Dimplex Revillusion Electric Fireplace Log Insert - 20 Inch Faux Wooden Logs, Plug in Electric Heater; Remote Control Included - Supplemental Zone Heat | Model #RLG20

I love the heater. The look is about as realistic as you can get without a real flame.The only thing that I don't like about it is that you can only turn the heat to low, high, or off. You cannot set it to certain temperature and have the heat come on and iff by itself.I have a similar Dimplex electric wood stove in another room that is probably at least 20 years old and like most space heaters you can turn a knob up or down to set the temperature. I don't know why they left that simple, but useful feature out of this product.

The media could not be loaded. I live in an older house with a wood-burning fireplace but I don’t want the hassle, smokiness, and mess of burning wood so I decided to buy some electric logs to use when I wanted the mood of a fire. I knew going in that whatever I bought wouldn’t look exactly like a real fire but I hoped to find something that didn’t look totally cheap and cheesy and I’m very pleased with this log set.To get the “bad” out of the way first - the heater is weak. Definitely buy this for the look, not the heat. My living room is average-sized and in checking with a thermometer, running it on high for two hours didn’t raise the room temperature at all. My favorite seat is about 8 feet away and I couldn’t even tell the heater was on. You only feel heat if you’re within a couple of feet of it. My cats like to lay in front of it.Also, the plastic reflector piece is as obvious in bright light as other reviewers have said. My first photo shows the logs running in daylight with the curtains open on a picture window on the wall that’s left of the fireplace wall. (I darkened the edge of the shield before installation.) While I don’t love how obvious it is in bright light, I’m so pleased with the effect in dim light (when I’m more likely to use it) that the trade-off is worth it to me.Now for the good stuff. The “fire” looks wonderful at night or with the curtains closed. (See the video.) It’s soothing and subtle and while I’m sure there must be a pattern to the “flames” it isn’t at all obvious. In dim light, the flame pattern reflects faintly on the fireplace liner bricks as well as the reflective shield, adding to the effect. There are three different flame settings and I think the fire looks most natural on the lowest setting but all are good.The remote I received works perfectly and the controls are logical. The only assembly necessary was inserting the reflective shield into the slots and the logs were ready to use. There was no weird smell to anything.Overall, I’m very pleased that I bought this log set. If it lasts a few years, it will have been well worth the money to me.NOTE: I didn’t buy the ember mat attachment that’s available for these logs. I was on the fence about its appearance and at the time I bought the logs, the price of the ember mat was $80, which I think is insanely expensive for what reviewers have said is basically some molded styrofoam-like material with a few LED lights, so I created my own “ember bed” with some fire pit rocks and battery-powered LEDs, both purchased on Amazon. The cost was about half that of the ember mat.If anyone likes how it looks (see second photo and video), here’s what I did - I bought a strand of orange, battery powered, LED “fairy lights” for $7 and a 10 pound bag of “Marigold Glow” fire pit rock, which is a mix of black lava rocks and heat-safe orange and amber glass, for $34. I arranged them in front of the logs and TaDa!...embers! And since the lights have their own battery pack, I can use the logs with or without them, depending on what effect I want.

The media could not be loaded. PROS:How many ways can you think of to improve the your quality of life instantly for about $220? This electric log set instantly added coziness to my new (budget) apartment built in 1980 and helped to aid in relaxation immediately post-move. It has a meditative quality to it. Now, I just can’t imagine if I had moved into this apartment without it.If you have some slight social anxiety (or like the typical jitters when meeting someone new or new-ish), this is nice to have as a focal point while sipping wine. (:With the heater “off,” electric inserts are considered safe to leave on (like just the lights/illusion part "on").It is plug and play! Just put the mirrored plastic piece in its place, plug in, and you’re good to go! In my size fireplace, I had to situate the base in first and kinda finagled the plastic piece in after that. I was worried that it wouldn’t fit, but it ended up being perfect (top of arch extends a bit but does not make it look any less pretty).Overall, this is beautiful and as realistic as one may reasonably expect - for this price point and well on up. I still cannot believe the value!CONS:Although turning the side/backlights on (and to the flickering setting) helps to disguise the shine of the plastic piece (as will a screen - great if you have one built into your surround already), you can see a bit of a glare on the plastic (the part that makes the realistic looking “flame” possible). However, this is not a major drawback as when the lights in your home are super dim or off at night (or even with just the TV on), you can’t really see the glare - especially with the side/backlight feature on.The remote could be more intuitive. For safety, I keep the instructions on the shelf with the remote. I may type up and laminate a simpler set of instructions on a card to keep with it. To avoid a panicked moment after you’ve enjoyed your cozy evening with the heater on, READ the instructions beforehand.Finally, this product could be more accessible. If you are unable to hear the “beeps,” you may not know how you have just changed the settings via the remote. There could be changes made to add indicator lights to the side of the base and/or remote to fix this. This would make usage more intuitive for everyone right out of the box.

It makes a creaky sound when it’s on that I can hear even over a tv, and the heater is definitely audible when in use.

I got this for my wife for Christmas as starting a fire in the fireplace is a big deal and her because of our advanced ages. This installed in less than half hour and everything worked just like it was supposed to. The only catch was I couldn't find the lighted Ash mat which is supposed to sell with it according to the instructions. But you has to be ordered separately and nobody seems to have it. The company can't sell it directly and the places that they've had us check didn't have it. So maybe it's not even available anymore. That's my only bad thing to say about it. The fire looks so real and warms up the living room. We can recommend it to anyone that wants the advantages of a fireplace without the disadvantages.