Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Edit #2 - had it less than 20 days and the flame effect makes a terrible noise. It hasn't been moved since originally setting it up, and I've only used it 4-5 times, not even a total of 36 hours (and the flame effect is off all night, so it's run no more than 12 hours, tops). See video of the problem. According to owner manual, it's likely the flame effect drive motor. Total crap. EDIT! UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF REVIEW I had the DFI-550-0 model that I used daily for the previous 3 winters in the northeast, but my 10 month old border collie thought the power cord was a tasty treat. Thankfully it wasn't plugged in. I had just pulled it out in preparation for the upcoming cold front. I hadn't planned on a new one, but since I had the chance I wanted to find one that had better flame effect - the chewed one's was pretty lame. I also liked that the old one had the heat coming out just above the door, not near the floor. Thanks to some very helpful video reviews here, I felt this one would check those must-have boxes. That it came in bronze was bonus because I just redecorated the master bedroom and as it happened the new bed was antique bronze. As hoped for, the flame effect is as good as you could get without having an actual fire. Strangely, because of the mechanism & the placement of the lights & faux logs, they do have this neat 3D effect, it looks like flames licking the front, sides, and back of the firebox - and they are random, not just the same repetition of a blue & orange projection on the back wall as a small LED wheel spins. Like I said, it was lame. The heat output is good - quiet blower and as mentioned the vent is above the door not underneath. The thermostat goes from 62-82 and timer goes from 30min-9hrs, but you can also set to 00 which will just leave it on. You do have to cycle through to turn the temp or timer down/off. The bad news - the remote didn't work. Tried 3 sets of batteries, including the ones that came with it. It turned it on once but otherwise dead on arrival. I have contacted seller & I'm waiting on their next response after confirming for them that, yes, it is still dysfunctional after making sure I was using it from a distance of 6'. They mentioned they may be able to send me a new one after they receive from manufacturer. Better than sending the whole thing back. I'll update review with whatever resolution comes about. I will note that the remote, too, requires that you cycle through in order to turn the heat down/off. The remote from my chewed stove (which sadly did not work when I tried it on the new unit, which would have been a nice solution), did have up/down buttons. I specifically wanted a remote because I like sleeping in a fairly cold room, so set it to 62 at bedtime, then, using the remote, crank it up to 78 when the alarm goes off, and by the time snooze rings the room is toasty enough to venture out of bed. The other notable downside is the digital display is on the bottom right behind the door, so if your remote works & you want to use it, you have to know what the settings are in your head and keep track as you change the settings. That you have to cycle all the way through to turn down but can't see the display is poor design. The flames only have 5 levels so that's no big deal, but 70 to 66, then turn off in 2 hours would be aggravating to set with the remote. The chewed Duraflame displayed the settings up near the vent, and would blink out after a few seconds from changing settings, so not on all the time making sleep easier. The remote is very basic so you won't find the digital reading there either. Not a deal breaker, but I predict it will be pretty annoying as time goes by. I could leave the door open but that's just silly to have to do. I'll take the trade off because the flames are so good but if they come out with a new version next year, I'd probably buy it for the bedroom and just have this in the bathroom or living room. 2 stars deducted for the dysfunctional remote & poor design of the controls. I'll add a star back once I get new remote from seller, if that happens. Since videos from other buyers were so helpful to me, I've created one that shows the magic flame mechanism, which is pretty cool, and the cycle of the settings, which, again, are normally concealed by the closed door. UPDATE: I received the new remote and it's perfect! As mentioned before, the remote nor the stove itself has Up/Down control for temp and timer. As expected, you have to cycle all the way through if you want to lower flame effect or timer. Unexpectedly, the temp button on remote only switches from the previously set temp & full time on. So, to change from 72 to 68, you have to use buttons on the stove. For the morning ritual, I can keep it at 66 overnight, then just hit the temp button on remote & it will turn the heating element on, so just need to remember to switch it back to temp setting, otherwise it will run continuously, and get pretty warm. I'm happy with how seller handled the broken remote, they shipped the replacement quickly - added a star. Still annoying that this unit doesn't have Up/Down control, it is a bit more expensive than other models with remotes that do have it (including my older $100 unit with terrible flame effect.)