Two publications independently gave this insert their realism award, which is unusual in a category where most units are judged on features. Bob Vila calls it the most realistic of nine picks; Forbes Vetted makes it best realistic and puts the reason plainly — the three-sided brick, the glass front trim, the burned logs on a grate and the crackling audio. It is an open-hearth design rather than a closed one, four inches taller than PuraFlame's Klaus at the same width, and it drops into a masonry firebox using handles on the body. Consumer Reports has it in its tested fireplace database, though the score sits behind a membership wall.
Full review
Two publications gave it the realism award
Realism is the most subjective thing anyone can judge about an electric fireplace, which makes it notable that two unrelated editorial teams landed on the same unit. Bob Vila reviewed nine electric fireplaces and gave the Western its most realistic slot. Forbes Vetted reviewed seven and made it best realistic. Neither award went to a unit with more colours or more wattage; both went to the one that looks like a fire when you are not thinking about it.
Forbes Vetted explains the reasoning in one sentence that doubles as an assembly list: "Adding to the authenticity is the three-sided interior brick wall, glass front trim and crackling sounds that it makes." Bob Vila adds the LED detail, writing that "the LED technology provides vivid colors for the realistic log and grate." What both are describing is a design that spends its budget on the things you look at rather than the things you read on a spec sheet.
Handles on the body for lowering it into a firebox
The Western is built around one job: filling a wood-burning fireplace that no longer burns wood. Forbes Vetted describes the process directly — "Simply use the handles to place the insert, featuring faux burned logs resting on a grate, inside a wood burning fireplace and then plug it into a standard electrical outlet." Those handles are a small design decision that makes a real difference when you are kneeling in front of a hearth trying to slide 46 pounds of steel into a masonry opening without scraping the brick.
It is not restricted to that use. Both publications note it can also be run freestanding or mounted to a wall, and Bob Vila describes it as a "black vent-free electric fireplace insert" made from metal and tempered glass that "can fit into many traditional fireplaces." But the open-hearth styling is designed to be seen framed by brick or stone; hung on flat drywall it looks like what it is.
Burned-log detail on a grate, not a moulded panel
The log set is the part that separates a convincing insert from a cheap one. Rather than a single moulded piece with the flame projected behind it, the Western sits faux burned logs on an actual grate with space underneath, which is how a real fire is laid and why the shadows fall correctly. Forbes Vetted's description is specific about it, and Bob Vila's most realistic award rests on the same detail plus the vivid LED colour on the log and grate.
Three flame settings vary intensity and brightness, and the whole display runs with the heater off. That last point matters more for an insert than for a wall unit: a masonry firebox is a hole in the wall when it is dark, so most owners will leave the flame running for the look far more hours than they will run the heat.
Six crackling tracks that carry the illusion
The Western includes six selectable crackling sounds, operated from the remote alongside the flame settings. Bob Vila describes the remote as allowing "a quick-and-easy mood, including three flame effects and six unique crackling sounds for a more realistic experience," and unlike its assessment of the Klaus — where its single criticism was that the crackle is not very realistic — it raises no complaint about the audio here.
Sound is doing real work on this product. An open hearth with no glass door in front of it looks more like a fire than a closed one, but it also has nothing between you and the silence. Adding a low crackle is what stops the eye from noticing that a fire this size should be making noise. It is the reason both realism awards went to this unit rather than to a wall panel with three times the colour options.
Bob Vila heard about installation trouble
Bob Vila's one criticism is that "some users have reported installation difficulties." That is consistent with what an insert conversion actually involves: masonry openings are rarely square, older fireboxes taper toward the back, and a 35-inch-wide, 8.78-inch-deep steel box has no give in it. Measuring the opening at the front, the back and the top before ordering is not optional, and PuraFlame does sell the Western in narrower sizes for exactly this reason.
Forbes Vetted's cons are shorter and more practical: "Heats small spaces" and "Has a cord." The first is a fair reading of a 400-square-foot rating on a unit that will usually be installed in a living room. The second is the same limitation the PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert has — it plugs into a standard outlet and cannot be hardwired — and Forbes Vetted's own advice is simply to hide the cord.
Consumer Reports has it in the tested database
The Western is one of the few units in this lineup with a Consumer Reports model page of its own, listing per-attribute ratings for ease of use, room heating, spot heating and noise. Those scores sit behind a membership wall, so they are not part of the average shown here and no number from them is quoted, but the existence of the page means the unit went through a laboratory rather than a photo studio — which is more than can be said for most electric fireplaces on the market.
For a buyer, the useful signal is not the hidden score but the fact that it was tested at all. Consumer Reports' electric fireplace programme is small, and its published model pages skew heavily toward Dimplex. Being included puts the Western in a narrow group of inserts that have actually been through a heating and noise protocol rather than in the much larger group of models that exist only as retail listings.
Four inches taller than the Klaus at the same width
If you are cross-shopping PuraFlame's two 33-inch inserts, the deciding numbers are height and face. The Western is 26.99 inches tall against the Klaus's 22.44, at an identical 35.04-inch width and 8.78-inch depth, and it weighs 46.74 pounds. That extra height changes which openings it will fit, so it is worth measuring before assuming the two are interchangeable.
The face is the bigger difference. The Klaus closes the fire behind double glass doors and a mesh curtain; the Western leaves it open behind glass front trim. Bob Vila gave the Klaus its overall award and the Western its realism award, which is an honest way of saying the closed one is the more versatile product and the open one is the better-looking fire.
Right for a masonry conversion, not for a stud wall
Buy the Western if you have a real fireplace opening you no longer use and you want it to look occupied again. It is the pick when the surround is brick or stone, when the fire is going to be looked at from a sofa rather than glanced at under a television, and when you would rather have crackling audio and a convincing log set than an app. It is also a reasonable choice for a staged or period room where a modern glass panel would look wrong.
It is the wrong buy if you are starting from flat drywall — the Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004) and the Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036) are both under six inches deep and designed for framing. It is also wrong if you need heat rather than atmosphere, where the Duraflame 3D Infrared Electric Fireplace Stove (DFI-5010) is the better tool, or if smart control is on your list, which again points at the Elite.
Strengths
- +Named most realistic by Bob Vila and best realistic by Forbes Vetted, the only unit here to take that award from two publications
- +Three-sided interior brick wall and glass front trim behind faux burned logs resting on a grate
- +Carry handles on the body so a single person can lower it into a wood-burning firebox
- +Six crackling sound tracks and three flame settings, all adjustable from the remote
- +Runs freestanding or wall-mounted as well as recessed, and operates with the heat off
Watch-outs
- −Bob Vila reports that some users have run into installation difficulties
- −Cannot be hardwired, so Forbes Vetted's advice is literally to hide the cord
- −Forbes Vetted lists "Heats small spaces" as a con — the rating is 400 square feet or less
- −No app, no voice control and no thermostat scheduling, just a remote
How it compares
The same width as the PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert but roughly four inches taller, trading the Klaus's glass doors and mesh curtain for an open hearth that reads as the more convincing fire of the two. Like the Klaus it needs an existing opening, which is the opposite of what the Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004) and the Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036) are built for.
Rating sources
“The remote allows for a quick-and-easy mood, including three flame effects and six unique crackling sounds for a more realistic experience.”
“Adding to the authenticity is the three-sided interior brick wall, glass front trim and crackling sounds that it makes. Hide the cord and you'll really create the illusion of a roaring fire.”
“Can vary heat output, and control flame size, flame color, ember brightness, sounds, and other lights.”
Our 4.4 score is the average of the 2 scored reviews above; 1 more reviewed it without printing a score and is not in the average. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
