Outdoor heating

Longtallronnie

Looking at patio heaters, fire pits etc and wondering but others are using? Electric? Gas? Wood? Kittens? 

DiscoStu

This is our life right now. We get the brunt of the wind as we're up a hill and we're the first house so we're not sheltered. We are looking for a solution too.
The answer to heating for us is electric infrared and from what we've read so far we need bulbs that emit shortwave infrared as they heat your skin directly, not the air around you. We've tried firepits and chimineas and though they look great, all the heat gets blown away and the smoke is bloody annoying. Gas heaters lose their heat to the air too and are very bulky.
Electric infrared is cheap and effective, the only caveat is that you need an outside socket or extension reel, and not all heaters are properly waterproof.

Jalapeno

I'd agree about smoke from Chimineas and Fire Pits, if you can get them out of the wind by screening or digging down they are still pretty practical.  Business opportunity - an 8ft Chiminea extension flue  

Outdoor Gas has fallen foul on Green poilicies - it's not illegal to use, but it is illegal to sell them nowadays.

usedtobe

When it’s cold, I go indoors.

Sassafras

A nice cardigan or if it's really cold, a jumper.

Dominic

Anything involving real burning looks great and cosy but after 2 mins you and your clothes just stink of Bonfire

Freebird

I use the sun.

thermionic

Taking some money out of a cashpoint and setting fire to it?

chillidoggy

I can't understand anyone wanting to sit outside with a coat on in front of a fire if there's a perfectly good, centrally-heated house a few feet away. 

EricTheWeary

We have a chimenea but it's basically a smelly smoke generator. Massively pointless thing. 

Although also not a fan of trying to heat up the outside. 

Longtallronnie

Tbh I was thinking of for the next few weeks before we can have guests indoors so we could have my parents round etc. 

skullfunkerry

We bought an electric heater last year for the exact same reason - being able to see people for a cuppa.

The heater is one of those upright ones and it works pretty well. It only costd s few pence per hour to run and as others have mentioned, doesn't make you smell like a bonfire

ICBM

https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/03/20/live-feed-from-iceland-volcano

dano

A few mins of skipping, star jumps will keep you warm. If that fails get the whisky out. 

Kittyfrisk

ICBM said:

https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/03/20/live-feed-from-iceland-volcano

That looks like an old geyser's solution.

ToneControl

DiscoStu said:

This is our life right now. We get the brunt of the wind as we're up a hill and we're the first house so we're not sheltered. We are looking for a solution too.
The answer to heating for us is electric infrared and from what we've read so far we need bulbs that emit shortwave infrared as they heat your skin directly, not the air around you. We've tried firepits and chimineas and though they look great, all the heat gets blown away and the smoke is bloody annoying. Gas heaters lose their heat to the air too and are very bulky.
Electric infrared is cheap and effective, the only caveat is that you need an outside socket or extension reel, and not all heaters are properly waterproof.

I've seen IR ones that go under the table and warm your legs, not very high power, and shielded so that you don't set fire 

A good gas heater should convert heat to infra red shouldn't it?

Emp_Fab

I do love sitting outside in the evening with a nice fire.  As nice and warm as they are, butane/propane powered patio heaters are apparently a direct path to the destruction of the entire planet.  Something to do with something called the "Oh Zone".

Anyway.....   You can't beat a real fire.  There's something primeval about it that you can't replicate with an electric or gas heater.

Yeah, you end up smelling like you've been barbecued but that's part of satisfying your inner caveman.  It goes with cooking slabs of dead animal on charcoal.

This year, I'm going to find me a nice big fire pit.  I've had a small chimenea for years but the wind blew it over in the winter and it's fucked now.

DiscoStu

Right then- we've ordered a Mensa Imus. I wanted something taller and higher output but someone else likes how this one looks and that it comes in dark grey rather than black.
We can always pop it on a table if we want the heat higher up.

 https://www.nationalheatershops.co.uk/uploaded/thumbnails/db_file_img_4647_400x400.jpg

Kittyfrisk

^ "someone else likes how this one looks"
Hmmm, it looks like a dildo with an element. The equivalent of an outdoor P45...

BlueStrat

A jacket? Heating the outdoors seems a bit mad

DiscoStu

BlueStrat said:

A jacket? Heating the outdoors seems a bit mad

Infrared doesn't heat the air, it creates heat when the shortwave IR makes contact with you just like sunlight does.