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List Price: $449.99
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I ordered this a month ago or so. It came in and I assembled it that day. I figured out how to assemble it fine... other reviewers of this product on other sites said they had a hard time assembling it, so I was pleased to get over that hurdle. I put a fresh tank of propane on it and fired it up. No issues. Seemed to work great. I test ran it for about 10 minutes to burn off the coatings that are part of the heating element, then shut it down.
On another occasion very shortly thereafter I fired it up to test it and see how effective it was at making my deck more comfortable. Overall, the product did as I thought it would. It is effective within a few feet at turning a colder evening into one that is pleasant.
This weekend I had people over and we wanted to fire it up. This wasn't a test, but rather an actual use of the product. Totally could not get it to work. Pilot will not stay lit, no matter what. When it does stay lit, it will puff out within minutes. I once got it to trigger the main burner, but then it went out. Totally frustrating. This thing is brand new!!
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I used this for several months infrequently, and then found all of a sudden that it wouldn't stay lit. I did some troubleshooting and learned that it would stay lit if I held the flame from a propane fireplace starter under the thermocouple that is heated by the pilot light. I don't know if the problem is a failing thermocouple or a less than optimum heat pilot light flame; but whatever this shouldn't have happened with a heater that was still on it's first tank of gas !!!
I'll eventually find some time to contact Customer Service and see what needs to be replaced.
UPDATE: I found the time to repair this heater. I started with the assumption (thanks to the other reviewer) that the pilot light wasn't keeping the thermocouple hot enough. When I dis-assembled the pilot light assembly, I found crud in the air collection chamber. I cleaned out the crud (and just for the heck of it soaked the pilot light "bead" regulator in auto fuel injector cleaner), and now the heater works just like the day I bought it.
Because the heater is very well built and easy to disassemble and repair; I'm bumping my rating from 2 stars to 4.
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My dad had me order this on a whim. We wanted an outdoor heater so we could sit outside at night and all enjoy a glass of wine. Has worked great so far! As far as I know there were not set up problems...seems to have gotten put together fine. We bought this one because where we live we have a lot of wind and this thing holds up. The wind has ripped the shingles of my roof off but this thing has stayed in place. Love it!
Honest reviews on Endless Summer Stainless Steel Propane Patio Heater
WORKS GREAT LEAVE 2 FOOT CLEARANCE BETWEEN EDGE OF TOP HEAT SHADE AND NEAREST ITEM. BEWARE PLASTIC WHEELS EASILY BREAK IF HANDLED ROUGHLY.
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Overall, the Endless Summer 233000 Outdoor Heater is a well designed and manufactured product. Assembly instructions are very clear, and with basic tools, can be assembled in about an hour. The "commercial" rating of this heater is evident in the quality of material, and the manufacturing workmanship. Follow the directions for igniting the heater, particularly when installing a new tank of propane. The heater worked perfectly for the first tank of gas, giving off a very even, comfortable circle of heat of about 12 feet in diameter. When used at a medium setting, the 20lb. propane tank lasts about 8-10 hours. When a second tank of propane was installed, a frustrating problem occurred. The heater ignited O.K. but would shut off after about a minute. Suspecting a bad tank of gas, I changed it for another tank, but got the same result. After several hours of diagnosing the problem, I discovered that there is a thermocouple near the pilot light that is heated by part of the pilot light flame. If the thermocouple does not "sense" enough heat from the pilot flame, it will shut off the heater for safety. Sure enough, the pilot flame was burning yellow, not blue, and the yellow flame is not hot enough to keep the thermocouple energized. A simple cleaning of the pilot assembly cured the problem. Some bugs decided to make the small orifice where the pilot flame emits from their home. the debris left by the bugs was enough to affect the pilot flame quality to prevent the heater from functioning. Note: since my original post of this review. I have had the same problem at least two more times, including a complete blockage of the pilot by those nasty bugs! Once cleaned using fine wire and compressed air, the heater works perfectly. Plan on ordering a second unit this year (2011) and buying some bug spray too!
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