TURBRO Eternal Flame EF26-PB Review: a simple way to bring a dead fireplace back to life

I picked up the TURBRO Eternal Flame 26-Inch Infrared Quartz Electric Fireplace Log Heater (EF26-PB) because I was tired of staring at an empty, useless fireplace. I didn’t want to deal with wood, ash, or chimney cleaning, and running a gas line wasn’t an option. So I went for this type of plug-in log set to see if it could make the living room feel less dead in winter and give a bit of extra heat.

I’ve been using it almost every evening for a few weeks, mainly in a medium-sized living room that’s usually the coldest room in the house. I used it both with heat and in flame-only mode, just to see if it’s something you actually end up using or if it becomes one of those gadgets that looks cool for two days and then collects dust.

Right away, I’ll say this: it’s not a real fire, and if you expect that, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want a plug-and-play option that makes an old fireplace look alive and adds some practical heat, it does the job pretty well. It’s more about ambiance + backup heat than replacing your main heating system.

In this review, I’ll keep it simple: how it looks, how it heats, how noisy it is, what’s annoying about it, and whether I think it’s worth the money compared to other electric fireplaces I’ve tried. No marketing poetry, just what it’s like to actually live with it day to day.

In terms of value, I’d put the TURBRO EF26-PB in the good value for money category, not a steal but definitely not overpriced. You’re paying for three things here: the look (flames + logs), the heat (1500W infrared), and the convenience (plug-and-play with remote, thermostat, timer). If you compare it to a full electric fireplace insert with glass front and fake bricks, those usually cost quite a bit more and often require more involved installation. This one is simpler and cheaper, but still makes a dead fireplace usable again.

Compared to a basic space heater, yes, you’re paying more, but you also get something you actually want to look at. A cheap ceramic heater might warm the room just as fast, but it sits in a corner and looks ugly. Here, the heater is disguised as a log set, so it doubles as decor. If you only care about heat per dollar, a plain space heater wins. If you care about heat + ambiance, then this makes more sense.

Running costs are basically the same as any 1500W electric heater: if you run it at full power for hours every day, you’ll see it on your electric bill. I mostly use it as a booster, not a primary heater, and in that context it’s reasonable. The flame-only mode uses much less power, so you can leave that on without worrying too much.

Given the decent build, realistic-enough flames, safety features, and the fact it actually heats the room, I think the price is fair. There are cheaper electric logs out there, but many of them look much more fake or don’t have the same flame customization. There are also higher-end models with fancier effects, but you pay a lot more for that. This one sits in a nice middle ground: not fancy, but solid and practical for the cost.

Design-wise, the EF26-PB is pretty straightforward: black metal body, fake pinewood-style logs on top, and the flame effect in the back. From a distance, especially in a dim room, it looks convincing enough. Up close in full daylight, you can clearly tell it’s LEDs and molded logs, but that’s normal for this type of product. I’d say the realism is pretty solid for the price. I’ve seen cheaper sets that look like bright plastic toys; this one is a notch above that.

The 26-inch width works well for a standard fireplace opening. In my brick fireplace, it fills the space nicely without looking tiny, but there’s still a bit of space on the sides, which I actually like because it doesn’t feel crammed. If you have a very large, wide fireplace, it might look a bit small, so it’s worth measuring your opening before buying. At 8.2 inches deep and 14 inches high, it sits low and doesn’t stick out awkwardly.

The flame effects are where the design matters most. You get 5 flame colors (mostly variations of orange, blue-ish, and mixed) and 5 brightness levels. I ended up using the classic warm orange with medium brightness most of the time. On max brightness, it can look a bit too artificial in a dark room, but some people will like that more dramatic look. The breathing ember mode is actually nice for late-night use: the logs softly glow without a big flickering flame, so it doesn’t light up the whole room like a TV.

If you’re picky, you’ll notice the flames are basically reflected light on a backdrop, not real depth. But compared to basic electric logs I’ve tried before, this one feels more thought-out. The only thing I’d improve is maybe a bit more variety in flame patterns so it doesn’t feel like the same loop all the time. Still, in day-to-day use, you stop overanalyzing it and just enjoy that the fireplace doesn’t look dead anymore.

On the durability side, the EF26-PB feels decently built, but it’s not a tank. The outer shell is metal with a powder-coated finish, and after moving it in and out of the fireplace a few times and bumping it slightly, I didn’t see any scratches or paint chips. It weighs around 16–17 pounds, so it’s light enough to move by yourself but not so light that it feels flimsy. The logs are clearly molded, but they don’t feel like they’re going to crumble if you touch them.

I ran it quite a lot during a few cold weeks, often for several hours in the evening. The unit never overheated, didn’t start rattling, and the fan noise stayed the same. No burning smell after the first short "new heater" smell that disappeared quickly. The CSA certification and overheat protection are reassuring, especially since a lot of people will leave this unattended in the living room. I still wouldn’t sleep with it blasting heat all night, but that’s just basic heater common sense.

The remote is the one part that feels a bit cheaper. It works, the buttons respond fine, but it’s very lightweight plastic. You’ll want to avoid dropping it repeatedly or stepping on it. The good news is the unit also has a control panel on the side, so if the remote dies one day, the whole thing isn’t useless. The buttons on the unit itself feel firm enough and haven’t shown any sign of wear yet.

Long term, I’d expect this to last several seasons if you treat it like an appliance, not a piece of furniture to sit on or pile things on. No moving parts other than the fan, and LED flames generally last a long time. Nothing about the build screams “premium,” but nothing screams “cheap junk” either. For the price bracket, I’d rate the durability as good enough, assuming normal use and not constant plugging/unplugging or moving it every week.

In terms of performance, this is where I was more focused: does it actually warm the room, and is it annoying to run? The EF26-PB is rated at 1500W with an infrared quartz tube, and the brand claims up to 1000 square feet of coverage. In reality, in my medium living room (roughly 250–300 sq ft with average insulation), it takes the chill off pretty fast. I’d say after 10–15 minutes you feel a clear difference if the door is closed. It’s not going to heat your whole house, but as a zone heater for one room, it’s decent.

The infrared heating is less drying than some cheap fan heaters I’ve used. I didn’t notice that static feeling or super dry air you sometimes get when a heater blasts hot air at you for hours. Still, it’s not magic: if your house is poorly insulated, don’t expect it to save your winter. Think of it as a helper to avoid cranking your central heating too high. I used it to bump the living room from “cold and annoying” to “comfortable to watch TV in a sweater” without touching the main thermostat.

Noise-wise, it’s quiet but not silent. The fan makes a low hum when the heat is on. When the room is otherwise silent, you hear it, but it’s not a harsh noise. Watching TV, I forgot about it. Flame-only mode is almost silent, which is nice if you just want ambiance. If you’re very sensitive to fan noise, you’ll notice it at first, but it’s not worse than a typical space heater.

The thermostat and timer work as expected. You can set a target temperature and let it cycle, and also use the timer to shut off after a few hours if you’re the type who forgets to turn things off. I tested the overheat protection by running it for long stretches, and it never did anything weird: no burning smell, no random shutdowns. So performance-wise, it’s reliable and predictable, which is what I want from something that’s basically a heater with a light show.

Out of the box, the TURBRO EF26-PB is basically a 26-inch metal unit with fake logs, a built-in heater, and a remote. No assembly nightmare here: you pull it out, remove the protective packaging, plug it into a standard wall outlet, and that’s it. There’s no mounting, no brackets, nothing to screw into the wall. If you have an existing fireplace opening, you just slide it in. If not, you can technically just set it against a wall, but it clearly looks best inside a fireplace or some sort of surround.

The box includes the unit, a small remote control (batteries included in my case), and a user manual that’s clear and pretty straightforward. The manual actually explains the different flame colors, brightness levels, and timer options in a way that doesn’t require guessing, which I appreciated. The cord is about 6 feet, which is decent but not huge. If your outlet is far from the fireplace, you’ll either need an extension cord (not ideal for heaters) or to accept a visible cable and maybe hide it with cord covers like I did.

Function-wise, it offers 5 flame color options, 5 brightness levels, a thermostat, a timer, and a heat output up to 1500W with infrared quartz heating. There’s also a “breathing” ember mode where there isn’t a big flame, just a soft glowing bed. You can run the flames without heat, which is what I ended up doing a lot in the evenings when the main heating was already on.

Overall, the first impression is: simple product, easy to install, no nasty surprises. It feels more like plugging in a space heater with a better front than installing a “fireplace system”. If you’re expecting a high-end built-in insert with glass doors and trim, this is not it. If you just want logs + flames + heat in an empty hole, this is exactly that.

For me, the real question was: does this thing actually make me stop missing a real fire? Short answer: it covers about 70% of that feeling. You don’t get the crackling sound or the smell of wood, obviously, but you do get visual warmth and a noticeable temperature boost without any work. Compared to my old wood-burning setup, I now actually use the fireplace way more, because it’s just: sit down, grab the remote, press ON. No logs, no lighter, no ashes the next morning.

In practice, I ended up using it in three ways: flames only for background atmosphere when friends were over, flames + low heat on chilly evenings, and full heat on freezing days when the central heating struggled to keep up. For that, it’s effective. It turns a dead area of the room into a focal point. Several people who came over thought it was a gas insert at first glance, which says enough about the effect from a distance.

Is it as satisfying as a real wood fire? No. If you’re a fireplace purist, you’ll always feel the difference. But if you’re like me and got tired of hauling wood and cleaning soot for something you used maybe five times a year, this is a fair trade-off. You get 90% of the visual effect and some practical heat with 5% of the effort. For most people, that’s good enough.

One thing I liked is the flame-only mode for summer. I actually turned it on a few nights in warm weather just for the look, with no heat. With a real fireplace, that’s obviously not an option. So in that sense, it’s more flexible than the real thing. It’s not perfect, but it does exactly what I bought it for: make the fireplace area feel alive again without turning my life into a wood-handling hobby.