The fireplace insert worked out perfectly for our wood burning to electric fireplace conversion. We get lots of compliments on the quality of the insert and friends are surprised by how realistic it looks. Also love the non-reflective mesh front. Would buy the insert again.
Overall...it's fine. We purchase the 50' inch mesh screen. The buying experience was fine. Our shipping was delayed 4 days but that's okay. Installation was easy and the measurements were true to size. The issues.....when we pulled the fireplace out of the box, we immediately noticed our panel that covers the buttons is broken. It will not stay shut. We are currently using some blue painters tape to try and keep it shut. Secondly.....our faux log that was in the fireplace was snapped in half. Fortunately though it is really minor because the mesh screen hides is and honestly logs and sticks are kind of thrown together anyway so it makes it look a little more "real". Third, and in my opinion the worst, is the fireplace rings. It doesn't matter if the heat function is on or off. If the fireplace is on it has this tiny constant ringing to it. Which is soooo annoying. Especially for something THIS expensive. But I'm just a girl and I hate doing returns so it just is what it is. It looks great from afar. I'm happy we went with the mesh instead of the glass screen. But I wouldn't recommend this company or product.
Installation was easy, and the quality is wonderful. It adds a lovely ambience to our living room. We're glad we got the mesh instead of the glass face, we feel like it adds depth to the illusion and like that it's not glossy and reflective. We were surprised that the heater works better than expected. It keeps our main floor 2-4 degrees hotter, which is nice at night so we can keep our upstairs cooler for out sleeping kids. The one thing we didn't love was the deluxe accessory bundle which we ended up returning. Particularly the Fire Crackle Speaker was pretty lame and not worth it. Overall, really great experience!
Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase. You can clearly tell this is a high-quality product that comes with clear instructions and specs. The mesh screen is a nice addition and really makes it look more like a gas fireplace. However, I do think there's room for improvements. I wish the 'digital' flames had more variety and weren't as uniform as they are currently. This is not a knock on the current design concept, but this could be improved with more randomness and variety. Also, the remote control does not have large range, at about 20 feet it very dicey. I elected to purchase the optional sound upgrade (w/ additional remote and embers). Sound is low quality and in hindsight would have passed on that.