Dimplex 25" Traditional Electric Stove with Bevelled Glass Detailing, Matte Black

Save lots of money and order this is plain black, then buy a can of quality spray paint and bring it to life - in my case, hammered bronze. This stove is worth the money, nicely detailed and a log/flame effect that is ready for prime time. Put a CD of crackling fire sounds in that unused CD player you have gathering dust and stand back! Also, first thing to do is switch out the two 60 watt candelabra base style bulbs in the bottom back of the unit with two equivalent power LED bulbs of the same style. You've saved so much loot on the stove itself that you can afford them. Presto! The 120 watts of total energy use drops to 12 watts. No change in how things look, of course. Plus, neither you nor your descendants will probably ever have to change out the bulbs again.

We live in a 1970's style split foyer house with a lower level family room that loses heat to the upstairs, and for a number of years have used a kerosene heater in the winter to make the family room livable. The mess, the odor, and the trouble of keeping it filled with kerosene led us to consider an electric heater. We saw a Dimplex fireplace in a furniture show room, and thought it was the most realistic electric flame effect we'd ever seen, but it was over $1000, which was not in our budget--then we saw this Dimplex "electric stove" for under $200. One note to address a bit of confusion I had as I was shopping--Walmart calls this unit "Traditional Electric Stove" but Dimplex sells a different unit with the "Traditional" label--model DS5603. The unit that Walmart sells as the "Traditional" model is the Dimplex DS5629, a slightly larger unit, which Dimplex calls the "Lincoln" or "Classic" stove. We placed the order online "Ship-to-Home" and paid for it in-store so we could use an "18 months no interest" coupon that Walmart had sent us. The online order acknowledgement said delivery within five days, but we had the unit on our doorstep two days after making payment, so I was impressed with the fast shipping. I had been a bit leery of the unit's construction, since other reviews had talked about receiving a unit with plastic legs broken in shipment. Mine arrived in perfect condition -- I found that for shipment the legs are set down into styrofoam packing that is molded to fit the legs. The legs are indeed made of plastic, but it seemed to me the plastic was plenty heavy-duty enough to support the unit without being overly flexible or overly brittle. I would take care not to ram into the legs with a vacuum cleaner, however. The rest of the cabinet including the "firebox" is made of painted wood. The instructions warn against doing anything that could scratch the surface, so I took additional care in handling. Overall however, for something that sits on the floor and doesn't get moved a lot, I was very satisfied with the construction. Fit and finish is very good. Setup was fast and easy--unbox the unit, remove the protective plastic wrap and plug it in. The only "assembly" required was to put batteries in the remote control. One unexpected development--upon the initial power-up and turning on the flames, I discovered that the unit made a loud "clickety-clickety-clickety" noise--loud enough that it could be heard over the sound from the family room television operating at normal volume. To troubleshoot, I looked in the supplied user guide to discover how to get into the insides of the flame unit--which you will do when it is time to replace the light bulbs inside. I removed three screws from the floor of the unit, just inside the front door, which allowed me to remove the "fire grating" that holds the fiberglass log set in place, and then lifted out the log set, which is very lightweight. The flame image is produced by two light bulbs reflecting off the "flame rod" and projecting onto a frosted mirror on the back panel. The flame rod looks like a bottle brush made from shiny aluminum "bristles", or perhaps a branch from an aluminum Christmas tree. One end of the flame rod is attached to an electric motor that rotates the rod like a spit roaster, causing the "flames" to dance. The other end of the rod slips into a plastic bushing that holds it in position as it rotates. I discovered that on my unit the end of the flame rod that goes in the bushing was not in place--evidently popping out during shipment. This meant the rod was out of position as it rotated and the "clickety-clickety" noise was from the "bristles" scraping on the frame. I flexed the rod gently, enough to slip the other end into the bushing, turned it on momentarily to make certain it cleared the frame as it rotated, then reassembled the logset. It now works perfectly and silently. The unit is very quiet--I can barely even hear the heater fan when it's on. I very much enjoy the realistic "fire" and the heater does a good job of taking the chill off our family room. I have absolutely no regrets about purchasing the unit, even considering the bit of extra trouble it took to get it working correctly. I would buy this unit again.

Looks great and performs as expected.

We took the fireplace out of the box and plugged it in. It took off without hesitation. The controls are very simple to operate. I really like the feature that it will shut off if it overheats. Also, controlling the thermastat is great. I have a TV sitting on top of it in our kitchen. At night, it looks just great. The flames and glowing embers are so realistic. Sure, if one's looking it over closely, they might be able to tell it's not the "real thing" but who cares? It heats the tile floor and the whole kitchen. Another feature is that it can be set to room temperature and it will shut down when it's reached. I was lucky and got it online for $178.00 and it's worth every penny. AND, it's so attractive!

I have owned two units for over 5 years. Just as good now as when I bought them. I am going to buy another for another bedroom. Thy not only look good but are excellent to heat a cool room.I,m looking for a Dimplex because I know there good don't want another brand.