Patio Heater

I've wanted to buy a patio heater since buying my own home last summer. I've been couped up in the dungeon at my parents for the last few years as well as at a friends basement for a year. Boy was I glad to get out of there.

I started looking for a home closer to where I work last spring. I looked at many houses before I found a perfect little home only five minutes away from my job. What sold me, though, was the fact it had a deck outside my kitchen door. There was just one problem. It would be almost September by the time I got possession.

Anyway, my birthday soon followed. That Saturday morning my sister picked my Mom up and showed up at my door with a fairly big box which contained my brand new patio heater. What a birthday present. I thought it was just great, Now all I needed to do was get a BBQ. It was still quite warm outside and I was looking forward to some outdoor parties with my barbeeque and patio heater.

Living in Winnipeg, Canada though, can be an a very unpredictable and unforgiving experience when it comes to the weather. As I write this the temperature is -38°F with the windchill. Our Autumn weather can be the worst sometimes. Anyway, it is especially because of Winnipeg's famous cold and definitely nasty weather that really makes me appreciate my patio heater that I got for my birthday.

I use my patio heater much more often than my barbeeque. I can always cook inside if I have to, but with a patio heater I'm able to enjoy the outdoors on my deck even on very cold days.

In fact I used it last weekend when it was only -14°F. That may seem too cold for some, but for me it was just peachy warm. Mind you, I was still dressed quite warmly. But the sun was up and the direct sunlight felt warm and wonderful. The chipmunks and birds were still active in the morning air, so I started up my patio heater and grabbed some hot coffee and sat on a lawn chair outside on my deck.

After a while and two more coffees' later, I actually started to feel rather hot. A good patio heater can put out a fair amount of heat. Of course, the further away you are from the source the cooler you will feel. I was quite close to the patio heater but then it was also somewhat windy outside. I think, this coming summer, I will put up a couple of hedges to block some of the wind that I get.

The weather is still a little too vicious right now to enjoy sitting outside on the deck. Maybe I'll buy a second patio heater. That'll fix it. I think patio heaters are good investment, especially for cooler climates. If it warms up a little next week, I'll start 'er up again. Right now, -40°F is a little too much.

So, if you know anyone who has a birthday falling anytime during the colder months of the year (or in fact any month at all), help them to continue to celebrate the outdoors even in cold weather. Having a patio heater can even have that side health benefit, by enabling some comfort for people to enable them to get some sun and fresh air.

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