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Head-to-head · Best Electric Fireplaces

PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert vs PuraFlame Western 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.5 vs 4.4). The gap is mostly about owners of a disused masonry firebox or a framed cutout who want the closed-door look of a traditional hearth — read the strengths below before deciding.

PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert
Higher ratedRanked #3 in Best Electric Fireplaces
PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert
3 sources2 derived$419.99

The Klaus is Bob Vila's overall pick for the category and Popular Mechanics' best traditional insert, and both awards come down to the front face: double glass doors, a mesh curtain, and a three-sided brick liner behind a resin log on a grate. It is a conversion product, meant to drop into a hearth or a framed cutout, and the flat bottom means it can sit straight on the floor of an opening with no hearth built under it. Popular Mechanics puts the output above 5,000 BTU for rooms up to 400 square feet. The reservations are consistent across both publications: the crackling audio does not convince, the control panel sits where you can see it, and there is no hardwire option.

Strengths
  • — Double glass doors and a mesh curtain in front of the fire, so the front face reads as a real firebox rather than a lit panel
  • — Flat bottom lets it sit directly on the floor of a hearthless opening with no plinth to build
  • — Three-sided brick liner behind a resin log on a grate, which is what Bob Vila built its overall pick around
Watch-outs
  • — Bob Vila's single con is that the crackling sound effect is not very realistic
  • — Popular Mechanics calls the front-mounted control panel conspicuous on an insert designed to look traditional
  • — Cannot be hardwired, so the cord has to be planned for or hidden
$419.99 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →
PuraFlame Western 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert
Ranked #4 in Best Electric Fireplaces
PuraFlame Western 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert
3 sourcesall derived$389.99

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.

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
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
$389.99 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

PuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert

Shares its width with the PuraFlame Western 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert but is about four inches shorter and closes the fire behind glass doors and a mesh screen instead of leaving the hearth open. Unlike the Touchstone Sideline 50-inch (80004) it needs an existing opening rather than a stud wall, and it has none of the app or voice control the Touchstone Sideline Elite 50-inch (80036) offers.

PuraFlame Western 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert

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.

Specs side-by-side

SpecPuraFlame Klaus 33-inch Electric Fireplace InsertPuraFlame Western 33-inch Electric Fireplace Insert
TypeFirebox insert, freestanding or wall-mountFirebox insert, freestanding or wall-mount
Heating Power750W / 1,500W750W / 1,500W fan heater
Heat Output5,100 BTU—
CoverageUp to 400 sq ftUp to 400 sq ft
Flame Effect3 settings, variable intensity and brightness3 settings, variable intensity and brightness
Sound6 crackling tracks, switchable off6 crackling tracks
FrontDouble glass doors and mesh curtainGlass front trim, open hearth
ControlsFront panel and remote, heat-off flame modeRemote control, heat-off flame mode
Dimensions35.04" W x 22.44" H x 8.78" D35.04" W x 26.99" H x 8.78" D
Interior—Three-sided brick liner, resin log on a grate
Weight—46.74 lb
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