I'm wanting to get a propane patio heater for my deck. My concern is that my deck is covered with a nearly clear corrugated polycarbonate roofing. Do I need to be concerned about staying within a certain BTU range so as to not compromise the integrity of those panels?
Gas Patio Heater Question
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Seems like there would be some concern there - though I don't know it would specifically be 'BTU' related. As a very wide ballpark guess, most plastics will start to get soft and possibly droop / distort / lose structural integrity at a couple hundred degrees F. So I'd say you'd definitely want to use caution if your heater puts that much heat up toward the patio cover.
As far as BTUs, really hard to say. I could see a relatively small open fire pit type heater making a lot of heat, going straight up, to a relatively concentrated spot on the cover, which might cause issues. Those radiant heaters that stand 7-8 feet off the ground and attempt to throw heat 'down' might also create a hot spot...especially if your cover is only 8-9 feet tall.
Though if you had some sort of radiant heater which sat more at ground level, or possibly a radiant heater specifically designed for installation on a ceiling (where the heater would have heat shielding in place to prevent excessive heat rising up), those might be less of a concern.
Overall, you might look to see if the heater has any 'clearance to combustibles' rating. If you follow that, I would think your cover would be safe. If it says 'outdoor use only' or similar, then probably not a good idea to use it under the cover.
As far as BTUs, really hard to say. I could see a relatively small open fire pit type heater making a lot of heat, going straight up, to a relatively concentrated spot on the cover, which might cause issues. Those radiant heaters that stand 7-8 feet off the ground and attempt to throw heat 'down' might also create a hot spot...especially if your cover is only 8-9 feet tall.
Though if you had some sort of radiant heater which sat more at ground level, or possibly a radiant heater specifically designed for installation on a ceiling (where the heater would have heat shielding in place to prevent excessive heat rising up), those might be less of a concern.
Overall, you might look to see if the heater has any 'clearance to combustibles' rating. If you follow that, I would think your cover would be safe. If it says 'outdoor use only' or similar, then probably not a good idea to use it under the cover.
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