Hiland NG-WSS Tall Natural Gas Patio Heater,

The whole thing is stainless steel and well built. For me it went together exactly per the instructions. Arrived without blemish. The vertical pole is about 3" in diameter and comes in three sections. You also get a bag of fasteners. I sorted them into types on a table to make sure they were all there.There were a few too many large washers, but no fasteners or washers were missing. You'll need a Phillips screwdriver and 10mm, 13mm and 14mm wrenches, unless you want to use the lame little throwaway wrench provided.It has "ground fasteners" (stainless brackets that bolt to the base) because it's somewhat top heavy because there's no heavy propane tank in the base to act as ballast. I may attach the three stainless brackets to a sheet of exterior plywood. Or you can bolt it to your deck. A sandbag would work, too. I temporarily placed a couple of old truck brake disk rotors on the base to make sure it won't blow over in a breeze.The reflector on top is 32 inches in diameter and, contrary to the list of included items, there was NO burner cover in the box. I ordered a black vinyl one from Amazon. For some reason I can't insert the link, so look for "Fire Sense Heater Head Vinyl Cover."You will need a Mr. Heater 12-foot 3/8" gas hose  Mr. Heater 12 Foot Natural Gas and Propane Gas Hose Assembly 3/8 Inch Female Pipe Thread with Quick Disconnect System x 3/8 Inch Male Flare #F273720  with a 3/8" flare fitting on the delivery end. This attaches to the burner head before assembly. The hose is then snaked down the post and out an access hole near the bottom. That leaves about seven feet of the hose to reach the gas valve source. If you need to be further from the source, get a longer hose. The Mr. Heater hose's quick disconnect is very convenient to remove the hose from the source quickly and safely.The device supposedly can light itself, but I can't get it to work. The ignitor seems to click before the gas starts to flow, even if I press the valve in. There is a pilot light that must be lit first. I gave up on the piezoelectric ignitor and opened the small access port near the pilot (you need a Phillips screwdriver to loosen the screw to open the 5/8" port cover. You set the valve to "Pilot," push in to get the gas flowing and stick a lighter through the access port. This lights the pilot. You have to keep pressing the valve in until the thermocouple heats up enough to tell the valve that the pilot is lit. After that, you turn the valve to "low" or higher and the main burner lights. Ah, the warmth. I pretty much intend to light it from here on out with a butane long neck lighter, not the ignitor unless I can figure it out later. IGNITOR UPDATE (12/26/14): The ignitor works fine. I just needed to push in on the valve and hold long enough to clear out the air in the hose and allow gas to reach the pilot. Lights reliably now. Even more pleased with the unit.It's very convenient and less expensive to use natural gas vs. propane. Also, it's a lot easier to move around because the unit is so light. No wheels required. Only drawback is that you need to have gas available where you want the heater.It burns quietly and throws a nice circle of heat at least six feet around its center. I have it over the shoulders of our patio furniture. And the price is terrific for this quality. As usual, the local stores simply did not carry a natural gas model, only propane. Amazon comes through again.12/26/14 STATUS UPDATE: The heater has been outside in weather for eight months now, covered most of the time with the vinyl burner/reflector cover mentioned above. The stainless still looks new and by keeping the burner covered, it's always clean and ready. Used it last night to group approval. Lit easily and performed flawlessly. People especially like that it's natural gas fired. I like it because I don't have to mess with tanks of gas and that it augments our small firepit nicely.The only "modification" I added to the heater was to purchase three stainless acorn nuts to hold the reflector onto the top so the bolt threads sticking up through the top would not wear through the vinyl cover. The acorn nuts also make it easier to slip the cover on and off as the cover does not hang up on the sharp bolt threads. Looks better, too.

I had a heck of a time getting this to light - I messed with it for hours. I thought I had a defective burner. What i discovered is that you need to be in absolute zero wind conditions. Even if it feels like the wind isn’t blowing, it may be blowing a half mile an hour, and thats too much for this to fire up. I bought a burner cover which I’m going to try to use as a wind shield to get it started. Be careful if you try this though, it will trap gas.Once it’s fired up, it puts out a lot less heat than I imagined it would, and if theres any wind at all, its hard to feel any heat. The other issue is the height. If you’re standing up right next to it, the top of your body might feel some heat, but sitting down you won’t feel much at all. I created my own shorter pole out of pvc to put the burner on, one skinny enough to go through the center of my patio table and into an umbrella stand. Again if you try this do itvatvyour own risk.It’s hard to recommend this. It may provide enough heat to keep you comfortable in temperatures down to say maybe 60. It’s not going to do much for your legs though..One last thing to add: the head on this was insanely wobbly. I took apart the head and discovered a screw was missing between the burner head and a bracket that attaches to the poles. Luckily I had a screw in the garage that fit. Not a huge issue, but it was one more problem to add to my overall frustration.

Its ok...... about what you would expect given the price. when this one croaks - i am going to look for a nicer looking unit even if its 2X the priceThe shaft/pole is actually 3 pieces that are screwed together by unattractive screws, the same said for the steel reflector - to save shipping costs, looking at the reflector from the top - it really is ugly with like 14 -15 screws sticking up through it - do not be fooled by the picturethe hardware - and there is a lot of it, is not stainless steel nor is the reflector. guess we will have to see how soon it rusts outthe base is not heavy enough to keep the unit stable in a breeze - so you are supposed to anchor it to your deck - i chose to fill the base with concrete insteadTHE HOSE IS NOT INCLUDED !!!!!!!! when you buy your hose be sure to calculate the distance from the base to the burner + the distance to your gas sourceIt gives off a reasonable amount of heat - nowhere near what the propane powered units do - but thats normal

One of the questions here is about light weight. Yes, it’s lightweight and unsafe. I have to fill the base with concrete, so it doesn’t blow over. The other problem is the basket that surrounds the heating element is poorly constructed. One of the heaters lasted a month. The basket just melted down into itself. I’m going to buy a higher quality heater in the future. I install these for customers and I won’t be buying this particular heater again.

Needed a new patio heater and this one was priced really well (aka cheap). Some nice features but:-- Assembly instructions were awful, pictures blurry and Chinese translated to bad English. They also left out some critical steps (like filing the water tank - see below).-- Didn't come with a hose. Really, no hose. So if you are replacing a existing heater, then save the parts. If not, then you will need another $30 to $40 to make it work.-- Actually, some nice features (better than the old heater, the size is slightly bigger and there is a stand off space between the heater and the reflector top). But some of the features did not work. Like the water tank to give weight to the bottom support. Great idea! Except the water tank leaked. So another hour first trying to caulk the leak (that didn't work) then emptying the water and filling the tank with sand and reassembling the base.So, you get what you pay for. No news there.

Seems to work - produces a nice radiant heat circle. I prefer a weighted base, but the bolt down brackets work...just not as aesthetically pleasing.

Great heater, i would recommend it....

So far so good.... only used it a few times as it's now winter and too cold outside, but functions as I'd expect.

The client stopped the project so the light was returned. I found out that the heater was was to tall for the project and could not be installed against the Gas Code.

Love this thing. I use it in my shop in the winter. Make sure it's VENTED outside.