6 Best Ventless Propane Heaters (Editor’s Pick 2023)

If you are looking to heat a single room or a smaller area in your home, especially as a supplement to your central heating system, a ventless propane heater maybe your best option, and will offer ease of use, ease of installation, high efficiency and reduced heating costs – and really warm rooms!

What is a ventless propane heater?

Essentially, a ventless, vent-free or ductless propane heater is one that does not require any vents or exhaust to the outside. That is, you do not need to run a duct pipe through the wall or window, and you do not need to place this heater underneath a chimney.

All of the exhaust from a vent-free heater is released into the room which it is heating, and while vent-free heaters are safe – especially if they burn propane – you should be aware that in some places (California and Canada, for example) their use is not allowed, so please check local regulations before you make a purchase!

It is extremely important to get a ventless propane heater that has adequate safety features, and so all of the heaters we have chosen for our 2023 Buyer’s Guide to Ventless Heaters include oxygen sensors and various levels of automatic shut-off circuitry.

That said, you should remember that all things considered, ventless propane heaters can still be a lot safer, and cleaner-burning, than almost any other type of space heater, and have lots of other advantages. The chief advantages of vent-free propane heaters include:

• Propane is up to 99.9% efficient
• Propane releases approximately 2.5 times the heating energy of natural gas
• Unlike natural gas, propane heaters don’t need gas lines built into your house
• Most propane heaters also don’t require electricity
• Propane is clean burning
• Ventless Propane Heaters are easy to move and easy to install – perfect for many spaces and many rooms around your home
• Ventless propane heaters don’t require duct, chimneys or any other outside venting, making them even more energy efficient
• Propane heat, and propane heaters, will save you money by selectively heating only a part of your house, giving your central heating system, and your wallet, a break

Because they do not require vents, chimneys or any kind of ducting to be run through a wall or window, ventless propane heaters are very easy to install – in fact, there is essentially no installation at all. Most don’t even require electricity, and so they can be placed almost anywhere, and can also be used in emergencies.

There are two basic types of propane heaters:

• Blue Flame – circulates warm air throughout the area (convection heating). Better for larger spaces and for rooms with more activity like family rooms.
• Infrared – radiates heat from an infrared element (radiant heating). Better for smaller spaces and for rooms with less activity like offices.

As a supplemental heating system in a house with central heating, you can use a ductless propane heater to cheaply heat the areas you spend time in, and keep your home’s furnace at minimum, saving money on your heating bill and keeping you comfy and warm!

What is the best ventless propane heater available in 2023?

We will review and describe 6 of the very best propane ventless heaters currently available. Our selections are based on our own experience, verified customer reviews, performance, safety, reliability and value.

We will include the space heater we have found to be the best in six categories:

• Best Ventless Propane Heater for Small Spaces
• Best Ventless Propane Heater for Medium Sized Spaces
• Best Ventless Propane Heater for Large Spaces
• Best Portable Ventless Propane Heater
• Best Overall Ventless Propane Heater in 2023
• Best Ventless Propane Heater for your Home in 2023

Best Ventless Propane Heater for Small Spaces

Dyna-Glo IR12 Vent Free Wall Propane Infrared Heater

Dyna-Glo is well known for making heaters that are safe, efficient and reliable, and their IR12 ventless propane heater is a great example.

The IR12 uses infrared heating technology for added efficiency and lower heating costs. Infrared heating is great for warming up your body as quickly as possible but is not as good for warming the space around you.

The Dyna-Glo IR12 has an oxygen depletion sensor, which will automatically shut the heater off if oxygen levels fall or carbon monoxide rises, meaning you can use it even in an enclosed space without worry.

Designed for wall mounting, it has all of the hardware required for installation, and you can also purchase inexpensive optional WBL100 base legs for floor standing operation. And although the IR12 doesn’t have a built-in thermostat, it has two output levels for easy adjustment of heat.

A great choice for spaces up to 300 square feet (approximately 28 square meters), the Dyna-Glo IR12 Vent Free Wall Propane Infrared Heater is well engineered, well built and a great value for the money, and our choice for Best Ventless Propane Heater for Small Spaces in 2023/2021.

Features and Specifications

• Liquid Propane Wall-Mount Ventless Heater
• Infrared Heating Technology
• BTU: 6,000 / 12,000
• Effective Space: up to 350 Square Feet
• Warranty: 1 Year

Best Ventless Propane Heater for Medium Spaces

Mr. Heater F299140 Vent Free Blue Flame Propane Heater

Another brand well known for quality, reliability, intelligent design and engineering and – above all – safety, Mr Heater manufactures our choice for best vent free propane heater for medium-sized spaces: the F299720 Blue Flame 20.000 BTU heater.

Great for spaces up to 500 square feet (around 46 square meters), the F299720 can heat up most rooms for very little money, and with its built-in thermostat, it will maintain the perfect temperature even when conditions change.

This is a blue flame heater, which will distribute warm air nicely throughout the room, and with a built-in sensor to monitor the atmosphere this Mr Heater propane ventless heater will automatically shut down if oxygen levels drop below acceptable levels.

It has an electronic ignition for safe and easy lighting, and also includes hardware for wall mounting and legs for floor standing applications.

Safe, versatile and extremely effective, the Mr. Heater Vent Free Blue Flame Propane Heater is our choice for Best Ventless Propane Heater for Medium-Sized Spaces.

Features and Specifications

• Liquid Propane Ventless Heater
• Wall-Mount or Floor Standing
• Blue Flame Heating Technology
• BTU: 20,000
• Effective Space: up to 500 Square Feet
• Warranty: 1 Year

Best Ventless Propane Heater for Large Spaces

Dyna-Glo BF30 Ventless Propane Blue Flame Heater

With a full 30,000 BTU output, the Dyna-Glo BF30 will work well in larger rooms – up to 1,000 square feet (slightly over 90 square meters), and can even heat entire sections of a home or medium to large apartments.

It’s the blue flame system uses convection heating to circulate warm air throughout the space, and you can install an optional circulation fan, the WHF100, for even more efficient and effective heat circulation in multiple rooms or larger spaces.

The Dyna-Glo 30,000 BTU vent free propane heater comes equipped with an automatic safety shut-down circuit which activates if the heater‘s built-in sensor senses dangerously low oxygen levels. The BF30 has an electronic push-button ignition to make firing the heater up safe and simple.

A great heater for large spaces, or for colder climates, the BF30 includes all the hardware you need for wall mounting, and you can also get the optional  WBL100 base legs for floor standing operation.

This Dyna-Glo Ventless Propane Blue Flame Heater offers all of the material quality and reliability you’d expect from this leader in climate control products. It is our choice for Best Ventless Propane Heater for Large Spaces.

Features and Specifications

• Liquid Propane Wall-Mount Ventless Heater
• Blue Flame Heating Technology
• BTU: 30,000
• Effective Space: up to 1000 Square Feet
• Warranty: 1 Year

Best Portable Ventless Propane Heater

Mr. Heater Big Buddy Portable Ventless Propane Heater

The choice for best portable vent free propane heater couldn’t be easier: our friend, the Mr. Heater Big Buddy.

The most popular portable propane heater in North America, the Big Buddy is approved for indoor use and has both an oxygen depletion sensor and a tip-over safety shut off, so you can always rest easy next to this great heater.

With three power levels – 4,000, 9,000 and 18,000 BTU – the Mr Heater Big Buddy will efficiently and inexpensively heat a variety of spaces up to 450 square feet (around 42 square meters) and nicely adjusts to your preferred temperature and comfort level.

Perfect for camping spaces and a safe way to heat a tent, the Big Buddy is equally at home in your home, or in the garage, on the patio or in many other settings, and is also an effective choice for emergency situations.

There is perhaps no heater we know of with such a fiercely loyal following as the Big Buddy enjoys, and every Mr Heater customer knows of the first-rate material quality, excellent engineering, effectiveness and reliability you get with any one of their products.

Not just an easy choice, then, but an automatic one. We looked and looked, read customer reviews, tried different units and spoke to lots of different people, and the opinion is virtually unanimous – the Mr Heater Big Buddy portable propane heater is our, and everybody else’s, choice for Best Portable Ventless Heater for 2023/2021.

Features and Specifications

• Liquid Propane Portable Ventless Heater
• Radiant Heating Technology
• BTU: 4000, 9000 and 18,000
• Effective Space: up to 450 Square Feet
• Warranty: 1 Year

Please note: If you are in North America, this Big Buddy heater is not approved for sale or use in Canada or in Massachusetts. Mr. Heater makes a special version of this heater just for those two places, the  Big Buddy Canada / Massachusetts Approved Propane Heater.

Equally excellent, and equally worth mentioning, are the two other sizes of this wonderful portable propane heater:

The Mr. Heater Buddy Propane Ventless Propane Heater

The Mr. Heater Little Buddy Propane Ventless Propane Heater (and the Canada/Massachusets version)

Best Overall Ventless Propane Heater in 2023

Rinnai FC824 Vent-Free Propane Space Heater

The Rinnai FC 824 is without a doubt one of the very finest ventless propane heaters on the market.

It takes all of the advantages and features of the other units on our list of best ventless propane heaters in 2023 to the next level, with advanced safety features, comfort control and energy efficiency.

The built-in thermostat and timer are simply controlled and programmed using the large, soft-touch buttons, and the status is clearly visible on the nice LCD display. The control panel also includes a big button for safe and hassle-free ignition of the heater, and the whole panel and its controls are easily locked for child safety.

The Rinnai FC 824‘s other safety features are also best in class. In addition to an oxygen depletion sensor, which monitors the air and immediately shuts the heater off if oxygen levels drop, the FC824 also shuts down if the flame or power goes out, or if it is knocked over – in which case the internal fan will continue to run, cooling internal parts.

And the cool touch cabinet also makes the FC284 safer and more comfortable to use, especially, in combination with the control panel lock and tilt sensor, with children in the house.

Even given propane’s already exceptionally high-efficiency rating, the Rinnai FC284 manages to bring heating efficiency and affordability to a new level as well, with its low-power convection fan distributing warm air all throughout the space. It is hard to imagine a better space heater than this for supplementing your central heating system – the FC284 will significantly decrease your heating bills and it will make the space it is in much warmer and more comfortable.

Incredibly easy to install and set up, the Rinnai FC284 comes with a long 3-year warranty and is backed by the legendary Rinnai customer service and support.

Our clear choice for the Best Overall Ventless Propane Heater in 2023/2021, the Rinnai FC284 is quite reasonably priced, especially considering its overall quality, performance and safety, and is one of the best investments you will ever make for your home.

Features and Specifications

• Liquid Propane Floor Standing Ventless Heater
• Blue Flame Heating Technology
• BTU: 8,000 – 22,000 BTU
• Effective Space: up to 1100 Square Feet
• Warranty: 3 Years

Best Ventless Propane Heater for your Home

ProCom QNSD250T Ventless Dual Fuel Stove

Our last category, Best Ventless Propane Heater for your Home, is really a bit of a cheat!

Really, any one of the heaters on this list would be a great choice for your home, and the decision ultimately comes down to how large of a space you want to heat and how much you want to spend – factor in those two considerations and you can choose any heater from our buyer’s guide of best vent free propane space heaters with total confidence.

So why do we add this category? Simply so that we can sneak in the absolutely beautiful and homey ProCom Ventless Dual Fuel Stove!

A floor-standing vent free propane heater, the ProCom QNSD250T is designed to look like a wood-burning stove, with a large and realistic viewing area, two rows of flame and a lovely stylized cabinet.

At the same time, the 250T is a serious heater, with advanced safety features, a built-in thermostat for the highest levels of comfort and efficiency, dual fuel source capability (propane and natural gas) and a full 25,000 BTU output for spaces up to 1,100 square feet (approximately 102 square meters).

The ProCom QNSD250T is certainly one of the very best propane space heaters on the market, a great value and a great product, and is a perfectly valid choice for Best Ventless Propane Heater for your Home in 2023, but we could as easily dubbed it the Most Beautiful Ventless Propane Heater for your Home in 2023.

Features and Specifications

• Liquid Propane Floor Standing Ventless Heater
• Blue Flame Heating Technology
• BTU: 25,000 BTU
• Effective Space: up to 1100 Square Feet
• Warranty: 1 Year

Final Thoughts: Why should you buy a ventless propane heater?

There are many reasons why a vent-free propane space heater is such a good idea, but perhaps the two most worth mentioning are comfort and money.

When you use one of these heaters, the ventless design allows you to place it almost anywhere, and so you can effectively and efficiently heat a small, medium or even fairly large space anywhere in your home with the excellent performance and excellent economy of liquid propane fuel.

This means that your furnace, or whatever type of main heating system you are using, can be left on a much lower setting, not asked to heat the whole house when you are mainly in one area or one room.

And that one area, or one room, will be even more effectively heated than with the furnace, and you will save money on your energy bills – money you won’t need to spend on an extra sweater!

We really hope that this 2023 Buyer’s Guide to the best ventless propane heaters has been both informative and helpful, and we are confident that any one of the units we have chosen will offer the best value and performance for its size and price range, as well as many years of reliable service.