western 33 low

I think this might be my first review for Amazon, so that tells you how impressed I am with this insert. It looks realistic and adds such a cozy feel to my 320sf great room. I've used it every single day for the last 2 months and I'm loving it. I've had a wood mantle/fireplace for 20 years or more. It originally used gel fuel but there was odor I didn't like and the fuel was pricey. I purchased a small electric insert that put out good heat and was good for supplementing my central heat, but it was way too small for the opening in the fireplace and never looked quite right. I'd been contemplating upgrading to a full size insert for a long time but was really nervous about the negative reviews I read on virtually all of them. At least I knew the small one wasn't dangerous and it worked. This year I finally took the plunge, did a boatload of research and could not be happier with my choice. Folks who have seen it have been really impressed and have commented on how realistic it looks, as well as the heat output. Not only do the flames have a realistic display/rhythm, the embers and coals have a pulse to them that is not an obvious pattern and reminds me very much of real wood in a regular fireplace. This insert fits perfectly. The dimensions provided were exactly what was received. I love the faux brick interior because it really makes it look like a real fireplace. And the electric flames and coals are very, very realistic. And the heat it puts out is amazing. If it's a really cold day I might put it on the high temperature for a little bit and once the room gets warmed up then I can bring it down to the low temp and leave it there. Absolutely impressed. The fire crackling noise is a bit much on the higher volumes. The lower volume is much more realistic to me. But, frankly, I don't use the crackling noise hardly at all - mostly because I just enjoy the silence since I mostly read in that room. The only thing I consider a bit of a drawback (and not enough to lower the rating even a single star) is that you can't control the temperature with the remote. You have to turn the dial on the panel all the way up initially, get your room to the temperature you want and then back it off on the dial until it turns off. Then it will keep your room at that temperature. The unit remembers your previous settings, so once you get it set, you don't have to reset it every time you use the insert. It would be so much easier if it was in a digital display on the remote. But overall, that's a really minor thing compared to all of the pluses with this insert.

After researching electric fireplace inserts for months we thought this one had the most “realistic” flame and the overall appearance looked like a natural fireplace. The unit fit perfectly in our antique mantel (the size was the 25 63/64 x 23 3/16). It is literally plug and play. We are very pleased with the hot ember effect underneath the logs and the flames do not appear to be rolling on a flat movie screen like other units we saw. The heating element makes our 14x14 bedroom a little more warmer after being on for a while (although we did not buy it for this feature). We like how the controls are hidden and the heating feature does not stay lit on the front panel. The remote is simple to work and a bonus to have. The glass does not get hot and the firebox looks similar to our wood-burning fireplace. The sound effects are a cute feature but for me, the popping is too frequent and sounds a little like corn kernels hitting a tin pot. I would prefer only a crackling sound but my husband likes the sound effects. I just lower the sound and the tin popping is less noticeable. There are two things that would make this unit perfect: 1. I wish it had was a timer so you could turn it on at night and fall asleep without waking up to turn it off. 2. I wish the flame would be more bright white/yellow in color to closely mimic the flame that our wood-burning fireplace has. The color is too orange/red for my taste but it does have some yellow flickers (a blue flicker can also be added if you like that effect). Overall, we feel the price was not too excessive and we like it so much, we would most likely get another one for our family room someday.

We just got the fireplace insert and it fits our fireplace perfectly. It was quick and easy to install, and it's gorgeous! I put it on low crackling, and it adds to the reality of the illusion of a jolly fire. We have a traditional, wood-burning fireplace and standard-sized firebox so 33" was perfect. I got tired of carting wood and cleaning up the ashes, so we moved to propane. We enjoyed that for 18 years until the burner finally died. It was impossible to get parts for it anymore, so we decided to try electric. No muss, no fuss, no worrying about the pilot light going out...it's GREAT! Highly recommended, well worth the price.

I really have no complaints about this 26" version that I recessed into a wall. The flame pattern and flickering log set are very real especially when viewing from further away. Other reviews are correct about how well made and sturdy the firebox is. Upon unboxing I just plugged it in and turned it on. The white power cord is connected to the upper left side of the unit (if you are looking the back end) and extends about 5 feet. In my case, I cut a hole in a wall slightly larger than the size of the fire box and slipped it in. The cut out was made directly in front of an open space behind the wall which happens to be below a staircase landing. So I had plenty of room for at least 8 inches of depth for the unit. I left about an inch and a half of space between the top of the unit and underneath the top wall cutout. Be advised the inside top of the unit gets very warm when the heat is on high so I will be keeping a close eye on heat build up inside that wall. I can always install a strip of cement board to prevent heat from going up the inside wall. For power I am fortunate this unit is installed about 12 inches above the ceiling in my basement so I ran a dedicated line/receptacle to the ceiling joist and dropped the power cord through a hole in the floor. Wires are totally concealed. Keep in mind this is a glorified space heater so plugging into a plug nearby should be fine as long as there is not too much on that circuit. Because of resistance and voltage drop over length it is never a good idea to use an extension cord for any electrical heat. The unit simply slides in and there is no need to anchor the frame to the wall unless you drill noticeable holes in the front of the frame. Although the weight of the unit keeps it in place inside the wall I may make a shelf so the back bottom surface can rest. The top, left and right sides have a 1 inch lip; there is no lip on the bottom. I can very easily pull the unit forward from the top and extract it from the cut out if needed for any reason but, as long as the unit works well, I may just caulk the bottom edge and leave it alone. Heat is blown from the upper left of the unit and the fan is very quiet on high; kind of like the sound of forced air through ceiling vents in a quiet room or computer fan. The room is about 13 X 9 and the ceiling height is about 9 feet and there are 3 good sized windows in the room with lounge chairs directly in front of the windows. There is also two long, forced hot water baseboards for regular heat. The windows in this room (they are about 10 years old) make it drafty in there on very cold days (if highs are in the 20s F) so we hope this will help . I don't think it would heat the room very well if only this unit was used. In fact, I was slightly disappointed with the heat output but a stronger fan would have meant more noise. So we'll see how it goes. That said, if you just came in from being out in the cold and stood in front of the unit it will help to warm you up more quickly.

The TOP to BOTTOM measurement of the fireplace opening is the most important. I have the Western 30" and the top to bottom fits perfectly with a 2" space on the left and right side. Remove the metal/glass cover on the fireplace by loosening the bolts located on the inside of the fireplace. Measure from the TOP of the opening to the 'seat' or slab that borders the front of the opening. DO NOT measure to the inside bottom because that will add about 2" inches and you will be wrong. I used 2x4's to frame the sides first and then the inside bottom of the opening. NO NEED TO FRAME THE TOP. I used 'window/door' caulking to caulk all seems inside and out and let it dry. I used cement bolts and a hammer drill to fasten the 2x4's and what I call the 'butterfly' drill bits to recess a hole for the bolt to sit below the wood surface. This permits the insert to slide in/out without hitting the bolts. It takes between 4 and 5 days to convert your fireplace and if you have to hire someone to do it, it will cost some money. I was lucky to have an outlet near my fireplace so wiring it was easy. CONSIDER THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTION BEFORE BUYING THE INSERT. An outlet too far or too much brick to cut through will be expensive. After outlining where to cut the wall I sanded down the texture to find screws/nails that held the wall in place so I could remove them. I used a utility knife to cut the wall so I can reuse what I removed to make it easier. I replaced my outlet box with a larger/deeper box to hold the extra wiring better. My fireplace box is lined with a 1/4" inch steel insert instead of brick. You will notice I had to fill-in the 12 vents that kept the metal from warping. I stuffed in paper and then used the window/door caulking to fill in the gaps. I used a wet paper towel to wipe the caulking to recess and resemble the brick mortar. I used a 2" inch thick by 6" inch thick drill bit designed for steel to drill thru the metal insert. I then used a 2" inch thick by 18" inch long cement drill bit and hammer drill to penetrate 5" inches of brick because there was an 8" inch gap between the metal wall and the stone. I drilled from the fireplace insert side. I used an old thin rod to insert thru the drilled holes and tap on the wooden studs seen in the wall. By listening to where the rod tapped on the wood I marked my hole, drilled and connected thru. Using the rod I ensured I drilled all the way thru to the fireplace. I then inserted the conduit I purchased thru the holes in the wood to ensure I could connect to the outlet box and taped the cable to the thin wire. I pulled the thin wire to pull the cable thru to the fireplace. I used self-drilling/tapping metal screws (NOT those for Aluminum) to fasten the new outlet box in the fireplace making certain it was back enough and high enough for the insert frame to miss it when pushed into place (remember, it penetrates 8" inches into the fireplace box) I used the screws to fasten the bracket to secure the new conduit to the inside of the fireplace and also keep it away from the insert frame. I have pics but do not see where to upload them. Finally, I used 'Meeco's Red Devil' 1 1/2" x 10" inch fireplace insert insulation to insulate the fireplace so cold air doesn't get in or heat gets out. It is self-adhesive and heat resistant so it works great. The insert looks really nice as does the flame. The 'crackling' sound sounds more like one of those Halloween decorations at first but you get used to it. Overall, very good product to convert a fireplace.

This is great, looks really nice, puts out some heat,well made, slides right in realistic looking. Fan is quiet.

Ordering an electric fireplace online sight unseen was pretty risky.... ordering TWO of them seemed even more crazy. We wanted these in place, along with some new furniture, before Thanksgiving, so we bit the bullet and ordered them. We are extremely happy with the new fireplace(s) and in fact they have exceeded our expectations! They arrived quickly and were well packaged. In fact, the trim piece (shipped separately) was packaged so well, I would say it was overkill! We bought these primarily for look and ambiance and the fireplace looks even better than we expected! The log set and flames are quite realistic - despite the obvious that it's not a real wood-burning fireplace. These fireplaces have added a wonderful finish to both our family and living rooms. We had no expectation that these would provide any significant heat. The documentation and reviews also never claimed these fireplaces would provide anything more than supplemental heat. The family room is a bit over 400 sqft and the living room about 300 sqft. In addition to the ambiance, we were just hoping to take the chill out of the air and had no expectation these would "heat the house." And of course they don't. However, they provide much more heat that we expected! In fact, enough heat is produced in the front of the house that we have not yet turned on our gas furnace. Granted, we're in No. California and of course do not have extreme weather - although just this morning the outside temps were in the mid 30's. Our house is 65 yrs old and if we don't run the heater in the winter, the inside temp will drop below 60. We're comfortable at 66deg, but colder than that we typically would be running the heater. Of course our house, it's layout, insulation, etc. is different and so I wouldn't go by our results because your situation will be different. But for us, again, the heat output far exceeded our expectations. For example, since we installed, the temp inside several times has been as low as 59 deg. The house thermostat for the furnace is about 15ft from the livingroom fireplace and 20 or more from the family room fireplace. These two fireplaces together have been raising the inside temp to 66-68 degrees. Yes, it takes a couple of hours to reach, but we are so pleased that there is enough heat to indeed, take the chill off. We're giving this a 5 star rating because we are so happy with not only the looks, but the heat performance as well. In all fairness, there are some quirks that others may want to know. The flame feature set is just 3 settings. Fine by us as we're not interested in purple or blue flames.... :-) The "cracking" sound is really just a novelty and nothing we'll ever turn on. And just 2, non-adjustable heat settings. The remote is simple and we love the flame and log set as is and so no need for 8 differrent colors... Lastly, the big elephant in the room is the cost of electricity. We've only been running these less than a month and I fully expect our electric bill to go UP. How much? No idea yet. What I do know is that we've yet to run the old, gas furnace that also chews up electricity from the large blower. So we'll see if there's any cost savings. I kinda doubt it. But we didn't get these to replace central heating. Overall, we are so very pleased with our purchase!

I’ve put this fireplace in two houses now because I love it so much. Puts off enough heat to warm a large open room. Makes crackling sounds like a real fire. Looks fantastic. I have had people ask me if it was a gas fireplace because the flames look real. The quality is amazing for the price. I looked at some very expensive electric fireplaces and I’m so glad I chose this one over those. It’s the perfect size and I love dang it has different flame settings.