The Best Ventless Fireplaces for a Cozy Flame

The Realcozy Liberty Farmhouse Mantel LED fireplace is a heavy, made-to-order piece of furniture that required two white-glove professionals to move it into my apartment. They also did the assembly, including adding the optional fire glass rocks to create the ember bed, a decision I immediately regretted. When the fireplace isn’t on, the “glass rocks” look more like plastic ice cubes, and at some point I’m going to use my screwdriver to open the 42-inch fireplace insert and remove them.

I loved the wooden design of the Liberty Farmhouse mantel. It is wall-mounted, flush, and looked like it has always been there. The 30-year-old company has multiple mantel designs, everything from corner versions to TV stand options, and in varying sizes and colors. They also come with a remote. The flames look real-ish. Unlike the Lloyd below, where you’re dealing with real fire, the Realcozy has stationary LED lights that shine onto a rotating reflector inside, casting realistic, flickering flame effects onto the screen.

With a click of the remote, I can cycle through different colors to illuminate the flame bed, including green and purple. I opted for the more natural reddish-orange.

The Realcozy has a heater, and at 5,000 BTU, the company claims it can heat a 500-square-foot living space. I’m not sure if that’s entirely possible, but it did warm up my 200-square-foot dining room during a late-spring cold snap when my apartment’s heat wasn’t turned on. In the evening, it gave my dining room a lovely fireplace vibe. Still, I felt like something was missing. I thought back to a review I had read and its suggestion of playing crackling fireplace sounds on a loop. I wanted sound. I was surprised to find more than a few fireplace crackling box options on Amazon. The need for fire sounds must also be in our DNA.

I bought the Mseltos Fireplace Crackler Sound Box ($33) to add sound to my fake fireplace experience. The Crackler has a variety of fireplace sounds: hard, mild, weak, soft, super soft, or fiercely crackling, along with crackling with music. And reader, I needed those crackling sounds. While I wish the Realcozy came with sound, its looks, adjustable heater, and remote with built-in timer make the Realcozy my favorite ventless fireplace option. I also don’t have to worry about burns, explosions, or high levels of CO₂.

The Lloyd from Solo Stove pays serious homage to the freestanding mid-century enameled MCM Preway fireplaces that fetch thousands on the vintage marketplace. For less than $1,000 and a few minutes of assembly, the Lloyd may be a solution for those who want a real flicker. The Lloyd comes in five easy-to-love colors and most resembles the OG Malm Zircon. Made of electroplated steel, metal, and glass, the 31-pound Lloyd stands 3.5 feet tall.

The Lloyd uses TerraFlame gel fuel, a proprietary blend of isopropanol and ethanol that has a faint eau de Sterno, reminiscent of the times I’ve used my Le Creuset fondue pot. It burns smokeless and is virtually emission-free. The Lloyd does not come with an extended lighter, but it needs one. The first time I lit the Lloyd, I used a match and immediately regretted it. While the TerraFlame gel fuel cans are the same size as a scented candle, I underestimated the risks, as the flame was instant, large, and hot. I bought an extended curved lighter that worked perfectly.

There’s no denying the cool aesthetic of the Lloyd. It was a true novelty to have a real crackling flame in my apartment—it really brought the room together. I wish there were an option to buy a fake chimney extender to complete the illusion of a real fireplace. I sat on the carpet in front of the fire and planned to use the Lloyd for my next party or date night. There are few things that can instantly do the full ambiance makeover that a fireplace can achieve. My first time using the Lloyd, I didn’t let the gel fuel burn out. Snuffing the flame using the magnetic opener was a challenge. I needed oven mitts and metal tongs, and once I put the top on the canister, I couldn’t detach the magnetic snuffer and needed pressure with the tongs. This is where the glass shield proved an obstacle. It’s also too hot to move.

It’s worth noting that back in 2011, the US Consumer Safety Commission put out an executive summary about the risks of pourable gel fuel (not used in the Lloyd) for fire features and gel fuel, including the kind that comes in a can with a metal snuffer, similar to the type used in the Lloyd. There was also a recall of gel fuels back in 2011 due to burns and at least two fatalities. At issue was the consumer’s inability to assess risks because the flame seems like a candle and the actual flames are sometimes difficult to see. Most dangerous was the fact that refueling gel into a hot canister can cause an explosion. Explosions also occurred when consumers attempted to snuff out the flame on the cans. There are vapors and flames from the burning of ethanol. And while the summary is over a decade old, Lloyd’s user’s manual has a warning: “fire and explosive hazard, severe burns or death can occur, and never add fuel to a hot device.” And in regard to the TerraFlame, it comes with a Prop 65 warning: “Gel fuel when burning, may expose you to chemicals including carbon monoxide, which can lead to cancer and reproductive harm.” While I tested the Lloyd Modern Gel Fuel Fireplace, the above warnings apply to any fireplace that uses ethanol-based gel fuel.

And there is no safe option for refueling. After reading the summary, including the dangers of snuffing the flame of a gel fuel can and the possibility of explosion, I’ve since let the fuel burn out all the way. When the Lloyd’s flame is out, that’s it—show’s over.

A common refrain in the Solo Stove’s own reviews, and I found this to be true as well, is that the cans do not last the full three hours. In fact, one of the flames went out 45 minutes before the last one. A TerraFlame six-pack costs $40, making it a $5-an-hour fire experience. The Lloyd isn’t a practical heat source. While Solo boasts that the Lloyd brings 9,000 BTUs of heat, it is primarily for aesthetic purposes. I used the Lloyd in a 250-square-foot room and didn’t feel space-heater-like warmth. And, before you light your Lloyd, you’ll need to open a window.