TURBRO Eternal Flame EF26-PB Review: a simple way to revive a dead fireplace without the hassle

I picked up the TURBRO Eternal Flame 26-Inch infrared log set because I was tired of staring at an empty, useless wood-burning fireplace. I didn’t want to mess with chimney cleaning, gas lines, or hauling logs. I just wanted something I could plug in, that looked decent, and gave off real heat in winter. This model kept popping up with a 4.5/5 rating, so I figured I’d give it a shot and see if it was actually worth the hype.

In practice, I’ve been using it as a secondary heater in the living room for a few weeks, mostly evenings and weekends. I’ve run it with heat on cold nights and flame-only on milder days just for the look. So this is not a “took it out of the box and wrote a review” situation. I’ve had time to play with the flame settings, timer, thermostat, and remote, and to see how it actually behaves in day-to-day use.

My overall impression: it’s a pretty solid way to bring a dead fireplace back to life with minimal effort. The flame effect is better than I expected for the price, and the heat output is decent for zone heating, as long as you’re realistic. It’s still a 1500W electric heater at the end of the day, not a full-blown furnace replacement.

It’s not perfect though. There are a few things that bugged me: the fan noise is noticeable in a quiet room, the thermostat control is basic, and the look is more “nice fake fire” than truly realistic if you stare at it. But if you just want warmth and ambiance without smoke, cleaning, or gas work, it gets the job done pretty well.

In terms of value for money, this TURBRO EF26-PB sits in a nice middle ground. It’s not the cheapest electric log set out there, but it’s also far from the high-end inserts with glass fronts and fancy sound effects. For the price, you’re getting: a realistic-enough flame effect, a 1500W infrared heater, multiple flame and brightness options, a remote, and built-in safety features. Considering what some plain-looking space heaters cost, paying a bit more for one that also makes your fireplace look alive seems fair.

Where it earns its keep is if you actually use it to reduce how often you crank your main thermostat. In my case, I can drop the central heat a couple of degrees in the evening and just warm the living room where I’m actually sitting. That’s where the value shows up over time. If you only want the flame effect and never use the heat, it’s still decent, but then you’re mostly paying for looks, and there are cheaper purely decorative options out there.

Compared to other electric fireplaces I’ve seen in stores, the flame quality and heat output here are pretty solid for the price range. You’re not getting built-in mantel pieces or fancy surrounds, but you also don’t have to pay for furniture you may not need. Since this one is freestanding and vent-free, you can just use your existing fireplace opening and be done, which saves a lot on installation or extra purchases.

Overall, I’d say the value is good if you: already have a dead or unused fireplace, want real heat plus ambiance, and don’t want to mess with gas or real wood. If you were hoping for something ultra-realistic or whisper-quiet, you might feel it’s a bit pricey. But if your expectations are “solid heater that looks like a fire and is easy to live with,” then the price makes sense.

Design-wise, the TURBRO EF26-PB sits in a sweet spot: it doesn’t look cheap and plasticky, but it’s also clearly not a real fire. The body is black metal with a powder-coated finish, and the logs themselves are shaped to look like pinewood. Up close, you can tell they’re molded pieces, but once you’re a few feet back and the room lights are dimmed, the overall effect is actually pretty convincing. The ember bed glow and the reflections at the back help a lot in selling the illusion.

The flame effects are what make or break this kind of product. You get 5 flame colors (from more natural orange to some slightly more artificial tones) and 5 brightness levels. I ended up using the warm orange tones on medium brightness for normal evenings, and the lower brightness “breathing” ember mode when watching TV late at night so it doesn’t steal the show. If you crank the brightness and use the less natural colors, it starts to look like a decorative piece rather than a realistic fire, so it depends what you’re going for.

One detail I liked is that the heater outlet is relatively discreet, tucked at the front but not screaming “space heater.” You can still tell it’s there, but it doesn’t ruin the fireplace look. The digital display and control buttons are on the unit but not super in-your-face; you mostly rely on the remote anyway. The 26-inch width fills my fireplace nicely, leaving a small gap on the sides, which actually helps with airflow and doesn’t look odd. If your fireplace opening is very tall, you might see a lot of black space above the logs, so consider that.

In short, the design is pretty solid for the price: realistic enough to be cozy, clearly fake if you stare at it, but once you’re sitting on the couch with the lights down, it does the job. If you’re super picky about realism, you might want to look at higher-end inserts with full glass fronts and deeper log sets, but for a simple drop-in solution, this one looks decent and integrates nicely into an existing fireplace.

Comfort-wise, this unit is mostly about how the heat feels and how much it bothers you (or not) while you’re actually living around it. Compared to a basic ceramic tower heater I used before, the warmth from this TURBRO feels a bit more gentle and less like a hot hair dryer in your face. The infrared quartz tube helps spread the heat without blasting super hot air in one narrow direction. Sitting 6–8 feet away on the couch, you feel a steady warmth, not a harsh stream.

The noise level is acceptable but not silent. When the heater is on, there’s a constant fan hum. It’s quieter than my old cheap space heater but louder than just the fridge running in the background. Watching TV or chatting, I mostly forget about it, but if you’re reading in total silence you’ll notice it. In flame-only mode (heater off), it’s much quieter, and becomes more of a visual thing than an audible presence. There are no annoying clicks or beeps during operation besides the usual soft relay sound when it cycles.

The remote and controls make it pretty easy to integrate into daily life. I got into the habit of turning on the flame-only mode in the late afternoon for ambiance, then kicking on the heat once the temperature starts dropping. The timer is handy for bedtime: I set it to run for an hour or two so the room doesn’t get cold too fast, and then it shuts off automatically. The overheat protection adds a bit of peace of mind so I’m not worried about leaving it for a while.

Comfort also includes how it changes the feel of the room. With this thing running in a dim room, the place just feels cozier. Is it the same as a real wood fire? No. You don’t get the crackling sound or the smell. But you also don’t get smoke, ash, or hauling logs. For day-to-day use in a normal household, this is a nice compromise: enough warmth and visual effect to make the room feel more inviting, without adding chores to your life.

In terms of materials, this is clearly a mid-range product. You’re not getting cast iron or heavy glass panels, but you’re also not dealing with flimsy plastic that flexes when you touch it. The main body is metal with a powder-coated finish, which gives it a more solid feel and should resist scratches better than bare painted metal. The unit weighs about 16.7 pounds, which is light enough to move around but heavy enough that it doesn’t feel like a toy.

The logs themselves are some kind of molded material (likely resin or similar). They look decent from normal viewing distance, but up close you can tell they’re fake. That’s expected at this price point. What matters more is that they don’t feel like they’ll crack if you bump them lightly. I moved the unit in and out of the fireplace a few times while cleaning and nothing rattled or felt loose. The fan and internal components also don’t buzz or vibrate weirdly, which is usually where cheaper builds show their limits.

The power cord is a standard 6-foot cord, not super thick but not thin and cheap either. I plugged it into a dedicated outlet (no power strip) since it’s a 1500W heater – you don’t want this sharing with ten other devices. The vent-free design means there’s no extra piping or ducting, so what you see is what you get. The finish on the metal casing has held up so far: no discoloration, no peeling, and no hot spots on the exterior that feel unsafe.

Overall, the materials and build quality feel good enough for regular home use. It doesn’t scream luxury, but it also doesn’t feel like it will fall apart in one season. If you treat it like an appliance and not a piece of furniture you’re going to drag around constantly, I don’t see any obvious weak points right away. For the price bracket, the materials are in line with what I expected, maybe slightly better than some budget electric fireplaces I’ve seen in big box stores.

On durability, I obviously can’t give a 5-year report, but I can talk about how it’s held up through regular use and what I’ve noticed compared to other heaters I’ve owned. I’ve been running this TURBRO log set several evenings a week, often for 3–4 hours at a time, switching between heat and flame-only. So far, there’s been no flickering LEDs, no weird smells, and no sudden shutoffs except when the thermostat hit the set temperature, which is normal behavior.

The CSA certification and built-in overheat protection are reassuring. I purposely ran it on high for a longer stretch to see if the casing got too hot or if there was any burning plastic smell – nothing like that happened. The metal body gets warm but not dangerously hot to the touch. The fan still sounds the same as day one, no grinding or rattling, which is usually what fails first in cheap heaters.

The finish on the logs and casing hasn’t shown any warping or discoloration from the heat. I’ve moved the unit in and out of the fireplace a few times for cleaning and to test different placements, and it handled that without any loose pieces or cracks. The remote still works fine at normal couch distance; it’s not super high-end, but it hasn’t given me range problems or random misfires.

There is a limited warranty, which is better than nothing, but obviously you’re somewhat betting on the electronics and LEDs lasting several seasons. Based on how it’s built and other user reviews I checked, I’d say it’s reasonable to expect a few winters of normal use out of it. If you’re planning to run it all day every day as your main heater, you’re probably pushing it beyond what it’s really meant for. Used as a supplemental, occasional heater, the durability looks acceptable so far.

On the performance side, this thing behaves like a good 1500W space heater with extra ambiance. The manufacturer claims up to 1000 sq ft, but in practice, I’d say it’s ideal as a zone heater for one room, not your whole floor. In my roughly 300 sq ft living room (older house, average insulation), it takes about 15–20 minutes to noticeably warm things up if the central heat is set a bit lower. It doesn’t roast you, but it takes the chill out of the air, which is exactly what I wanted.

The infrared quartz tube plus fan does help compared to those cheap coil heaters that just blast hot air. The heat feels a bit more even and less drying. I didn’t get that static-y dry air feeling I sometimes get from basic fan heaters. That said, if you’re expecting it to replace your furnace in the dead of winter, that’s not going to happen. It’s a supplemental heater. Used that way, it makes sense and saves you from cranking the thermostat for the whole house just to heat one room.

The flame performance is one of the better parts. No, it doesn’t look exactly like real fire, but the movement and brightness options keep it from looking too fake. The “breathing” ember mode is surprisingly useful – it just pulses the embers gently without a big flame show, which is nice for bedtime. The fan noise is there; on heat mode, you’ll hear a low hum. It’s not loud enough to drown out TV, but in a totally quiet room you’ll notice it. For me, it’s acceptable, but if you’re very sensitive to fan sounds, keep that in mind.

Control-wise, the thermostat and timer are basic but handy. You set a temperature and it cycles the heater on and off to roughly maintain it. It’s not super precise like a smart thermostat, but it keeps the room from getting too hot. The timer is nice if you want it to shut off after a couple of hours. Overall, the performance is good for the category: reliable heat, decent flames, and no weird smells or issues during use so far.

Out of the box, you basically get three things: the log unit itself, a small remote, and a user manual. That’s it. No assembly, no screws, nothing. The whole point is freestanding, so you just drop it into your existing fireplace or on a hearth, plug it into a regular outlet, and you’re done. The unit is about 26 inches wide, 8.2 inches deep, and 14 inches high, so it’s sized for a standard fireplace opening. If your fireplace is very small or very large, you’ll want to measure first, but for a normal mid-size opening it looks proportionate.

The heater is rated at 1500W and the manufacturer claims it can cover up to 1000 square feet. In reality, I’d say it’s comfortable for a medium living room, maybe 250–400 square feet, especially if your house isn’t super drafty. It’s an infrared quartz heater plus fan, not just a cheap coil. The flames are LED-based, with 5 flame colors and 5 brightness levels, plus a special “breathing” ember mode that’s more of a low glow instead of active flames. You can also run it in flame-only mode, with the heater off, which I ended up using a lot more than I thought.

The remote is basic but covers the essentials: power, flame options, brightness, temperature setting, timer, and heater on/off. You can also control everything from the panel on the unit, which is nice if you lose the remote or the battery dies. It’s CSA certified and has overheat protection, so if it gets too hot internally it just shuts off instead of cooking itself or your wall. There’s no complicated installation, no venting, and no special power line – just a normal plug.

Overall, the presentation is very “no-nonsense”. Nothing fancy in the box, no decorative extras, but also no hidden surprises. You’re paying for a plug-in log set that looks decent and puts out heat. It fits that description pretty well. If you’re expecting some heavy cast-iron monster or a full surround with mantel, this isn’t that. This is basically a smart-looking heater disguised as logs.