Portable Indoor/Outdoor Freestanding Ventless Bio Ethanol Fireplace - Cube XL | Ignis

We have an old fireplace. It ought to be an asset, but it has always been more of a liability. It has weird dimensions, an unlined flue, and no damper to speak of. Getting it into shape for wood burning would cost several thousand dollars, and even a gas insert (assuming we could even find one that fit the existing firebox) would require some significant investment. And non-fire alternatives looked fake, cheap, or fake and cheap. A few weeks ago, we saw one of these fireplace cubes in a restaurant, and were immediately sold on it. It's a good size - not obtrusively large, but big enough to give a sense of a *fire*, rather than an overgrown candle. It's nicely made - the base is metal, and has some heft to it. The paint on the base doesn't look like its going to flake or chip after a few months. The glass walls are about 3/8" thick, and don't give the impression of fragility. As a whole, it feels substantial.It's simple to set up. Just stick the glass plates into the corresponding slots and you're good to go... it took longer to unpack the unit than it did to assemble it. And it's easy to use - if you've managed to light a Tiki Torch without setting yourself and/or nearby furniture on fire, you have mastered the learning curve necessary to get this lit. Once lit, it burns about two hours - mileage may vary, depending on the draftiness of the room.The fuel is alcohol - there's a bit of a boozy smell when you pour the fuel in, but it dissipates quickly, and the flame itself is odorless and -unlike some cheap pillar candles I could mention- doesn't produce soot. Fair warning - the flame starts fairly low at first, and can take a few minutes to get up to speed. It doesn't produce an overwhelming amount of heat - although I'd be careful about setting it up overly close to anything flammable, or leaving it burning completely unattended. Use common sense - it's an open flame - and you should be fine.Is it a roaring, crackling wood fire? No. Candidly, there's no real substitute for that. But this fireplace cube feels like a good alternative, rather than a compromise. It delivers solidly on the fire ambiance, without the hassle of hauling ashes or splitting logs.

Slightly bigger than I had envisioned but still sits on my coffee table. Nice atmosphere fire with some heat value also. Warmed up the room we were in some after using it for 30 minutes. The odor isn't awful but you do smell it more than I envisioned. Will work great out on our porch during the summer where we can vent the odor better. I am pleased with the purchase overall.

It was great!!

Great little fireplace - we have been looking for a way to put a gas fireplace in our house for the past couple of years, but the house is not set up well for a permanent installation with gas pipes, etc. This is a clean, easy and portable solution - it looks great and definitely warms up a room!