Dimplex Tango Optiflame Electric Stove Review: a cosy-looking heater that keeps things simple

I’ve been using the Dimplex Tango Optiflame electric stove for a while now in a small living room, basically as a replacement for a solid-fuel stove I got tired of feeding and cleaning. I wanted something that looked roughly like a real stove, gave a decent amount of heat, and didn’t need any drilling, flue, or yearly sweep. This one kept coming up with decent reviews, so I grabbed it.

Out of the box, it’s basically plug-and-play. No screwing on legs, no faffing about. I literally lifted it out of the packaging, stuck it on the hearth, plugged it in and it was running in a couple of minutes. That part is honestly the biggest advantage of these electric stoves: if you can plug in a kettle, you can set this up.

My use is pretty simple: it’s a top-up heater for a 6m x 5m room and a bit of “fake fire” ambience on evenings when the central heating is already doing the main job. So I’ve used it both with heat on (1 kW and 2 kW settings) and with just the flame effect. I also tested how hot it gets around the unit and on the floor, mostly because I was paranoid about leaving it near furniture.

Overall, it does what it says: it looks like a small stove, it blows hot air like a fan heater, and the flame effect is decent enough that visitors think it’s real at first glance. It’s not perfect, and there are some cheap-feeling bits, but if you go in knowing it’s basically a fan heater in a stove-shaped box, you won’t be shocked.

Price-wise, the Tango usually sits in the mid-range for electric stoves. There are cheaper no-name models that look similar and more expensive ones with fancier flame effects and heavier build. For what you pay here, you’re basically getting a known brand, a reliable heating element, and a flame effect that looks decent without being top-tier. It’s not dirt cheap, but it’s also not in the luxury bracket.

In terms of what you actually get for the money: the pros are the easy installation, the decent heat output, the realistic-enough flame, and the brand reputation (Dimplex has been around ages). The cons are the basic remote, lack of flame adjustment, and some cheap-feeling plastic parts. If you’re the sort of person who will notice every little design flaw, you might feel it’s slightly overpriced. If you just want something that looks like a stove and works reliably, the price feels fair.

Compared to a standard portable fan heater, you’re paying extra purely for the appearance and the flame effect. A plain 2 kW fan heater will heat the room just as fast for less money. But it will also look like a plastic box and give you zero ambience. So it comes down to what you care about. If you only want raw heat per pound spent, skip this and buy a basic heater. If you want something that doubles as a piece of furniture and doesn’t look out of place in a fireplace, the extra cost makes sense.

Overall, I’d call the value “good but not mind-blowing”. It’s not a rip-off, but it’s also not some crazy bargain. It’s a fair price for a branded, decent-looking electric stove that does what it says without loads of bells and whistles.

Design-wise, the Tango aims for that classic small cast-iron stove look, and from a couple of metres away, it does a pretty solid job. The matte black finish helps a lot; it doesn’t scream “shiny plastic box” like some budget models. Sitting on a hearth with a bit of fake flue pipe stuck on top and a basket of logs beside it, it passes the quick glance test easily. I’ve had visitors ask if it was a real stove until they got closer.

Up close, you start to see where Dimplex has saved money. The body is metal with plastic elements, and the door handles in particular feel a bit cheap. On my unit they’re fine, but I’ve seen people mention the plastic door or knobs feeling flimsy, and I can believe it. The doors do open, which is a nice touch, but they don’t close with a satisfying click like some more expensive models. They kind of just sit shut. Not a big deal in daily use, but it does break the illusion a bit.

The front has a fake ash drawer with a big shiny “Dimplex” logo. That’s one thing I personally don’t like. It draws the eye and reminds you it’s an appliance, not a stove. Easy fix though: you can cover it with a magnet, a strip of tape, or just ignore it. Inside, the back wall is mirrored, which helps reflect the flame and coal glow so the interior looks fuller. When the fire is off, you can see the mirror if you crouch down, but from normal standing or sitting height, it’s not that noticeable.

Overall, the design is decent: from normal viewing distance it looks like a small traditional stove, especially in a proper fireplace opening. If you’re very picky about details or want something that feels heavy and solid like cast iron, you might be a bit disappointed. But for the price bracket, the look is good enough and miles better than those flat panel heaters pretending to be fires.

The stove is made from a mix of alloy steel and plastic. That sums up the experience pretty well: it’s not flimsy, but it’s not a tank either. When you knock on the body, it feels like thin metal rather than solid cast iron, but on the flip side, that’s why it only weighs around 12 kg and is easy to move around if you want to change rooms or rearrange furniture.

The casing and legs feel stable enough. I’ve dragged it slightly forward and back on the hearth a few times and it doesn’t flex or creak. The plastic elements are mainly the handles, some trim, and internal parts. The handles are where you really notice the cheaper material – they do the job, but they have that “plastic appliance” feeling, not “proper stove” feeling. One Amazon reviewer even had a door come off in their hand when they fiddled with the knobs, which doesn’t surprise me given the construction. Mine hasn’t done that, but I’m not yanking it either.

The coal bed is plastic with a glowing effect, and you get a few small bags of real coal pieces you can scatter on top. The real coal helps visually, but obviously it’s just sitting there for show. No risk of heat damage though – they don’t get hot enough to cause any issue. The mirror inside the back is a nice idea for the flame effect, but when the unit is off, it does look a bit odd if you stare straight into it. In day-to-day use, you don’t really pay attention to it.

In terms of safety, the materials around the base and sides don’t get crazy hot. The hot part is the air blowing from the lower front grille. I checked the floor underneath after running it on 2 kW for a while and it was only mildly warm, nothing worrying. So, materials-wise: it’s a middle-of-the-road build. Not fragile, but not premium. If you treat it like a heater you don’t slam around, it’s fine. If you expect it to feel like a heavy cast-iron stove, it’s not that.

Performance-wise, this is basically a fan heater in a stove shell, and it behaves like one. You get two heat settings: 1 kW and 2 kW. In my 6m x 5m living room with average insulation, the 1 kW setting is enough to take the chill off, and the 2 kW setting warms the room up pretty quickly. You feel the heat within seconds of turning it on, which is something I definitely prefer compared to waiting for a real stove to get going.

The fan noise is about what you’d expect from a small portable fan heater. On the lower setting it’s a steady hum; on 2 kW it’s a bit louder but still not so bad that you can’t watch TV. If you’re very sensitive to noise, you might notice it, but for me it fades into the background after a few minutes. The flame-only mode is basically silent because it’s just LEDs, so if you just want the look, you don’t get constant fan noise.

The thermostat is basic but useful. You set a level on the dial and the heater will cut in and out to hold the temperature. It’s not smart or ultra-precise, but it means you don’t have to babysit the switches all evening. There’s also an overheat safety cut-out, which I’ve had trigger once when I accidentally blocked some airflow; it switched off, cooled down, and then worked again without any fuss.

One limitation: there is no way to adjust the flame height or speed. The flame effect is either on or off. Some people expect a dimmer or “embers only” option, but that’s not here. Also, you can’t have heat without the flame glow – when you turn the heat on, the flame is on too. You can, however, run the flame with no heat, which I do quite a lot. Overall, for a straightforward room heater with a bit of atmosphere, it performs well. If you want loads of control and settings, this isn’t that kind of product.

When you open the box, you’re not building anything complicated. The stove comes fully assembled, which is already nicer than a lot of cheaper models where you have to screw on legs or handles. In the box I had: the stove itself, a small remote control (really basic), a few small bags of real coal pieces, and the paperwork. No tools needed, no extra bits.

The size is pretty compact: roughly 45 cm wide, around 55 cm high, and a bit over 30 cm deep. It’s light enough to move on your own (just over 12 kg), but it still feels more like a piece of furniture than a loose fan heater you kick under the table. I dropped it straight into an old fireplace opening and it filled the space nicely. If you had a proper wood burner before, this is about the same sort of footprint, so it doesn’t look silly or tiny.

The heat output is simple: you’ve got 1 kW and 2 kW options, controlled by switches on the side. There’s a thermostat dial and a separate switch for the flame effect. The remote basically just turns the unit on and off to the last setting; don’t expect to sit on the sofa and change heat levels or flame settings like a TV. It’s more of a lazy on/off button than a full remote system.

In short, what you get is: a freestanding stove-shaped heater, a basic remote, a built-in coal bed with some extra real coal to scatter on top, and that’s about it. No app, no fancy smart features, no flame adjustment. If you’re fine with a straightforward manual heater that happens to look like a stove, this lines up well with that.

In practice, the Tango does the job as a secondary heater. With the 2 kW setting on, my living room goes from chilly to comfortable in around 10–15 minutes, depending on how cold it is outside. It’s not a replacement for central heating in a big, badly insulated room, but as a top-up or for smaller spaces, it’s solid. On the 1 kW setting, it’s more of a gentle background warmth that keeps things from feeling cold without making the place stuffy.

The air comes out along the bottom front, so you feel it mostly at leg level. I’ve sat about 2–3 metres away and you can definitely feel the warm air moving towards you. The sides and top of the stove don’t get dangerously hot, which is reassuring if you’ve got pets or kids wandering around. I still wouldn’t let anyone lean on it, but it’s nowhere near as hot as a real stove body.

On running costs, I can’t give you a precise bill breakdown, but 2 kW is 2 kW – it’s the same as running any 2 kW electric heater. At around typical UK electricity rates, you’re not saving magic money here; it’s more that you’re paying for the convenience and look vs burning coal or logs. If you only use it in the evenings for a few hours as a boost, it’s manageable. If you try to run it as your only heating all day, your bill will reflect that.

Cosiness-wise, the fake flame really helps. Weirdly, just having the flame effect on with no heat still makes the room feel less cold, even though that’s just in your head. Between the decent heat output and the visual effect, it gives a comfortable atmosphere that a plain white fan heater doesn’t. So yes, it’s effective at both warming the room and making it feel less clinical, as long as you understand its limits.