Electric fireplace inserts?
 

I want to get rid of all of this mess that comes w/ the wood burning fireplace but I don't want gas logs and want something that looks as close to real as possible.

Has anyone ever added an electric fireplace insert into their existing wood burning fireplace? Suggestions?

My mother had one about 20 years ago, used it for years until it wore out. No idea the brand. It was an easy set up, it sat right where the logs would be, and with the doors closed looked pretty realistic. The (plastic?) fire rotated around a light bulb. Simple but effective.

why not natural gas or propane instead? It would be a lot more heat then electric.

:iagree: Plus with a simple battery backup, you could still have heat if the power went out :hurray:

I went with propane for the same reasons you have mentioned, Me2.

I've had people standing in front of the thing for fifteen minutes who didn't know it wasn't real.

The remote control will turn it on or off, and it also has a thermostat function so it can be used to heat that part of the house in the winter by cycling on and off. I absolutely love it.

I'd have to install a gas or propane tank and don't really want to do that. I've seen some nice electric ones online that look pretty realistic. I'm in Texas so I'm not really concerned about the heat - I just want the ambiance but don't know if it's worth $1000 plus the cost of an electrician to put in an outlet behind it.

Take a look at the dimplex models they are pretty nice

It might be cheaper to put in a gas line. Do you have natural gas in your area?

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y10...ce20Insert.jpg

think about 1 of these before you say goodbye to burning wood.

I have owned one for over 20 years and totally love it.
Plug it in the wall, once it gets up to a certain temperature the blowerfan kicks on and we really get a lot of heat from it.