This is about the heaters a rental counter hires to keep outdoor and open sided work going through the cold: radiant propane units from roughly $25 to $60 a day, and forced air units from about $75 to $200. Function and marquee heating is a separate trade with separate suppliers, so if that is the job, the yards below are not the right call.
Radiant warms people, forced air warms a volume
A radiant heater throws infrared at whatever is in front of it, so it warms hands, backs and surfaces immediately and does nothing to the air. Forced air pushes heated air into a space, which only helps where the space is at least partly enclosed. Outdoors and under open structures, radiant is nearly always the right hire.
Propane is hired and billed separately
The heater is one line and the gas is another. Yards either exchange bottles, refill yours, or bill for what the meter shows on a larger tank, and a busy heater empties a bottle faster than people expect in freezing weather. Ask how many hours a bottle gives at full output before you decide how many you need.
Wind is what defeats an outdoor heater
Radiant output travels in a straight line and stops when a gust takes the warm surface layer away, and a forced air unit blowing into an open bay heats the county. Temporary screening, a windbreak or partial enclosure does more for comfort than a second heater. Set units to fire across the work, not into the prevailing wind.
Electric heaters need a circuit that exists
Electric radiant panels and fan heaters avoid combustion entirely, which suits enclosed or sensitive areas, but the useful ones want more than a household outlet, and several on one temporary supply will trip it. Confirm what circuit is available before hiring electric, otherwise the answer is propane or a generator alongside.
Questions people ask about outdoor heater for rent
How much area does one outdoor heater cover?
A single radiant propane heater warms a circle of a few metres across, tightening as the wind rises, and a forced air unit is quoted by output rather than area. Two smaller heaters placed either side of the work usually beat one large one. Tell the yard the working area and how exposed it is.
Can a propane heater be used inside a building?
Only where there is genuine ventilation and only with a model rated for it, because a direct fired heater puts combustion products into the space. For a closed building, hire an indirect fired unit that vents outside instead. Say where it will run when you book, and the yard will steer you.
Is it cheaper to hire heaters by the month?
Yes, for anything running through a season. Yards price a week near three to four day rates and a month well below four weeks, and winter is exactly when the fleet runs out. A month booked in advance costs less and is more likely to be available than a day booked in a cold snap.