Propane patio heaters are nice when working properly. I say “working properly” because, as the price is being driven down by cheaper and cheaper units (made in China) the quality seems to be following. The metal is flimsy and igniter/gas flow issues have had my propane heater working about 60% of the time. So much for a convenient heater on cold nights.
Enter the gravity fed outdoor wood pellet heater by Wood Pellet Products, the Lil Timber ($349). Not only is it priced fairly, it is made in the USA (Oregon to be specific). The firebox is made of 14 gauge steel and the fire plates of 10 gauge. Built to last. Wood pellets are less expensive to use compared to propane and tend to cost about 25 to 50%. Additionally the Lil Timber puts off significantly more heat that traditional propane patio heaters (60k BTU’s vs 40k BTU’s).
The hopper holds 12-pounds of pellets and will run for approximately 2-hours. You can purchase a hopper extension that will provide an additional 3-hours of run time. The pellets are gravity fed and there are no moving parts. Heat is provided from top to bottom which is great. The only negative of this is that this thing will be hot to touch just about everywhere. Keep the kids away and opt for the safety cage. With that said… fire is hot… use common sense people. Digging the product and hope it displaces all of the crappy propane heaters flooding the market. More pictures and video after the break.
