After reading the reviews on this site, I was apprehensive about buying this. But the prospect of having to consumer multiple beers to figure it out proved to be just too much of a temptation, so I had to try.
Assembly - I had almost zero trouble assembling this product. My guess is that it took about 45 minutes to install and zero beers. :( I did install one part upside down, but it was pretty clear that I had done so and I was able to fix it fairly quickly.
I'm not sure if there's a new instruction manual or what, but I did not have problems in Oct. 2014
Heat - I bought this product to be a heater. At 40,000 BTU, I thought for sure that people would be sweating while sitting around it, having to scream to each other because they are sitting in a huge circle around it. Well, not so much. On a chilly 50 degree night (not cold by any stretch) the only way to get warm around this thing was basically to lean up against it! What a total waste!
Appearance - Heat notwithstanding, this looks great on my patio when its on. It emits a beautiful light and the flame is pretty captivating.
Efficiency - I ran through 1.5 propane bottles over the course of 6 hours. I had it on High the entire time.
I would not buy this product for the heat, but if you're looking for something that looks stunning at night, this is pretty darn cool. Would not buy again for the price.