, because these units have no oxygen-depletion sensor.

It would be easy to read the cost table and conclude the tower is simply worse. It is not, and the honest comparison has three points on it.

• Total output. 48,000 BTU/h against 30,000 is a real difference, and on a genuinely large open patio the tower is what covers it. Work out what your space needs before assuming the smaller unit is enough.
• Coverage shape. A tower's reflector spreads heat in a rough circle around it, which suits seating arranged around the unit. A radiant emitter throws a cone in whatever direction it faces, which suits seating on one side.
• It looks like a patio heater, which for a furnished terrace is not a trivial consideration and is the reason the category is shaped the way it is.

That is why the tower is the third pick above rather than an afterthought. For many readers arriving at this page, the correct answer will turn out to be the conventional one — and the useful thing this page can do is let you reach that conclusion deliberately rather than by default.

Every gas appliance on this site comes with the instruction that your own manual is the authority, and that holds here. But tank-top heaters carry one caution that is genuinely stricter than the rest of the category.

A propane tower under a roof is a clearance question — answerable with a number from the manual. A tank-top heater in a partly enclosed space is not a clearance question at all: the maker says outdoor use only, these units do not carry an oxygen-depletion sensor, and combustion in restricted air produces carbon monoxide. Treat that as a hard boundary rather than a conservative recommendation, and read the safety page for where the lines fall generally.

The ordinary precautions still apply on top: keep the published clearances, keep it away from anything that can catch, and check the hose and regulator connection every season the way you would on any propane appliance.

For one of these read closely — the runtime arithmetic, the shin-height geometry and what match-lit ignition is like in wind — see our Mr. Heater MH15T review.

Buy radiant propane if you need heat somewhere there is no power, in wind, and you do not care how it looks — an open deck, a driveway, a dock, a tailgate, a workshop doorway, a site. It is the cheapest wind-proof heat available and nothing else on this site does that job.

Buy the swivel-head version if anyone will be sitting down. Aim is the difference between warming a seating group and warming their ankles, and it is worth more than the extra output.

Buy a conventional tower if the space is furnished, large, and has people arranged around it — or if the heater has to look like it belongs. And if there is a roof and an outlet, ignore all of this and buy electric infrared, which is a fifth of the running cost and needs no cylinders at all.