Dimplex Tango Optiflame Review: a fake log burner that looks the part and heats fast

I picked up the Dimplex Tango Optiflame because I’m basically done with dealing with real fires – logs, coal dust, chimney sweeps, all that. I wanted something that looks roughly like a small stove, gives decent heat, and doesn’t need any faff beyond plugging it in. This one pops up a lot in electric stove searches, has a solid 4.6/5 rating, and Dimplex is a familiar name, so I gave it a go.

I’ve been using it mainly in a medium-sized living room, roughly 4m x 5m, as a top-up heater rather than the only source of heat. I also tried it in a slightly bigger open-plan space just to see how far it can push it. I’ve used both heat settings (1kW and 2kW) and the flame-only mode in the evenings when I don’t need extra warmth but still want that “fire is on” vibe.

What I was looking for was pretty simple: realistic enough flame so it doesn’t look like a kid’s toy, enough heat so it actually does something, and not too noisy when the fan kicks in. I also cared about how easy it is to live with day to day – controls, moving it, cleaning around it, that sort of thing. I’m not trying to decorate a design magazine house; I just want something that looks okay and works.

Overall, it does the job, but it’s not perfect. The flame effect is better than I expected for this price bracket, the heat output is strong for a small unit, but some of the plastic bits and the lack of finer controls definitely remind you this isn’t a high-end cast-iron stove. If you go in with realistic expectations – basically a fan heater dressed up as a stove – you’ll probably be pretty happy with it.

On the value side, you have to compare it to two things: a plain 2kW fan heater, and other fake stove fires. A basic fan heater is obviously much cheaper, but it also looks like a plastic box and gives you zero ambience. If all you want is raw heat, save your money and buy a simple heater. The whole point of paying extra here is the look and the flame effect, and in that sense, you’re paying for aesthetics more than technology.

Compared to other stove-style electric fires in the same price bracket, the Tango sits in a decent spot. The flame effect is good enough that you feel like you’re getting something for the extra cash, and the build doesn’t feel toy-like. There are cheaper stoves that look a bit more plasticky and have weaker flame effects. There are also pricier ones with heavier metal bodies and more adjustable flame settings. This one sits somewhere in the middle: not the cheapest, not the fanciest, but reasonably balanced.

Running costs are the same as any 2kW electric heater: whatever your kWh price is, that’s what you pay. One reviewer from Ireland mentioned roughly 16c per kWh and said it was cheaper than coal or briquettes for their situation. With current energy prices, this is best seen as a top-up heat source rather than something you leave blasting all day. The thermostat helps avoid wasting too much power because it cycles off once the room is warm, which is better than a dumb heater that just runs non-stop.

For the money, I’d say it’s good value if you specifically want the stove look and a convincing enough flame effect. If you don’t care how your heater looks, it’s overkill. If you’re obsessed with build quality and want something that feels like a real cast-iron stove, you might feel it’s a bit “meh” and prefer to spend more. For most people who just want a cosy-looking, plug-in fire that actually heats the room, the price feels fair for what you get.

Design-wise, the Tango is going for that classic cottage stove look. It’s matte black, with two opening front doors, a fake ash drawer, and a coal bed inside. From a normal sitting distance, it looks convincing enough, especially if you’ve got it sitting on a hearth with a few logs or a bit of fake flue pipe above it. Several people online mention visitors assuming it’s a real stove at first glance, and I can see why. It’s not perfect up close, but in a normal living room setting it blends in pretty well.

Up close, you do see where they’ve cut corners. The body has a cast-iron style look, but a chunk of it is clearly plastic or thin metal with a painted finish. The door handles in particular feel a bit cheap. One reviewer even had a door come off in their hand, which doesn’t surprise me given how light the doors feel. They do open, which is a nice touch, but they don’t have a solid “click” shut like a real stove. If you’re picky about tactile feel, this might bug you. I wouldn’t be yanking those doors around every day.

Inside, the coal bed is a plastic base with some glow effect under it, and then you can scatter the real coal lumps on top. Behind that is a mirrored back panel that bounces the flame effect around. When the fire is off, you can see the mirror if you crouch down, and it does kill the illusion a bit. When the fire is on, though, the mirror helps make the flames look deeper than they really are. It’s a bit of a trade-off between realism when off vs on.

One thing I don’t love is the big shiny Dimplex logo on the front fake ash drawer. It stands out more than it needs to, and if you’re trying to fake the look of a real solid-fuel stove, having a bright logo on the front isn’t ideal. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s the kind of thing you might end up covering with something if you’re fussy. Overall, the design does the job: from a couple of metres back it looks like a proper little stove; when you get closer, you can tell it’s a dressed-up electric heater.

In terms of materials, this sits firmly in the “good enough” category. The main body is alloy steel with plastic elements, and it’s light enough that you can tell it’s not a full cast-iron unit. That said, it doesn’t feel flimsy as a whole. Once it’s in place, it doesn’t wobble, and the casing doesn’t flex when you move it slightly or brush past it. For something that’s basically a heater in a decorative shell, the structure is fine.

The weak points are the smaller parts: the doors, handles, and some of the trim. The door handles in particular feel like lower-grade plastic or cheap metal, and they don’t give that reassuring solid feel. One Amazon reviewer mentioned a plastic door coming off in their hand when they tried to tweak the knobs, and I can believe it if you pull or twist them too hard. These are more for show than heavy daily use. If you like to fiddle with doors and knobs constantly, you might end up annoyed or doing a bit of DIY like that reviewer did (they replaced the handles and added more coal/wood to make it look better).

The coal bed is clearly plastic, but that’s expected at this price. The real coal pieces they give you are a nice touch: they sit on top and break up the fake look a bit. Over time I’d expect the plastic bed to be fine, because the heat is blown out the front near the base and doesn’t blast directly onto the decorative bits. The mirror at the back is also protected enough and doesn’t get hot to the touch, so no worries there.

Overall, the materials are decent for a mid-range electric stove, but don’t expect premium. It feels more solid than the really cheap supermarket electric fires, but it’s still clearly a mass-market product. If you treat the doors and handles gently and don’t drag it around by any of the trim, it should hold up fine. If you want something that feels like a heavy cast-iron stove, you’ll need to pay a lot more or accept that this is more about looks than bombproof construction.

I haven’t had it for years, obviously, but this model has been around since 2010 and has a lot of reviews, which gives a bit of a clue about longevity. The core bits that matter – the heating element, fan, and LED flame system – are usually the more reliable parts on this type of heater, and because the flame uses LEDs rather than bulbs, you’re not constantly changing lamps. LEDs tend to last a long time, and several users commented they couldn’t even find a door or access point to change bulbs, which suggests Dimplex expects them to outlast the unit.

Where I can see wear showing is mainly cosmetic and around the doors/handles. The plastic handles don’t feel like they’ll enjoy years of rough treatment. If you’ve got kids who like to yank things open and slam them, I wouldn’t be surprised if something loosens or breaks over time. One reviewer already mentioned needing to tweak or replace knobs and then being happier with it. That sort of DIY tweak is probably the worst case if you’re even mildly handy.

The shell itself should be fine as long as you’re not dragging it around by the top or banging into it constantly. It’s light, but not flimsy. The painted finish is matte black and hides dust and fingerprints pretty well. I don’t see it peeling or scratching easily unless you scrape something sharp along it. The internal mirror and coal bed are protected enough that normal use shouldn’t damage them, and the safety cut-out protects the heater from cooking itself if vents get blocked or it overheats.

Overall, I’d call the durability “pretty solid for home use, but don’t abuse it.” It’s not built like a cast-iron stove that will outlive you, but for a few winters of regular evening use, it feels up to the job. If something is going to annoy you over time, it’s more likely to be small cosmetic bits or the feel of the doors rather than the actual heating performance failing.

The flame effect is probably the part most people care about, and it’s actually pretty decent for what it is. It uses LED lighting with a moving pattern reflected off the mirrored back to create the look of flames over glowing coals. You can’t adjust the flame level or switch between “big flames” and “embers” – it’s one setting. Some reviewers were a bit disappointed by that, especially if they’d had other fires where the flame intensity changes with the thermostat. Here, the flames are always on the same level when enabled.

You can run the flame effect without any heat, which is handy in the evenings when the room is already warm but you still want that cosy look. What you can’t do is run the heat with no flame – whenever the heater is on, the glowing fire is on as well. That might bother someone who just wants a plain heater sometimes, but in practice I always ran both together, so it wasn’t an issue for me.

The remote control is very basic. It basically acts as a power toggle: it turns the stove on or off to the last used settings. If you had it on 1kW with flames, switch it off, then hit the remote again, it comes back on in that mode. If you want to change from 1kW to 2kW or tweak the thermostat, you still have to get up and use the side switches. It’s not a smart remote with temperature settings or timers. It’s more “lazy switch” than full control system, but it’s still handy when you’re half asleep on the sofa.

In everyday use, it’s simple: you flick the main power, pick 1kW or 2kW, set the thermostat roughly where you want it, and forget about it. The flame effect does its thing, the fan cycles on and off as needed. No app, no Wi‑Fi, no complicated menus. If you like techy stuff, you might find it a bit bare-bones. If you just want something that behaves like a normal plug-in heater with a nicer look, it’s actually refreshing that there isn’t a bunch of pointless features to fight with.

Out of the box, the Dimplex Tango is very straightforward. The unit comes fully assembled, so there’s no messing about with legs or attaching handles. I literally pulled off the packaging, lifted it onto the hearth, plugged it in, and it was ready to go. For anyone who hates flat-pack style assembly, that’s a nice change. It weighs about 12 kg, so it’s not feather-light, but you can move it around the room without needing a second person.

In the box, you get the stove, a small remote control, and a few little bags of real coal pieces. The coal is basically there so you can scatter it over the fake glowing coal bed inside and make it look a bit more convincing. It’s a small touch but it does help. The remote is basic – it mostly turns the unit on and off to the last setting used. If you’re expecting a remote that lets you adjust flame level, fan speed, or thermostat precisely, this is not that. It’s more like a simple on/off switch from the sofa.

The controls on the actual stove are tucked low down on the side. There’s a main power switch, then switches for the 1kW and 2kW heat settings, plus a thermostat dial. They’re basic rocker switches and a simple dial, nothing fancy. You’ll probably need to bend down each time to change settings, which is mildly annoying if the stove is set into a deep fireplace, but you get used to it. At least they’re clear and not hidden behind some silly flap.

In use, the presentation is pretty clear: this is a fan heater in a fake stove shell. The manual explains the basics fine, though you don’t really need it unless you’re checking the safety features. If you’re expecting loads of clever modes and timer functions, you’ll be disappointed. If you just want plug-in, switch on, heat and fake flames, it’s straightforward and does what it says.

Heat-wise, this thing does its job. It’s a 2kW fan heater at heart, with a 1kW and 2kW setting. On the 1kW setting, it’s good for taking the chill off a medium-sized room and keeping things comfortable once the central heating has done the initial work. On the 2kW setting, it pushes out a decent amount of hot air and you feel it within a few minutes. In my roughly 4m x 5m living room, it warmed the space up quickly enough that I didn’t feel like I was just burning money for nothing.

The heat comes out of a grille at the bottom front, so it doesn’t roast the floor underneath. I checked the flooring temperature after letting it run for a while and it was fine – warmish near the front, but nowhere near worrying. That lines up with some of the user reviews saying they were checking the floor constantly at first and then relaxed once they saw it doesn’t cook the surface. The unit also has an overheat safety cut-out: if it gets too hot, it switches off and then comes back once it has cooled down a bit. You can’t adjust that safety threshold, which is good in my opinion – fewer ways to mess it up.

The thermostat is basic but useful. You set it with a dial, and once the room reaches that rough level, the heater cycles on and off to maintain it. It’s not ultra-precise like a smart thermostat, and you’ll need a few days to figure out which dial position corresponds to the comfort level you like. But once you’ve found your spot, it means you don’t have to keep flicking the heater on and off yourself all evening.

Noise-wise, the fan sounds like… a fan heater. On the lower setting it’s noticeable but not annoying; on 2kW it’s a bit louder but still reasonable. If you’re watching TV, you’ll hear it, but it doesn’t drown out dialogue. The flame-only mode is basically silent because it’s just LEDs. So from a pure heating effectiveness point of view: it’s solid. It’s not going to heat a huge open-plan area on its own in the middle of winter, but for a normal lounge or spare room, it does what you’d expect from a 2kW heater.