Dimplex Willowbrook Optimyst Stove Review: fake flames that look real, heat that’s just “fine”

I’ve been using the Dimplex Willowbrook Optimyst stove for a while now, mainly to make my living room feel less dead in the evenings without messing around with real logs or gas. I went for this one because I wanted something that looked like a proper wood burner but didn’t need a flue or building work. Also, energy prices are what they are, so I liked the idea of just running the flame effect without blasting heat all the time.

First thing to say: the flame effect is pretty convincing from a normal sitting distance. The water vapour plus LED combo actually looks like moving flames and a bit of smoke. I had a couple of people ask if it was a real fire until they got up close. So on the “cosy focal point” side, it does the job fairly well. It’s not perfect, but it’s miles better than those flat orange bulbs you get on cheaper electric fires.

Heat-wise, it’s a 2kW fan heater, so I went in with realistic expectations. It’s fine for taking the chill off a medium room or giving a boost in the morning, but it’s not going to heat a big open-plan space by itself. If you’re expecting it to feel like a proper log burner that roasts the room, you’ll be disappointed. I use it as a top-up to central heating, not a replacement.

Overall, my first impression was: looks good, gives a decent cosy vibe, but it’s more about the visual effect than raw heating power. If you want a warm-looking flame and you’re happy to mess around with topping up water and the odd bit of maintenance, it’s pretty solid. If you only care about maximum heat per pound, there are cheaper fan heaters that will do the job better.

On the value side, you have to be clear what you’re paying for. You’re not just buying a 2kW heater – plenty of those are much cheaper. You’re paying for the Optimyst flame effect and the stove look. If all you care about is heating a room as cheaply as possible, this is not the smartest way to spend your money. A basic oil-filled radiator or convector heater will give you the same 2kW of heat for less upfront cost.

Where the Willowbrook makes more sense is if you want a visual focal point that feels like a fire. For that, the price is easier to swallow. The flame-only mode is cheap to run because it’s just LEDs and a mist unit, so you can have the cosy look most evenings without hammering your electricity bill. Then, when it’s cold, you kick in the 1kW or 2kW heat for a bit. Used like that – flame most of the time, heat occasionally – it starts to look like decent value over a few winters, because you’re getting both decor and function.

You do need to factor in ongoing costs and effort: water refills, occasional transducer replacement, maybe a fake flue pipe if you want the look finished off (and that doesn’t fit perfectly on this model). Also, the Amazon rating sits around 3.9/5, which feels about right to me: it’s good, but not flawless. Some people love the realism; others think the glow looks a bit cold and underwhelming. That’s personal taste, but it shows it’s not universally loved.

So, value verdict in plain terms: if you want a heater, buy a heater. If you want a fake stove that looks fairly real and gives you some heat on top, this is a reasonable buy. Not a bargain, not a rip-off. Just decent value if you actually use the flame effect a lot and care about how your room looks, rather than just the raw heat output per pound.

Design-wise, the Willowbrook is going for the traditional log-burner look without the hassle of a real one. From a couple of metres away, it does a decent job. The matt black finish hides fingerprints and dust fairly well, and the overall shape is classic: little feet, arched door, fake logs inside. It’s not going to fool someone standing right next to it, but visually it’s good enough that it gives the room a proper focal point instead of just a random heater in the corner.

The log bed and flame window are the main stars. The logs are plastic but shaped and coloured well enough that, with the lights and vapour going, they look fairly convincing. The vapour effect rises up through the logs, which helps sell the illusion. One thing I noticed, and other users also mentioned, is that the front glass can steam up when the vapour is running, especially in a cooler room. That fogs the view a bit and makes it look less sharp. Leaving the door slightly open helps, but it’s a bit of a workaround.

The top of the unit is where things get a bit more “designed for some models, not fully for this one”. If you want to add a fake flue pipe (Dimplex sells optional ones), it doesn’t sit perfectly flush because the Willowbrook has a slightly domed flue outlet rather than a fully flat top. Someone on Amazon pointed this out and I ran into the same thing: you can make it work, but it’s not a neat, factory-perfect match. It feels like the flue kit was designed for other flat-topped models first.

In terms of room fit, the design is flexible enough. It looks fine in a living room, snug, bedroom, or even a home office. It’s not ultra-modern, so if your place is all glass and chrome it might look a bit out of place. But for most UK-style homes with fairly normal decor, it blends in nicely and gives that simple “there’s a fire over there” vibe. Overall, the design is pretty solid but not premium: convincing from a distance, a bit plasticky up close, and with a couple of small quirks like the steaming glass and flue-pipe fit.

The Willowbrook is made from a mix of alloy steel and plastic, with a cast-iron effect finish. So, despite looking like a solid metal stove, it doesn’t have that proper heavy, all-metal feel you get from real stoves. When you tap it, you can tell it’s not cast iron. That said, the metal parts feel sturdy enough, and the plastic doesn’t scream “cheap” unless you’re really inspecting it up close.

The front “door” and surrounding frame feel reasonably firm, and the glass panel (or clear plastic, depending on how you see it) gives a good view of the flame effect. The hinges and handle work fine, but they’re clearly decorative more than functional – you’re not swinging this open every five minutes like a real stove. Inside, the log bed is all moulded plastic, but it’s thick enough that it doesn’t feel flimsy. It’s not something you’re meant to be poking and moving around anyway, so as long as you don’t mess with it, it should hold up.

The weak point in terms of materials is more the water vapour system. The transducer (the bit that turns water into mist) is a wear item. Dimplex basically admits this in the product info: it “may need replacing over time” and you’re told to use genuine Dimplex parts. So you’re not buying a zero-maintenance appliance here; there are small parts inside that will eventually need swapping. They’re not expensive, but it’s another thing to think about. The water bottle and sump are lightweight plastic. They do the job, but they don’t feel especially tough, so I wouldn’t treat them roughly.

Given the price and the category, I’d sum up the materials as: good enough but not impressive. It looks solid in the room, but when you touch it, you’re reminded it’s essentially a decorative heater, not a heavy-duty stove. If you want something bombproof that feels like furniture, this isn’t it. If you just want something that looks decent and you’re not going to drag it around or abuse it, the materials are fine and fit the purpose.

In terms of durability, this feels like a mid-range appliance, not a lifetime piece of furniture. The outer shell is sturdy enough, and as long as you’re not dragging it around or knocking it, it should hold up fine. I’ve moved it a couple of times and it didn’t creak or flex in a worrying way. The finish hasn’t chipped or scratched easily in normal use, and dust just wipes off with a cloth. So the basic body seems okay for the long haul.

Where I have more doubts is the Optimyst mechanism. Dimplex themselves say the transducer (the part that makes the mist) is “key to the magic” and may need replacing over time. That tells you straight away this is a consumable part. If you’re unlucky or use it heavily, you could be buying spares sooner than you’d like. The good news is that replacements are available online and not crazy expensive, but it’s still extra cost and hassle. If you don’t like the idea of maintaining parts, this might annoy you.

The water bottle, sump, and plastic components around the mist system also feel like the bits most likely to cause issues if you’re rough with them. They’re fine if you handle them gently, but if you’re the type to yank things out or slam them back in, I can see clips or tabs wearing or snapping over time. Also, depending on your water hardness, you may need to think about limescale build-up, which could shorten the life of the transducer unless you use filtered or distilled water.

From what I’ve seen and what other reviews suggest, the heating element and fan are pretty standard electric-fire parts and tend to be fairly reliable if not abused. So I’d say: body and heater: likely to last a good few years; vapour system: expect some maintenance and part swaps. If you’re okay with that, it’s fine. If you want a completely maintenance-free heater that you never have to think about, you might be happier with a simpler, non-mist electric fire.

Living with this thing day-to-day, a few practical points stand out. First, the water usage. The Optimyst system runs off a small water bottle and sump inside the unit. Dimplex says you can get up to around 8 hours of flame effect from a fill, but that depends on your setting and room conditions. In my case, running it most of the evening, I was refilling basically once a day if I wanted flames every night. Another user mentioned that having it on all day over Christmas meant filling it more than daily, even on the lower setting. So yeah, it’s not “set and forget” – you’re topping it up regularly.

The steam and glass fogging are another thing. The mist effect looks good, but the front glass can steam up, especially in cooler rooms or if there’s not much airflow. It doesn’t stop it working, but it makes the flames look a bit dull and hazy from the sofa. Opening the door a crack helps, but it kind of ruins the neat closed-stove look. It’s not a deal-breaker, just one of those small annoyances you only discover after a few evenings of use.

The remote control is probably the weakest part of the whole setup. Technically, it works: you can turn the fire on/off, adjust flames and heat. But the range is poor. You pretty much have to be fairly close and point straight at the unit, which matches what other buyers said. From a sofa on the other side of a bigger room, it often doesn’t register. It feels a bit like a cheap TV remote from 15 years ago. The control panel on the unit itself is reliable though, so it’s not the end of the world, just less convenient than it should be.

On the plus side, the startup and shutdown are quick. Hit the flame button and within seconds you’ve got a visible effect. Turn it off and it winds down without fuss. The thermostat and two heat levels give you enough control to avoid roasting yourself, and the flame-only mode really does sip power, so you don’t feel guilty leaving it on for a few hours. Overall performance is decent: it does what it claims, but you have to accept the regular water refills, the occasional fogged glass, and the slightly rubbish remote.

Out of the box, the Willowbrook is basically a freestanding electric stove that looks like a cast-iron wood burner, but it’s actually alloy steel and plastic with a matt black “cast iron effect” finish. In the box you get the main unit, the log-effect fuel bed, the water bottle and sump, the little transducer/nozzle setup that makes the vapour, a basic remote control (with AAA batteries included), and instructions that are… fine but not great. Nothing fancy, but everything you need to get going.

Physically, it’s not huge: around 58 cm high, 44 cm wide, 36 cm deep. It weighs about 11.5 kg, so you can move it yourself without breaking your back, but it’s not so light that it feels like a toy. I dropped it straight into an old fireplace opening and it filled the gap pretty well. If you’ve got a big inglenook it might look a bit small, but for standard fireplaces or just against a flat wall, it looks about right.

The controls are split between a control panel on the unit and the remote. On the fire itself you’ve got the power, flame effect, and heat settings (1000W or 2000W), plus thermostat control. The remote mirrors the main functions, but in practice you need to be quite close and pretty much point straight at the unit, which matches what other buyers said. It’s handy, but the range is poor, so don’t expect to control it from across a big room.

In day-to-day use, the main “presentation” of the product is simple: you plug it in, fill the water bottle, drop it in, and hit the flame button. No installation, no hardwiring, no flue. It’s genuinely plug-and-play, which is the main reason I think this suits renters or anyone who doesn’t want to start drilling holes or paying an installer. Just don’t expect fancy smart-home integration or slick digital menus; it’s old-school buttons and a basic digital display.

On the heating side, the Willowbrook is basically a 2kW fan heater hidden inside a fake stove. You get two settings: 1000W and 2000W. In a normal-sized living room, the 2kW setting will take the chill off fairly quickly, but it won’t turn your place into a sauna. I found it best as a top-up heater alongside central heating – for example, in the evening when you want it a bit warmer around the sofa without cranking the thermostat for the whole house. In a through-lounge or open-plan space, it struggles; you’ll feel the warmth nearby, but it won’t flood the whole area.

The fan noise is there, but not crazy. On heat mode you’ll notice it, especially in a quiet room, but it’s background-level rather than “hairdryer in your face”. With flames-only mode, it’s very quiet because you’re just running LEDs and the vapour unit. That mode is actually where the unit shines: the flame effect is quite effective at giving the room a cosy feel without using much power. The flame-only mode uses low-wattage LEDs, so you can run it for hours for pennies, which is handy if you care more about the look than the heat.

As for how “real” it looks, I’d say it’s one of the better fake fires I’ve seen in this price range. The water vapour gives a bit of movement and depth that flat LED panels just can’t copy. Friends and family have been fooled at first glance. That said, it’s not perfect. In some lighting it can look a bit like the fire is “dying down” or too cool in colour, and one Amazon reviewer nailed that: if you expect a deep warm glow lighting the logs from the front, you might find it a bit underwhelming. It’s more of a gentle, realistic flame than a roaring blaze.

So in terms of effectiveness: for ambience, pretty solid; for raw heat, just okay. If your priority is a cosy focal point and occasional warmth, it does what it needs to do. If you mainly want to heat a big space, a basic convector or oil-filled radiator will do a better job for less money, but they obviously won’t look like a fire.