Electric fireplaces - opinions pls from those who have one

[Safire]

Looking at getting a decent quality electric fireplace (mantle) for the living room this winter. Would love to hear from anyone who has one - good/bad features or brands.

Looking at a Dimplex unit - is that one of the better brands?

Thanks for any input you can provide :)

[coolspot]

You can also get a ventless gel fireplace, they're wall hangable and look kind of neat.

Here's one manufacturer: http://www.realflame.com/

They're available at furniture stores in the GTA, such as Pavillion.

[warthog]

We had a electric Dimplex unit in the master bedroom of our last house. We went with electric instead of gas because I've found the pilot light on gas units plays havoc with my sinuses, so for a bedroom gas was a no-go.

Anyhow, the Dimplex unit was great, the remote was also the thermostat so you could leave the remote wherever you wanted in the room and it would automatically start the fireplace at a pre-programmed temperature, or time of day.

So definately would recommend one. One minor compaint is that the unit's makes a slight hum when running, so if it's for a bedroom and you're a light sleeper take this into account.

We bought ours from a store on the Queensway near H427, just west of Toronto. They had some very nice mantles available too. Wood, marble etc..

[Wiseman]

I have a dimplex unit and would recommend them as well. Their "flame" looks very nice and realistic and they patented the technology. Other brands of electric fireplace had flames that looked really awful and fake. We bought it mainly for aesthetics, so that was the big selling point for us.

[coolspot]

Any good stores to check out dimplex fireplaces, or electric/gel fireplaces in general?

[CSK'sMom]

I see in the last couple of Rona flyers they now carry the gel fireplaces. We're still deciding if we're going to go gel or electril. If we go electric I just need the firebox, no mantle or surround as we'll be building a false wall for the fireplace and mounting a flatscreen over it.

[venice_it]

I have a dimplex unit on one level of my home and I find the fake flame effect not convincing (although I have seen others that look pretty good). I would opt for gas if it is was a viable option.

I will say that I am impressed with the heater function on the dimplex. It heats almost instantly and warms the room very fast, probably faster than my gas fireplace without a blower.

[speedyforme]

I have an electric fireplace and I use it to place my tv on top. However, it's also in a very open room with the kitchen/breakfast and pretty much the main floor so the heating element doesn't work very well because it is in such an open space. However, the heat coming from it is very warm so I assume if you place it in a smaller enclosed room like a bedroom, it will do just fine.

I rarely use it though.