Patio Comfort Brand Guide: Propane + Natural Gas Patio Heaters

Updated October 2026. Patio Comfort has been engineering propane and natural-gas patio heaters out of US workshops for decades. The brand’s hook is heavier-gauge steel housings and stainless-steel burner construction — a step up in build quality from the $300 big-box units at the home improvement store.

We carry the full Patio Comfort catalog on firepits.com with authorized-dealer pricing. This guide covers the two product platforms, where Patio Comfort fits versus Bromic and the electric alternatives, and the real coverage per sq ft shoppers should expect.

Portable propane — the mobile party platform

The portable propane lineup is Patio Comfort’s core product. Mushroom-top design, 40,000 BTU output, 20-lb LP tank hidden in the base. The tank lasts 8–10 hours at full output or 15+ hours at a lower setting. Piezo electronic ignition — one push-button start, no match or lighter needed.

The build-quality difference versus big-box propane heaters shows up in two places. First, the gauge of the steel housing — Patio Comfort uses 20-gauge or heavier where cheap units use 24-gauge; the housing holds its shape instead of denting when a tipsy guest bumps into it. Second, the burner itself is stainless steel — on a cheap unit the burner is mild steel with a coating that burns off inside 2 years and starts rusting from the inside out. The Patio Comfort stainless burner lasts the life of the heater.

When portable propane wins: rental properties where the heater needs to move between zones, residential decks without a natural-gas stub-up, lake houses and vacation properties where the heater lives in the garage for most of the year, and party-rental use where the heater goes between installs.

Permanent natural gas — the fixed-install platform

The permanent natural-gas units are the restaurant-and-fixed- residential side of the catalog. Same 40,000 BTU output as the portable units but with a hard-piped natural-gas feed instead of a propane tank, and a fixed-mount base instead of wheels. The install needs a gas stub-up at the heater location, which a plumber or gas fitter can run in a half-day on most properties.

When permanent natural gas wins: restaurant and bar patios where the heater runs every night and tank swaps would be a staffing nightmare; permanent residential installs where the heater lives on the deck year-round and the shopper doesn’t want to deal with propane logistics; and any install where the gas stub-up is already there (grill line, patio-light gas lantern) and tapping it is the obvious move.

Coverage per heater by patio size

In wind the coverage drops by about a third — the heated air gets stolen by the breeze before it reaches the perimeter of the seating zone. For windy coastal and lakefront installs, either spec extra units or step up to a windscreen (Patio Comfort sells matched glass windscreens for the portable units).

Patio Comfort vs Bromic

Bromic is Patio Comfort’s direct competitor on the gas-fired patio-heater spec. Both brands make legitimate commercial- grade units. Here’s how we route shoppers between them.

Patio Comfort wins on the portable propane side — the lineup is deeper, the pricing is more approachable at the mid tier, and the mushroom-top design is the default-shape most shoppers expect. Right pick for traditional patio-heater buyers.

Bromic wins on fixed-mount design — their Platinum Smart-Heat Gas line uses a tungsten filament behind a ceramic screen that reads more architectural than Patio Comfort’s round-dome mushroom head. For a modern install where the heater is a visible fixture, Bromic reads better. Also wins on multi-zone commercial installs where the brand’s multi-unit controller matters.

For a value-tier portable or a traditional-shape residential install, Patio Comfort wins. For an architectural fixed-mount or a multi-zone restaurant, Bromic wins. There’s not much overlap in the sweet spot.

Patio Comfort vs electric infrared

The other alternative in this category is electric infrared — Infratech is the premium pick. Infrared heats people and objects directly, which beats gas-warmed-air in windy conditions. But infrared requires 240V wiring and permanent mounting, which is a bigger install than running a portable propane unit onto a deck.

Pick electric infrared when the install is permanent, covered (pergola, porch roof), and the shopper wants invisible heating. Pick Patio Comfort propane when the install is open- air, mobile, or in a location where new 240V wiring isn’t feasible.

What we’d buy from Patio Comfort right now

For a 10×15 residential deck used 15 nights a season: one Patio Comfort 40,000 BTU portable propane unit in stainless. Stores in the garage for winter, rolls out onto the deck for parties, 20-lb tanks are available at every hardware store.

For a 20×20 open restaurant patio running every night: two Patio Comfort 40,000 BTU permanent natural-gas units in opposite corners, hard-piped to the restaurant’s gas service. No tank swaps, no closing-time refuel runs, operator just hits the Piezo ignition when the patio opens and shuts the key valve at close.

For a vacation rental where the heater needs to be guest- proof: Patio Comfort’s commercial-grade portable propane with the lockable regulator cap. Guests can turn the heat on and off but can’t disassemble the gas train — important for liability on short-term rentals.