Is your electric fireplace flame or heater not working? Most of the time it’s a setting, not a broken part. The thermostat is set below the room temperature, your heater is switched off while the flames stay on, or the overheat cutout has tripped and needs a reset.
That’s good news, because those fixes take minutes and cost nothing. The trick is knowing your brand’s reset procedure, since the wait time ranges from 5 to 30 minutes depending on the model.
This guide covers plug-in, wall-mounted and insert fireplaces from Dimplex, Duraflame (Twin-Star), Touchstone, PuraFlame, Amantii, Napoleon and MagikFlame. Every reset time and error code comes from the manufacturers’ own manuals.
This post contains affiliate links. We may be paid a commission if you purchase through links, at no extra cost to you.
The Important Stuff:
- Flames but no heat? Raise the thermostat above the room temperature. Touchstone’s manual says the heater won’t turn on if the room is already warmer.
- Most electric fireplaces run the flames without heat by design. Check the heater is switched on, and not locked.
- A fireplace that heats and then shuts off has usually tripped its overheat cutout. Unplug it, wait the time in your manual, and vacuum the vents.
- Plug it straight into a wall outlet. Every manufacturer here says never use an extension cord or power strip.
- A hot plug or outlet, a cutout that keeps tripping, or a burning smell that won’t fade means stop using it.
10 Reasons Your Electric Fireplace Isn’t Working & How to Fix It
Use this table to find your symptom, then read on for the full fix.
| Reason your electric fireplace isn’t working | Solution |
|---|---|
| 1. Thermostat set below room temperature | Raise the setpoint, or choose the continuous heat setting. |
| 2. Heater off, or heat locked | Turn the heater on, and clear the heat lock with your brand’s button combination. |
| 3. Normal fan purge blowing cool air | Wait. The fan runs briefly before and after the heater. |
| 4. Overheat cutout tripped | Unplug, wait 5 to 30 minutes, vacuum the vents, and plug back in. |
| 5. Front glass fitted wrong (wall units) | Refit the glass so it doesn’t cover the top vents. |
| 6. Overloaded circuit or extension cord | Plug straight into the wall, on its own circuit. |
| 7. No power, or the remote isn’t working | Check the outlet, breaker, main switch, remote batteries and pairing. |
| 8. Flame effect turned off or dimmed | Press the flame button and raise the brightness. |
| 9. Flame motor, bulbs or LEDs failed | Replace the bulbs, or contact the manufacturer for the motor or LEDs. |
| 10. Opti-Myst water tank or transducer | Refill the tank, and clean or replace the transducer. |
1. The Thermostat Is Set Below Room Temperature
This is the most common reason an electric fireplace has flames but no heat. The heater only runs while the room is colder than the temperature you’ve set.
Touchstone’s manual is blunt about it: if the room is already above the set temperature, your heater won’t turn on. Napoleon, Twin-Star and MagikFlame work the same way.
How To Fix It
- Check the room temperature, then set your fireplace a few degrees higher.
- If your model has a continuous or “always on” heat setting, try that to rule out the thermostat.
- Give it a few minutes to respond after you change the setting.
If your heater never starts, even on its highest setting in a cold room, move on to the causes below.
2. The Heater Is Off, or the Heat Is Locked
Electric fireplaces are designed to run the flame effect on its own, without heat, so you can enjoy the look in mild weather. That means your heater has its own control, separate from the flames.
Twin-Star’s manual says to set your heater to “00” to use the flames without heat. Napoleon uses H0 for no heat, BL for blower only, and H1 or H2 for heat.
Many models also have a heat lock, often used as a child lock, which disables your heater while the flames still work. The button combination varies by brand.
How To Fix It
- Press your heater button and cycle through the settings until heat comes on.
- If your heater will not respond, clear the heat lock:
- Twin-Star and Duraflame: hold the POWER button for 10 seconds with your unit on. The ember bed flashes when you press your heater button while it’s locked.
- Napoleon: hold your heater button for 5 seconds.
- Dimplex Revillusion: hold the two hidden touch buttons for 2 seconds. The display shows “H–” when your heater is disabled.
- Check your manual for the exact combination on your model.
3. The Fan Is Purging, Which Is Normal
If your fireplace blows cool air for a few seconds when the heat comes on, or after you switch it off, that’s by design. The fan runs on its own to move air before the element heats and to cool your heater afterward.
Touchstone says its fan blows cool air for 10 seconds before and after your heater runs. Twin-Star says cool air will blow for several minutes after shutdown, and the Revillusion has a 2-minute fan delay.
How To Fix It
- Wait a few minutes with the heat on its highest setting.
- Feel the air at your heater outlet. It should warm up once the element is running.
If the air stays cold after several minutes on the highest setting, your heater element, blower or control board may have failed. Those are manufacturer repairs (see “When To Call the Manufacturer” below).
4. The Overheat Cutout Has Tripped
Every electric fireplace heater has a safety cutout that shuts your heater off if it gets too hot. Usually the flames keep running, but the heat stops, or the whole unit goes dark.
The usual triggers are dust on your vents, furniture or curtains blocking the airflow, or, on wall units, a misfitted front glass panel (cause 5). Dimplex says the air intake slots on the bottom front must never be blocked.
How To Fix It
- Turn your fireplace off and unplug it. On a hard-wired unit, switch off its breaker.
- Wait the time your manual gives (see the table below).
- Vacuum the intake and outlet vents.
- Clear anything within a few feet of the front of your fireplace.
- Plug it back in and test the heat.
| Brand | Overheat reset (from the manual) |
|---|---|
| Dimplex (plug-in) | Unplug for 5 minutes |
| Dimplex Revillusion (hard-wired) | Power off at the breaker for 5 minutes |
| Touchstone | Unplug, switch off, wait 5 minutes |
| PuraFlame | Unplug, switch off, wait at least 5 minutes |
| Amantii | Unplug for 5 minutes (some manuals say 15) |
| Duraflame / Twin-Star | Unplug for 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the model |
| Napoleon | Unplug or switch off the breaker for 15 minutes |
| MagikFlame | Unplug or switch off the breaker for 15 minutes |
If the cutout trips again after a reset, stop. PuraFlame’s manual says to unplug your heater right away and have the outlets, wiring and breaker box inspected. Dimplex, Twin-Star and Touchstone all say to contact them.
5. The Front Glass Is Fitted Wrong (Wall and Recessed Units)
This one is specific to wall-mounted and recessed fireplaces, and Touchstone lists it first for a heater that shuts off after a few minutes. If the front glass panel isn’t seated correctly, it can cover the top vents and trap heat until the cutout trips.
Touchstone has its own test to find out.
How To Fix It
- Switch your fireplace off for 15 minutes.
- Remove the front glass panel, following your manual.
- Turn your heater on HIGH for 10 minutes.
- If it stays on, refit the glass so it doesn’t cover the top vents.
- If it still shuts off with the glass removed, it is a heater fault. Contact Touchstone support.
6. An Overloaded Circuit or an Extension Cord
A 1,500-watt fireplace heater draws about 12.5 amps on a 120-volt outlet, according to Twin-Star’s spec plate. That’s most of a typical 15-amp household circuit on its own.
Add a lamp, a TV or a vacuum on the same circuit and the breaker trips, or your fireplace shuts down. Dimplex says lights dimming when your unit turns on means it shares a circuit, and that a dedicated circuit is required if the breaker trips regularly.
⚠ Essential Safety Warning: Plugs, Outlets and Circuits
- Never plug an electric fireplace into an extension cord, power strip or surge protector. Touchstone, Dimplex, Napoleon, Amantii and MagikFlame all say so, and so do ESFI and the CPSC.
- If the plug, outlet or faceplate feels hot, stop using the fireplace and have an electrician inspect the outlet.
- Don’t force a polarized plug into an outlet it doesn’t fit. PuraFlame says to have an electrician replace the outlet.
- Adding a dedicated circuit or replacing an outlet is electrician work. Dimplex wants a 15-amp circuit, and MagikFlame’s DragonBlaze manual specifies a dedicated 20-amp grounded circuit.
If you can’t plug the fireplace directly into a wall outlet on its own circuit, have an electrician add one before you use the heater.
How To Fix It
- Unplug any extension cord or power strip and plug your fireplace straight into a wall outlet.
- Unplug other appliances on the same circuit, or try an outlet on a different circuit.
- Reset the breaker once if it has tripped.
- Test your outlet with an outlet tester.
A plug-in tester tells you in seconds whether an outlet is wired correctly, and it can trip-test a GFCI outlet too.
Check the outlet before you blame the fireplace
The Klein Tools RT250 plugs into any standard outlet and shows the voltage and any wiring faults. It also tests GFCI outlets.
7. No Power, or the Remote Isn’t Working
If your fireplace is completely dead, start with the basics. Many units have a main rocker switch that’s easy to miss. PuraFlame inserts, for example, have one at the top right behind the fence, and the unit gives a long beep when it’s on.
The remote is the other big one. A dead battery, a receiver that has lost its pairing, or a control lock can make a working fireplace look broken.
How To Fix It
- Check the plug is pushed fully into a working wall outlet.
- Find the main power switch on your unit and turn it on.
- Check the breaker. For a hard-wired unit, check the disconnect at your panel.
- Replace your remote batteries. The Revillusion remote takes a CR2032 cell, fitted + side up.
- Press your remote buttons slowly while pointing at the receiver.
- Re-pair your remote if your model needs it. On a Dimplex Opti-Myst, press the sync button, then any remote button within 20 seconds.
- Check for a control lock. The Revillusion shows “LOC” when its touch controls are locked, but your remote still works.
After a power cut, some models, including Napoleon and MagikFlame, return to factory settings. Re-enter your heat and flame settings.
If none of this works, some models have an internal fuse. Napoleon and MagikFlame list “replace the fuse” in their troubleshooting tables, but it means opening your unit. Unplug it and contact the manufacturer or a technician rather than opening panels yourself.
8. The Flame Effect Is Turned Off or Dimmed
If the logs glow but there’s no flame, the flame effect may simply be switched off or turned all the way down. Twin-Star and Napoleon manuals both list this.
How To Fix It
- Press the flame button several times to cycle through the effects.
- Raise the flame brightness setting.
- Check the flame is not set to a color or mode you didn’t intend.
9. The Flame Motor, Bulbs or LEDs Have Failed
On fireplaces that use a rotating rod to create the flicker, Dimplex lists three reasons the flame looks stuck, jumpy or sputters: the flame motor needs replacing, the flicker rod has come loose from the motor shaft, or a rubber grommet was fitted backwards.
Older bulb-lit units can show a dark patch of flame when a bulb burns out. On LED units, a dark section usually means a failed LED strip or LED driver.
How To Fix It
- Bulb units: unplug your fireplace and let the bulbs cool. The Dimplex DF3015 uses three E-12 candelabra bulbs, 60 watts maximum, and Dimplex recommends replacing them all at once.
- Loose flicker rod: check whether the rod has slipped off the motor shaft, following your manual.
- Motor or LED failure: contact the manufacturer for the part by model number. Dimplex says its LED log sets can’t be repaired, only replaced as a set.
Dimplex has a handy noise test too. Its fireplaces have three moving parts: the flame motor, the flicker rod and the blower. Noise only when the heat or fan is on points to the blower, while noise with the fan off points to the flicker rod rubbing, then the flame motor.
10. The Opti-Myst Water Tank or Transducer
Dimplex Opti-Myst fireplaces make their flame from fine water mist lit by LEDs, so they have problems no other fireplace has. When the tank runs dry, Dimplex says the flame effect shuts off and the LEDs blink continuously.
Weak or patchy mist usually means a dirty or worn transducer, the small part that turns water into mist.
How To Fix It
- Switch your unit off and let it cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Refill the water tank and reseat it cap-down.
- Clean the top cover, the sump and the transducer with soap and water. Dimplex recommends doing this every two weeks.
- If the mist is still weak, replace the transducer. Dimplex ships spare transducers with some Opti-Myst cassettes.
- Drain your unit if you won’t use it for more than two weeks.
You don’t need distilled water. Dimplex says ordinary tap water is fine unless it’s hard. With hard water, use softened water, or distilled water with 1/8 teaspoon of salt added.
Electric Fireplace Error Codes by Brand
Most electric fireplaces don’t show error codes at all. The Touchstone, PuraFlame, Napoleon and MagikFlame manuals we checked list none. These are the brands that do.
Duraflame and Twin-Star
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| E1 | Thermostat sensor broken or disconnected. Check the sensor plug on the main board, or order a new sensor. |
| E2 | Thermostat sensor broken. Order a new sensor. |
| E3 | Overheat protection tripped. Unplug and reset (5 to 30 minutes, by model). |
Dimplex Revillusion
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| Er2 | High-temperature cutout tripped. Power off for 5 minutes. |
| H– | Heater disabled (heat lock on) |
| LOC | Touch controls locked. The remote still works. |
Amantii
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| E1 or E2 | Heater or sensor fault. Call Amantii after-sales service. |
| E3 | Heater not working. Clean the vents and unplug for 5 minutes. |
When To Call the Manufacturer or an Electrician
Stop using your fireplace and get help if:
- The plug, outlet or faceplate gets hot.
- The overheat cutout trips again after a reset.
- The breaker trips every time your heater runs.
- A burning smell continues after the first few hours of use.
- The fireplace has been wet or under water.
- The fix means opening a panel, such as a fuse, element, board or motor.
A light smell the first time you run your heater is normal. Twin-Star, Dimplex, Napoleon, Amantii and PuraFlame all say a coating on new parts burns off over the first several hours. A smell that keeps coming back is not normal, and Dimplex says your heater assembly needs replacing.
Touchstone’s manual says there are no user-serviceable parts inside. Order replacement heaters, motors, remotes and controllers from the manufacturer by model number, because they’re model-specific.
Have a gas furnace or heat pump that’s acting up as well? See our guides to a furnace blowing cold air, a heat pump that’s not heating, or a furnace that’s short cycling.
Buying a Replacement Electric Fireplace
If your fireplace is out of warranty and your heater, board or flame motor has failed, the repair can approach the cost of a new unit. Get a quote from the manufacturer first. Twin-Star’s warranty, for example, is one year limited.
Be wary of listings that promise more heat than physics allows. A 1,500-watt electric heater puts out a maximum of about 5,118 BTU, whatever the box says. Bigger heat claims on a standard plug-in unit do not add up.
When you shop, check three things: the flame realism, whether it plugs in or must be hard-wired, and the circuit it needs. Our guide to the most realistic electric fireplaces compares the flame effects side by side.
- Wall-mounted or recessed: the Touchstone Sideline Elite 50 is WiFi-enabled, installs recessed in the wall, and offers 60 flame color combinations. The Touchstone Sideline 80004 is the simpler, cheaper version, with a 1,500/750-watt heater.
- Wall-mount or recessed: the Touchstone Sideline Elite Pro mounts on the wall or recesses into it.
- Built-in firebox: the Dimplex Revillusion 24-inch is a 1,500-watt built-in firebox for a framed opening.
- Freestanding stove style: the duraflame 3D infrared stove plugs into any outlet.
Time for a new one?
The Touchstone Sideline Elite is a WiFi-enabled smart fireplace that installs recessed in the wall, with 60 flame color combinations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you reset an electric fireplace?
Turn it off, unplug it (or switch off the breaker on a hard-wired unit), and wait. Dimplex, Touchstone and PuraFlame say 5 minutes, Napoleon and MagikFlame say 15, and some Twin-Star models need 30.
Vacuum your vents while you wait, then plug it back in. If it trips again, contact the manufacturer.
Is there a reset button on an electric fireplace?
None of the manuals we checked describe a user reset button on your heater. You reset the overheat cutout by unplugging your unit and letting it cool.
Touchstone’s manual warns not to open any panels, because there are no user-serviceable parts inside.
Why is my electric fireplace turning on but not heating?
Check three things first: the thermostat is set above the room temperature, your heater is switched on, and the heat lock isn’t on.
If those are fine, the overheat cutout may have tripped. Unplug it, wait the time in your manual, and vacuum your vents.
Why is my electric fireplace blowing cold air?
A few seconds to a few minutes of cool air at start-up and after shutdown is normal fan purging. Touchstone says 10 seconds, and Twin-Star says several minutes after shutdown.
If it blows cold air the whole time, the thermostat may be set too low, your heater may be set to blower only, or the element may have failed.
Can I plug an electric fireplace into an extension cord?
No. Touchstone, Dimplex, Napoleon, Amantii and MagikFlame all say never use an extension cord, power strip or surge protector. ESFI and the CPSC give the same advice for electric heaters.
Plug it directly into a wall outlet, ideally on its own circuit.
What is the average lifespan of an electric fireplace?
None of the manufacturers we checked publishes a lifespan figure. It depends on the model, how often you run your heater, and how well you keep your vents clean.
Check your warranty. Twin-Star, for example, offers a one-year limited warranty.
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