Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater review – tried and tested

German manufacturer Blumfeldt has been making outdoor products since 2015, and now offers a wide range of freestanding patio heaters, from lamp-style tabletop designs to full-height freestanding outdoor heaters. The brand specialises in infrared electric patio heaters which, unlike a standard electric heater, are designed to heat objects rather than the surrounding air, a feature which should make them more economical to run. 

The Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater is one of the brand's most compact and lightweight designs. It's currently available in two sizes; the Mini Heat Guru 360 with maximum 700W power, and the medium-sized Heat Guru 360 which offers up to 1200W of power, both of which offer two heat settings, oscillation to spread the warmth, and a compact build that means they're super portable and easy-to-store.

My Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater review put the medium-sized option to the test. I've now tested out a range of bestselling patio heaters in my slightly exposed hillside garden, so I was eager to see how this infrared design would perform against the competition. 

I reviewed the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater over several weeks, assessing ease of assembly and setup, ease of use, portability, its design features, and, of course, its performance, to see whether it could keep away the chill on a cool and breezy evening. Read on to find out how it performed compared to the best patio heaters on the market.

Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater review

Specifications

• Heat type:  Infrared electric
• Dimensions: H56 x Dia22cm 
• Weight: 2.9 kg
• Materials: Anodized aluminium alloy frame
• Power settings: 600W and 1200W
• Oscillation: 360° or 120°
• Self-assembly required: No
• Portable: Yes
• Other features: Tip-over safety switch

How I tested

Rachel Ogden

I'm Rachel, a freelance journalist who specialises in interior design and product reviews. I've tested out hundreds of appliances as well as plenty of outdoor living essentials, from the best BBQs to the best lawnmowers. When not happily unboxing and rigorously testing products, you’ll find me antique hunting, going for a gentle run, or unwinding with a glass of fizz. I tested out the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater in a sheltered spot within my windswept hillside garden, comparing it to other leading brand names to see how well it performed against the best-in-class outdoor heaters.

Unboxing

The Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater arrived in a compact box, and – seeing as the patio heater only weighs 3kg – it was thankfully nice and easy to move out onto my decking to unpack.

Unfortunately, sustainability appears to have been a low consideration for the packaging of Blumfeldt’s Heat Guru 360 patio heater. Not only did it arrive in a carboard box within a box, but there is also non-recylable solid foam packaging top and bottom. 

The heater is then also wrapped in a plastic bag.

However, once out of it's packaging the heater itself is light to move around and looks and feels like a well-made product.

Assembly

Unlike the Swan Column Patio Heater that I recently reviewed, the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater is ready to use straight from the box with no self-assembly required – a real plus point if you're not into your DIY!

And, as the Heat Guru 360 is an electrical heater, the only set-up required is plugging it into a power socket. Although, as with all electric patio heaters, it's worth noting that the appliance's power cable is only 1.8m long – the maximum allowed for compliance with current UK/EU safety standards – so you will need to think about where you can position the heater within reach of a power source.

Design

Whilst not unattractive, practicality seems like it has been the priority when designing the Heat Guru 360.

The patio heater's housing is made from black aluminium (anodised for a longer lifespan) with control knobs on the top made from chunky plastic, as is the carry handle.

Like the Kettler Kalos patio heater, the exterior mesh grill is covered in velvety flocking, suggesting that it’d be less hazardous than exposed metal mesh – although touching it when hot is obviously still not recommended. 

Behind the grill are twin elements, which can be operated singularly (using 600W of energy), or in tandem (using 1200W of energy) depending on how much heat you want the patio heater to dish out.

The main control has four settings, allowing either one element to be on (low) or both (high), with the option of oscillation for each heat.

A smaller knob above is turned to choose the degree of oscillation – either 360° for a full rotation of the elements or 120° which rotates around the front portion.

The patio heater also features an anti-tilt mechanism, meaning that if it falls over or tips, it’ll switch off automatically.

Performance

The Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater is very easy to use. You turn the heater on by twisting the control knob from the 'off' position to one of its four 'on' settings. You can choose from either low or high heat (low meaning one heating element is active, and high meaning both heating elements are turned on), or from a low heat with oscillation, or high heat with oscillation.

I tested it out placed on the decking floor next to me whilst I sat in one of our garden chairs.

When I first turned the heater on, I could start to feel the warmth after only a few seconds. The heat was gentle at first but soon ramped up to a more consistent temperature.

On the low setting (600W with one heating element on) I could easily feel the heat on my bare legs when I was sitting a metre away, but less so on my torso.

On a high (1200W with both heating elements on), there was a comfortable, consistent warmth from a metre away. Sitting nearer to the heater – around 30cm away – produced the most intense heat, almost to the point of being uncomfortable.

I feel the high setting is the one I'd use the most as it’s strong enough to not be too disrupted by breezes, yet warm at a good distance, so there’s no need to sit right by the heater.

When placed on the ground, the heater is less suitable for keeping you warm whilst you're standing as you’ll only really feel it on your legs, however, it can be placed on a tabletop or surface to raise the heat radius.

At night time the elements themselves are fairly bright, but not unpleasantly so as the grill reduces the glare. 

It was hard to measure quite how effective its infrared design was compared to a regular electric patio heater. But it certainly seemed to do a great job of warming up people rather than energy being wasted on heating the air.

I also particularly liked the fact that this patio heater offers two heat settings and that the lowest setting is more economical than many. For example, the lowest setting on the Swan Column patio heater is 1000W compared to the Blumfeldt Heat Guru's lowest 600W setting. At a rate of 34p per kWh, the Blumfeldt Heat Guru would cost just 20p an hour to run, so three hours of outdoor heat over the course of an evening would be 60p. Choosing its highest setting of 1200W increases the cost to 41p per hour and £1.23 for a cosy alfresco evening.

I checked how hot the heater’s grill was once it had been on for five minutes at full power. The highest reading was 64°C, which cooled fairly quickly after turning off.

Another bonus of the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater is its oscillation feature. You can opt for either 360° or 120° rotation, which allows multiple users to get a full blast of warmth.

The oscillation is quiet but takes some getting used to operating. When rotation is turned off, the elements stop exactly where they are, i.e. they don’t return to the front. This means you either have to halt the rotation when they’re at the front, or physically turn the heater round. I felt it would be more useful if they returned to a default position. 

However, the elements do reset position when the rotation is changed from 360° to 120° i.e. it doesn’t take a previous 360° position as its starting point for the 120° rotation path. 

Also worth noting is that the 360° oscillation doesn’t rotate round and round in one direction, but rotates 360° one way, then back the other way, so anyone sitting at the front tends to receive a bit more heat that those behind. 

Portability

At less than 3kg, and equipped with a handle shaped with finger notches, the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 patio heater is one of the most portable outdoor heaters I've tested. It's pleasingly light and easy to move around as needed – although you will still need to factor in access to a power socket. When set down, it feels stable. 

Its compact design means it's also a great option for stashing into the car to take on holiday or to an outdoor gathering at a friend's house.

Maintenance

The Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Patio Heater only requires minimal maintenance; all the exterior needs is a wipe down with a damp cloth when unplugged. 

Storage

Thanks to its lightweight design and compact build, long-term storage is easily achievable. If you don't have a garage or outbuilding to store it in, then it's easily squeezed into a storage cupboard indoors.

How does it rate online?

Online reviews rate the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Infrared Patio Heater highly, with many owners particularly appreciative of the heat it gives out, as well as the compact size that enables it to be used as an indoor heater as well as an outdoor heater. Multiple reviewers mention using the heater indoors over winter to supplement central heating or to take the chill off a single room. 

However, some reviewers do mention a problem with finding replacement parts due to its German manufacture. A few users also mentioned that its EU-to-UK converter plug didn't fit into their outdoor power sockets requiring the use of an extension lead instead. Although many reviewers did note that the manufacturer's customer service department is very responsive and helpful if they encountered any product issues.

Verdict

Overall, the Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Patio Heater does lots of things well, and for a very reasonable price. 

The patio heater is lightweight, compact, and, as such, very easy to move around. Thanks to its two heat settings it can produce direct or gently diffused heat, meaning it can run on a low setting for hours without breaking the bank. And, unlike most bulkier patio heaters that you’ll need to pack away for the winter, this one is small enough to store inside your home, so you can break it out every time you need a heat boost in the colder months. This makes it a very versatile investment and means it goes above and beyond being 'just' an outdoor heater. 

The Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Patio Heater also offers two modes of oscillation, so there’s no need for everyone to crowd around the front of the unit to get toasty as it happily spreads out the warmth. And in our tests, its infrared design did a great job of warming up people rather than energy being wasted on heating the air. Plus, you also get a built-in automatic switch-off function should the heater get knocked over which is great for extra peace of mind. 

Even better, Blumfeldt Heat Guru 360 Patio Heater is very affordable in relation to other comparable products.

The only real downsides worth noting are that some online reviewers have noted issues with getting replacement parts due to its German manufacture, although in my testing I didn't encounter any problems myself. A few users also mentioned that its EU-to-UK converter plug didn't fit into their outdoor power sockets. Beyond that, unless you prefer your heat source low to the ground, you will also need an outdoor table or mid-height surface to place this heater on if you want it to keep torsos and faces warm, and, as an electric heater rather than gas, you are somewhat restricted to where you can use it outdoors as you'll need access to a power socket.

However, overall, this is a handy, compact, and affordable patio heater that is very hard to fault, so it could just be the perfect solution for keeping warm outdoors (and indoors!).