duraflame Electric Log Set Heater

I am a real person in Louisville, KY writing an honest review. I only do reviews of products that either exceed expectations or don't work at all. This electric log set exceeds all my expectations. We had a very mild winter here up until the last few weeks. Then it got very cold and we had accumulations of snow. Of course that's when our old electric log fireplace unit decided to quit working. It was a Dimplex unit. Comparing features Dimplex vs our new Duraflame, the Duraflame is a superior product. First - the heat. I bought this primarily for the heat. The infrared heater and fan work great. The heat unit is on bottom so heat blows out bottom and then rises. This is important: the old Dimplex heat element was on top. So we always lost a lot of heat inside the fireplace - it never made it into our living room. But with the Duraflame you can stand 4 feet away from fireplace and feel the heat rising up and into the room. Our living room is approx. 15x15. It keeps living room 3-5 degrees warmer than rest of house. Sitting 12 feet away my wife and I can feel the warmth. When you enter the room you immediately feel the difference in temperatures. The Duraflame makes the same noise as a small electric heater. Unnoticable in background. Next - the flame effect. At night it is excellent. It looks quite real projected on to the back of fireplace. The Dimplex projected onto a smoky mirror. During the daytime and often at night you could see a mirror. The flame effect on mirror was OK but you could still tell it was a mirror. The Dimplex also required two lightbulbs to make flame effect, and there was a motor running inside unit (additional to fan) that moved this tinsel stuff on a rod to create the flame effect. Clunky. The Duraflame flames look quite real at night. Next - the ember/ coals effect. On the Duraflame it's pretty fake looking. It doesn't modulate randomly. The internal LED just dims/brightens/goes off in a set pattern over and over. Remote. The Duraflame remote has power/flame/heater controls, so you can operate most everything remotely. On side of actual Duraflame unit there are also controls for intensity of flame, embers, heat level, and a thermostat. We really like thermostat - allows you to control just how warm your room gets. Finally - installation. It's very light and comes with a fairly long cord. The cord comes out the right rear, but even though our outlet is on left of fireplace the cord still comes out of fireplace and extends an additional foot or so. It must be about 3' long. We bought a high amp extension cord to get to outlets that is still several feet away. To install it you just set it in your fireplace and plug it in. Then you adjust thermostat and other things to your liking. That's it. Great! We love it and we think you will, too. It is a quality product shipped quickly.

After having lived 1.5 Minnesota winters in my 100+ year old Craftsman, I realized we needed something to supplement the heat on the main floor. The entire house is on one thermostat, meaning by the time it thought the downstairs was appropriately cozy, the upstairs was doing a convincing impression of a Swedish sauna. I needed something to supplement the heat downstairs and tell the thermostat to (literally) chill—and a bit of ambiance wouldn’t hurt. I did some homework and realized that, with my eczema, I’d need infrared heat, and this little guy was the best rated. Six and a half years later, I have not regretted my choice. I’ll run through the specifics below. Size: I have a coal-burning fireplace, meaning it’s much smaller than a wood-burning one. This heater fits perfectly. Heat output: the technology on mine doesn’t allow me to pick an exact temperature, but it acts as a great supplement to my radiators even on days when the temp drops to well below zero. Ease of use: you can set it how you want it on the side panel, then just use the remote to turn it on and off. I find the remote buttons to be vague enough that I don’t really know what difference they’re making, which is why I only use it as a power switch. Ambiance: does it look like a real fire? Not exactly, but it’s close enough that it makes the room pretty and cozy. Definitely sets a “curl up with a hot chocolate and a good book” mood. Value: This is what I really came here to say. We have run this thing for several hours almost every day for about six months out of the year (remember: Minnesota) for SIX. YEARS. Over the past week it kept shutting off, and I was worried I’d have to replace it. Nope! Turns out the intake vent was choked with dust and cat hair. A good vacuuming with the blade attachment, and it is once again happily chugging along at my side like the day I set it up. Which brings me to... Safety: What I thought was a malfunction (turning itself off quickly after I turned it on) was actually the unit's safety feature at work. It was saving us from a conflagration of dust and cat hair. Good to know that feature works! If you need an aesthetically pleasing, practical, long-lasting space heater/fireplace insert, buy this. It’s worth the money and then some.

Amazing log insert set for the price. Very realistic look and ambiance with adjustable flames, crackling sound, and heat up to 1000sf. Easy set up. Its great in our fireplace and a perfect fit. Going to add a nice fireplace screen to complete the look.

There is something so restorative and pleasurable about sitting in front of a cozy fire in the evening. Now, for a relatively low price we can enjoy that anytime we want, winter or summer, without any of the work and mess of the real thing. We have a smallish fireplace that had been set up with propane artificial logs, but has been disconnected for the 15 years we’ve owned the house. We had gone to a lot of trouble to refinish the tiles and woodwork, and now are pleased beyond words that we can enjoy our beautiful fireplace the way it was meant to be, with a cozy, welcoming fire! So easy to use; pulled it from the box and had it set up and running in two minutes. Lightweight at 14 lbs and easy to maneuver. It is important to measure the space this will go into to make sure the fit will be right; it might disappear into a fireplace that is too large. The dimensions are 20.5” wide x 8.7” deep x 12” tall Our fireplace and hearth are flat to the floor, but I would see no problem setting this unit on an existing grate or a couple of bricks if needed to raise it above a lip. We happen to have built-in wall recesses in a couple of rooms for entertainment centers. If we didn’t already have a fireplace I could see these working quite well to serve the purpose, with a little bit of additional fireplace brick/wood/hearth fakery to match. The "logs" nicely mimic the appearance of real logs in the process of burning. They won't fool anyone taking a close look, but once they’ve been running a while, you forget that they are artificial. I’ve been around fireplaces and wood stoves my whole life, and you know a fake log set is not going to look like a real one, no matter how good it is. But it also won’t smoke up the house, pop out sparks, fill up with ashes, soot up the mantle, and drop bits of wood all over the floor. This is an excellent choice for a maintenance-free fireplace. There are 2 fire effects: rippling flames and glowing logs. The “flames” are just orange light reflected off twirling foil strips projected through flame shaped windows onto the back of the fireplace, giving a surprisingly realistic look. I tend to notice patterns quite readily, and didn’t find repetition to be a problem. The distance from, and color of, the surface they shine on can affect their appearance, so feel free to experiment with that. There are 5 levels of brightness to the flames that you can control with the remote, just make sure to pause a moment between button presses to give it time to change, and the differences are subtle. The highest setting would work well, say, during a party with the lights on. The lowest setting when all the lights are off for a more tranquil atmosphere. The glowing logs are simply red LEDs inside the logs that increase and decrease intensity, and unfortunately do not do so smoothly, but rather in a jerky manner. The “ember bed undulation” control gives you the option to change this to a steady light. The really nice part is that the flames, the ember bed, and the heater can all be controlled separately: flames on (with 5 levels of brightness) or off: ember bed undulating or steady: heater on or off. Flickering flames distracting you from your movie? Turn ‘em off! Ambience of a fire in the summertime without the heat? Done! There are no popping/crackling sound effects, which we personally find distracting and don’t miss at all. Easy enough to remedy with a little speaker hidden behind the logs. The controls for the unit are located on the right side, not the front which would ruin the appearance of it being a ‘real’ fire, and are easy to reach. A remote with batteries is included, which controls everything but the thermostat. Make sure the power switch on the unit itself is switched on first. We’ve found the remote to be a bit finicky, and has to be pointed rather low to work. If you press the power button and nothing happens, try pressing one of the other buttons. The 6-foot power cord also comes out of the right side. If it is too short, the manufacturer has said that you can use a 14 gauge heavy-duty extension cord. I have convincingly hidden many cords in plain sight by painting them with background-matching acrylic paint, cheap and available at any craft store. The log set is made of plastic, but doesn’t feel cheap. Since it is made to go into a confined space, which you would avoid with a standard heater, it is made to stay cool pretty much everywhere other than the vent at the bottom front of the unit, located just under the “grate”. Despite it looking like a fire, it is impressively cool on the top and sides, so we feel safer running it. The heater is 1350 watts and 4600 BTU, so it's not the most powerful heater, but that’s kind of what small fires are like anyway, and you aren’t losing heat up the chimney. The Duraflame is of the low heat blower type. It won't heat up a room super fast, but it will get a small room warm within about a half hour. It is hot 2 inches from the blower, warm from any other distance. The blower is about as loud as you would expect from any space heater. We heat our house with propane, which is much more expensive in our area than electric, and although we have only used this for a short time we’ve already noticed that the furnace is firing a lot less often (now THERE’S a loud blower!) There is a humming sound when the flame effect motor is on, but the sound is so slight that most other noises (like conversation or the TV) block it out entirely. I don’t have glass doors on my fireplace, but I imagine they would help to muffle the hum, if used only for the light effects and not heating. This device can be plugged into a standard timer. It allows you to set it to warm up rooms at certain times, and make sure it gets turned off when not in use.

We just put our new electric fire insert into our fire place. It looks good. The first night we tried it. It didn’t seem like it was getting very warm. We have a pretty decent size space to warm up so we tested it out a second night. We put our heat down to 65° and we turned our fireplace heater on to the full amount. It main tamed this nice size space at 70°. We actually had to turn it down. It was extremely comfortable! Very happy!

I live on the Gulf Coast, so suffice to say it doesn't get super cold here even in winter, and honestly I'm not sure why my house was built with a fireplace to begin with, but it was. Recently our gas company decided to stop running gas to the fireplaces for code reasons, so my rarely used gas insert became completely inert. I've always wished my fireplace was a little more cheery, especially around the holidays, and after staying in B&B recently that had a small electric fireplace I started looking into getting one for myself. I chose this one because I wanted to be able to use it not just for aesthetic reasons, but I wanted it to actually heat my downstairs (on those days when it does get down into the 50s and 40s) without turning on my central heating. Since the infrared models were advertised to heat up to 1000 sq ft - over the 400 sq ft the non-infrared models could heat - I thought it was worth the extra cost. I'm happy to report that it was totally worth it. It heats up my downstairs where I watch TV and game and leaves the upstairs where I sleep nice and cool - just how I like it. Using the central heat I'd have to actually turn the AC back on at night to get it to a comfortable sleeping temperature, but this has solved that problem and is saving me money on my electricity bill since I'm not having to run either the central heat or AC. The cord is also pretty long. I was a bit worried about whether or not I would need an extension cord, but it reached the nearest wall plug without any issue. And, yes, you will have to live with a cord coming out of your fireplace unless you have a plug built into your fireplace to hide it. Overall I have been extremely happy with this purchase. It looks very nice in my fireplace, and since I have a screen in front of the opening it's even harder to tell at first glance that it's just an electric heater with fancy lights on it. It definitely doesn't look like a REAL fire, but it looks real enough to give the overall impression and ambiance of having a fire and is a major improvement over a dark, cold empty fireplace. And, cheesy at it sounds, I actually really love the crackling and popping sound track. It doesn't sound fake or recorded (no background white noise when it plays) and it just makes it feel cozy and homey. Even my partner who initially laughed at it as being silly, eventually told me, "You know what? I actually really like the crackling sounds." My pets (especially my older cat) also really enjoy it as you can see evidenced in the picture. If you just want it for the aesthetic, I'd say don't pay for the infrared model, but if you want something that will actually work as an alternative heat source this one will do the job and look pretty great doing it.

I love this! It's free standing, so no glass front. The " flames" flicker from behind and look so cool! The logs shift lighting so it looks real! The heater is good! It gives great heat and is easy to adjust. I was replacing an old one and couldn't find the right size when I saw this one. This is making me happy on a dreary spring day!

How much you like this will be directly related to what you are purchasing this for. It's awesome as an alternative to a wood fire in your fireplace. So if fire effect is what you are after, go for it. Of course, right up on it, no one's going to think you have a real fire going. But it is beautiful nonetheless. I was especially impressed by the fake flame effect that is created by casting a reflection off lights on the back of the unit onto the back of the fireplace or wall you have this unit set next to. That part is fairly realistic. I wish it had a switch that would make a crackling fire sound when it was turned on. When you are running the heater, you can hear the fan blower. It's not obnoxious. It won't interfere with TV, music, or conversation. I just thought I'd let you know it does make a sound. It's actually relaxing as it is a soft "white noise" sound. Now to the heater. This is no powerhouse. I thought it would throw off a bit more heat. It's warm and I'm sure it will be okay as a heat source to supplement my homes electric heat. That said, I won't be adjusting the thermostat in the house down any as I thought I might be able to. To be fair, the square foot area it covers and BTUS are stated in the product description. I just imagined I would feel more warmth coming from the unit when I am up close to it. I am sitting on the couch close to it and I do notice some heat. But it's not HOT like some heaters are, if that makes sense. It's more of a blower type of heater than radiant heater. I also wish there were clear temperature markings on the temperature control. It's just a dial that you dial from low to high with no marks in between. Also, I wish that the icons were more clear as to their purpose. I'm sure I will learn. But, I have to think about what button I'm pushing on the remote to do what. For instance, I keep hitting the button that adjusts the intensity of the flame when I really want to turn the heat on or off. All in all, I would say it's a great fake fire and an okay heater.

Es un producto muy bonito y funcional, tiene buen alcance el calentador

We decommissioned the fireplace, and this allows us to enjoy a surprisingly realistic looking flame effect. During the winter it adds a lot of charm and a cozy feeling. I don't use the heater, so I can't comment on that. There is a motor which creates the flickering effect, and it is loud enough to be a distraction in a quiet room. Setting up a speaker with a cracking fire noise is enough to mask it. I can't say whether the noise level compares well against similar products.

Llegó rápido. Funciona bien.

Remote came missing the back panel to hold in batteries

We wanted an 'interim solution' and knew ultimately we'd need to make the decision of staying with our log burning fireplace or getting a gas insert.....we had prior experience with this product in our Dad's home for several years.......it was a 'flaming beauty' in an old brick firebox and gave off surprising warmth in the room or cozy flames whenever you didn't want the extra heat. This time, the firebox is wider but lower so we don't get as much of the flame action but it is still very cozy and nice to look at....our room is larger than Dad's and has a very high ceiling - the heat dissipates faster here but we still feel it, even when it's not on "HIGH". And the Die Hard Log Burning Fireplace lover in our family is becoming a big fan of the remote control and the 'coziness' the unit brings to an empty fire box (it's not even dark out right now and he has it going!). For us, our only complaint is that the electrical cord is about 10" too short and we needed an extension cord. Also we had to 'gerryrig' some 'foot extensions' to position it over an intact log lighter (make sure you get a gas fitter to certify that your gas is off to avoid any electric sparks meeting up with your gas line). And, also, the way to increase the heat is to turn up the dial on the unit itself (not on the remote)....but once set you don't need to play around with it much. Highly recommend. We trusted the Duraflame brand and the seller's rep.