Are electric fireplaces quiet?

[daveandviv]

I've been thinking of installing an electric fireplace in our 5th wheel. I was wondering if they are quieter running than the typical space heater with a non-adjustable fan like the one we use. A fireplace would take care of storing another piece of equipment plus it would look better but if it keeps me awake at night I don't want it.

[daveandviv]

Thanks everybody. Lots of useful info

[stuplich]

old guy wrote:
they are quiet but some put out more heat than others, shop around and find the one you want before you get one and be sorry, yes, I know they are 1500 watts but mine here at home is not as hot as my SIL's at his house.

old guy

Electric heat is 100% efficient... every watt that the heating element draws produces 3.41 BTU of heat, (no matter what the heater costs or what it looks like).

However some "so called" 1500 watt electric heaters use considerably less electricity than the advertized 1500 watts, (therefore produce less heat).

Using a Kill-A-Watt meter, http://www.walmart.com/ip/P3-International-Kill-A-Watt-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/14282370, you can determine how many watts any 120V electric heater actually uses to make heat.

I have found some so called 1500 watt heaters that use as little as 750 watts, which means they are putting out only 1/2 as much heat as the are supposed to.

Mel
'96 Safari

[Playtime_II]

Bought mine at Home Depot (on clearance for $99 as the cabinet was scratched up). Tossed the cabinet as it wasn't needed.
Keep in mind the Watts. 1500w (typical) might be an issue if you only have 15a circuit(s) for the outlets and would be having more than just the FP on the circuit. Mine was less watts (900w? or 1100w?). Plenty of heat. Mine is just under the TV so quiet was a requirement for us. Adjustable temp and "no heat" features as well.

[Andymon]

We bought ours at Home Depot. Just used the fireplace and gave the cabinet to a friend. It heats our TT just fine and is very quiet.Fireplace

[mguay]

Mine came from Home Depot. It is a Dimplex. I measured the cabinet where it was going to go...(had a base cabinet with 2 doors side by side). Then went to HD and measured the actual unit without the mantel to find the right one. The mantel it came with was almost a perfect match to my wood work, so I ripped it down to a depth of 1 1/2" on the table saw and screwed it all together. Looks great!

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

I think mine is very quiet because the DW doesn't complain.

With my hearing loss it would have to run louder than a Honda generator for me to hear it.

[old_guy]

they are quiet but some put out more heat than others, shop around and find the one you want before you get one and be sorry, yes, I know they are 1500 watts but mine here at home is not as hot as my SIL's at his house.

[deltamaster]

My parents have a freestanding unit in their house that looks somewhat like a residential fireplace I would imagine the guts on the ones you are interested in are basically the same.

Theirs runs on 110 volts. Looks VERY realistic and does a nice job heating a 15X20 room.

[PenMan]

Ours is very quiet.

[AllegroD]

daveandviv wrote:

Golden_HVAC wrote:
I would only buy one for a place where you can see a couple of them running. THen you will be able to pick a more realistic one, or quiet one, or one of the correct size. You will have a selection to pick from.

Good idea Fred. I'll check out some of the local fireplace stores to see what they have on display.

x2

Ours makes mo noise at all. We love it but kinda miss the crackling.

[daveandviv]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
I would only buy one for a place where you can see a couple of them running. THen you will be able to pick a more realistic one, or quiet one, or one of the correct size. You will have a selection to pick from.

Good idea Fred. I'll check out some of the local fireplace stores to see what they have on display.

[Golden_HVAC]

I would only buy one for a place where you can see a couple of them running. THen you will be able to pick a more realistic one, or quiet one, or one of the correct size. You will have a selection to pick from.

I once bought a low cost heater, and the store said "We can not plug it in, it would be considered used and we could not sell it as new anymore" - so I bought it, plugged it in my camper, and found I would need to leave it out in the dining area if I wanted to sleep. The next one, I opened the box and ran the fan in a receptacle that I found in the TV section. Most stores have places to plug in a vacuum cleaner or other things all over the store.

Fred.

[GMandJM]

Ours is a Dimplex brand (I think) and it is very quiet.

[MinnCamper]

We have one and it's quiet My space heater makes more noise. We love our fireplace!