Touchstone 80042 - Sideline Elite Electric Fireplace - 42 Inch Wide - in Wall Recessed - 60 Color Combinations - 1500/750 Watt Heater (68-88°F Thermostat) - Black - Log, Crystals, and Driftwood

UPDATE: I thought I heard a noise but couldn't place it. It sounded like a bird was on my roof or something was living in my attic, so I assumed it was a bird. It wouldn't make sense for someone to live in my attic because my house is only two years old. When I went outside, there was nothing on my roof that I could see, so I decided to leave it alone. After a few days, I was going to turn off the fireplace that I had left on. I realized I was hearing the same noise, which I realized was coming from the unit as I got closer to the fireplace. It's not unbearably loud, but it can be inconvenient if you're looking for some peace and quiet. I believe that if I had known about all of these issues before purchasing this unit, I would not have purchased it. It has now been reduced to two stars from three. It will be reduced to one star if it begins to make extremely loud noises. br>br>In general, this fireplace is an excellent addition to my home. Touchstone has done an excellent job with the realistic flame and the near bezel-free design. The variety of colors available, as well as the various display media options (wood, crystals, etc. ) What I don't like about it is that 1) it's way too expensive. Please hear me out. 2) The remote control for this 60" fireplace is a complete waste of time. Why on God's green earth would it be acceptable to give me a cheesy, flimsy remote control with no information about what each button does unless I go to the manual that will eventually be packed away somewhere if I pay $1200? 3) I don't like having to press the remote button twice to get it to respond the first time; you guys were aware of this problem. I have it set up with Google Home through my Harmony remote control app, and to turn on the fireplace, I have to tell Google twice. Touchstone, you did a poor job. 4) We have smart devices in this day and age, but this isn't a smart home. If I'm paying a premium for something, it should be able to integrate and work with any smart home without me having to buy or use another device to "try to control it. " "Hey Google," I ought to be able to say. "Change the color of my ember lights to green," and it should work. Touchstone, you did a poor job. 5) A fireplace should come with sound if I'm spending $1200 on it. Snap, crackle, and pop should be audible to me. I'm asking Google to play the sounds of a campfire yet again, just to get a sense of what it's like to be there. You can't give your customers a wood media if it doesn't have the snap, crackle, and pop of a real wood fire or rice krispies cereal. You have a chance to improve things. Please pay attention to what your clients have to say. It still looks good in my living room, despite my five issues.

Gordon FORSTER

| Jan 19, 2021

With stack stone, I made a nice wall for it. It was installed and it looked fantastic. I noticed it shut off 2 or 3 times after 2 weeks of normal use, but didn't think much of it because I assumed I had accidentally set the timer, so it wasn't a big deal. It started making noise about a week ago, and the noise is proportional to the flame speed; as the speed is increased, the noise becomes faster and louder. It's either the motor or something connected to it, in my opinion. easy fix? That's my hope. This item's box was thrown away. I'm not even going to try to use it at this point. I called the 800 number this morning and have yet to receive a response; hopefully, someone will see this.

Quentin Rios

| Jun 24, 2021

  After comparing all of the other options, we decided on the 60-inch elite model. This one appears to be the most attractive and is also the most straightforward to install. The remote could be a lot better (confusing icons), but once you've chosen your colors, you'll probably only use it to turn it on and off. I installed an Insteon home control light switch in front of my fireplace so that I can use voice control to turn it on and off, as well as program it to come on and off at specific times. Please keep in mind that these items are primarily for aesthetic purposes and only add a small amount of heat to a space. The color of the log set in our video isn't coming out right. It looks MUCH better in person, and it's less reddish. br>br>To add a few more details, the advertisement claims that the highest heat setting is 1500 Watts, but we measured it to be around 1200 Watts (10 amps at 120VAC) in the highest setting, which I prefer on a typical 15 amp circuit. I found the visual effects' Wattage to be a surprisingly low 15-watts with the heater turned off. The LED lighting and flame effects motor take a total of 20 Watts to run. As a result, when it's only on for visual effects, it uses very little electricity. br>br>In comparison to some other models or competitors with wide side frames, we like the thinner border around the fireplace. Of course, because there will only be a 1/2 inch overlap on each side of the frame, you'll have to be more precise when installing tile around the fireplace. Although I would recommend hiring a contractor to install this unit, I will state that I did all of the framing, tile work, and installation without assistance, and I am an electronics engineer, not a contractor. It was simple to do and enjoyable as well. br>br>I chose this model because it saves some settings when the fireplace is turned off and on using a 120 VAC wall switch. The flame speed, flame color, log set color, flame intensity, and log set intensity are all remembered. I never use the remote and instead rely on the switch or Alexa voice control, which I installed as an option. Finally, when we called to ask a few basic questions, we received prompt and courteous assistance from a knowledgeable individual. br>br>The only other feature we'd like to see is a realistic sound effect of burning logs, which isn't included in many of these fireplaces. That's probably going to be a feature in the future. This is a unit that we would purchase again. It's well-designed.

Veda Mejia

| May 08, 2021

For our new basement, we just got this the other day. It won't be installed for another month or so, but we unboxed it yesterday to see what it looked like. It was sleek, the flames were beautiful, and it produced a lot of heat in a short amount of time. The crystal package shattered all over the box, but thankfully did not cause any damage such as scratches. I'll try to update the review once it's up and running. We are overjoyed that we chose this one over the one in the showroom that cost $2100. br>br>Creative+ paraphrase: Our basement is now finished, and the fireplace looks fantastic, is simple to operate, and has gotten a lot of positive feedback. It quickly heats the family room in the basement, and we plan to buy a second one for the upstairs.

Hassan Valentine

| Apr 12, 2021

I spent months looking for an electric fireplace that didn't look cheesy, and I can confidently say that this is the best one in this price range. Obviously, nothing beats a gas fireplace, but with so many options ranging from flame speed to color combinations, there's a good chance you'll find something you like! I haven't tested the heat output yet because it's July!.

Troy Dillon

| Dec 22, 2021