Side by Side Comparison of: Smart for Life vs VonHaus

Living in a small, stick-built old cottage on a lake, I'm always looking for useful products that fit my budget, are useful and add to the ambiance! This lovely, quiet heater is just the ticket! The living and dining area are one large room, 12 x 27 in area, and this heater quietly and charmingly keeps it warm and keeps my propane bill down. The remote is a nice feature. I would suggest setting this up a bit higher off the floor; I used a large cedar window box turned upside down for this purpose, but you could set it on decorative blocks or a low shelf instead.

Excellent and unreal how much heat it blows out.I have a big basement and a garage. I put it in my garage in dead of winter while working on my bike and I usually have to shut it off after an hour. The wheels are great. When I'm done I push it rt back into finished side of basement and it's great!Not too loud at all and it is silent if you are just using the flames. My dogs love it! 3 of my friends have exact model. I looked for 3 months so trust me if you can get it under $200 grab it!

I love this fireplace!!! Adds ton of ambiance to our living room!

Had just moved into my home and froze in the den (15 x 13) with open doorways -- this is now the favorite room in the house. Super efficient and looks amazingly real. A great buy, you will not regret this purchase. Very quiet, cool to the touch, my yorkie thinks it is a real fireplace and I had to move her little bed to in front of the unit.

I did a lot of research and read many reviews. I was really glad that I ended up buying this one. The cabinet is very nice (though small - I had a friend make a wooden base for it to raise it up) and the "fire" is fairly realistic-looking. I like the fact that it has a remote and you can view the flames without using the heating part of it. You can set the thermostat for whatever temperature you want and the heat cuts off when it reaches that temp. Nice for looks AND nice for space-heating. A good value.

This was a great buy - don't believe that this product is not in stock - I ordered it when it was supposedly not in stock and it shipped the next day - I ordered it on 1/6/2013 and it arrived on my doorstep on 1/9/2013 (and the shipping was free from Amazon - which is nothing short of incredible since the shipping weight is 68 pounds!!!). The flames are extremely realistic and the only part that gets hot is the little grill in front where the heat comes out. I have had mine running for 6 hours straight and the back didn't even get hot. I can keep my house thermostat at 62 and still be toasty warm in my living room when this is running. This is one of the best products I have ever gotten - I am thrilled with it. It looks beautiful when it's on and the heat is great. The only negative comment I have is that the picture does not match the item's color - the actual item has wood that is much darker than what is pictured.

I bought this as a gift for my mother and she likes it. It's a lot smaller than it looks and while it says that it heats 1000 square feet, it can take a few hours to heat up a large room. The flame, however, looks very realistic and it has wheels which makes it very easy to move if needed. This would be better used in a bedroom or a small enclosed room.

Works great, warms the area we needed nicely. Our only minor grumble is the sound that is made when the 'flames' are on. It's not terrible, but it can seem loud & does get on my husbands nerves after a bit, especially when the house is on the quiet side. Definitely not a deal breaker, the flames can be turned off anyway and it's a nice and affordable little fireplace heater.

This is definitely an attractive addition to our living room. It helps keep our open-floor plan home warm, though it doesn't really heat the whole space. The fan is pretty powerful and as long as you are sitting in any kind of direct line from the front of the heater, you will feel the warm air blowing on you, even from across the room. I LOVE it.The only reasons I am not giving 5 stars are minor: 1. the way the vents are situated, it is difficult to read what temperature the unit is set to without squatting down. Not that big of a deal really. The other thing is that the fan can be kind of loud. If you're watching TV or something it's not really distracting, but if I'm on a conference call on speaker phone, I basically need to turn the whole unit off in order to hear what people are saying, or else go into another room, which defeats the purpose of a space heater. That said, my hearing isn't great to begin with, so it might not matter as much to other people.

I am very happy with this purchase. We live in an old drafty house and when it was time to replace a portable heater, I thought I would give this a shot because I like that it is pretty in addition to being functional. My only real complaint is that the fan is louder than I expected. We have it in the living room, and it is loud enough that we have to adjust the TV volume when it is on. Not a deal breaker, but I wish it would be more quiet. The flames are very nice. We leave them on all the time. I've seen other fireplaces when I've been out that cost far more and don't look nearly as nice. I'm very happy with my purchase.

Looks great! It is small. I like the wood paneling around it. It is a nice brown stained wood color. Mine arrived broken, but I believe that to be the work of UPS. When the box arrived it looked like it had been kicked down a football field.As far as heat goes, it can really put out some heat. I love it.In the dark the fire place gives off a nice ombionce. In the daylight the logs look fake.Overall 4 out of 5.Once winter gets here I'll post about its performance during the ice storms.

Sometimes the fireplace makes a ticking noise that's annoying when you're trying to sleep, but sometimes it doesn't so I can't figure out what's going on. Other than that, I love this fireplace. It's so pretty to look at and it heats very well. I have it in my bedroom and it keeps me warm and toasty all night. You can set it to different temps and it'll turn itself off when that temp is reached and then on when the room temp goes below what you set it for. It's so much more economical than leaving our central heat on all night, heating rooms that don't need it. I have one in my living room too. You can't go wrong with this adorable and functional little fireplace.

The unit heats well but the size advertised did not match the product. The width is actually 23 inches, not 29 inches, the height is 19 inches, not 23 inches, and the depth is 10 1/2 inches, not 11 inches. It may not make a difference when placing it next to a wall, but this unit was ordered to place in a fireplace opening measuring 30 x 24 inches, which would have worked well with the advertised dimensions of 29 x 23. The unit looks dwarfed in the large opening.

I have mixed emotions about this one. The fake fire logs are 3D realistic looking, but the fire is not. The fire is created on a 2D background. The fire kind of resembles a real fire if you don't stare at it. But I like to look at the logs which ruins the fire affect. I like it enough to keep it. The heater is good. I thought the whole thing was going to heat up when you have the heater on, but it doesn't which I'm thankful for cause I have furniture that rest within 2" of both sides of the fireplace. There's one little heat rod just inside the front vent that creates the heat and an internal fan blows the heat out.

I've used this heater regularly through the past winter to thoroughly test it out, and 'Large Room' is greatly exaggerated, even in cool temperatures (40F-50F). In a small 100 sq ft bedroom it didn't seem to heat it up any faster or efficiently than a regular electric space heater, with the fan only being marginally quieter. The fire has a realistic flicker but the flat color (which is orange with no yellow) and the dim glow even on the brightest setting was disappointing. Personally I like more glow, but if you don't like a lot of light in the room (like for sleeping) the fire gives off barely any light and isn't distracting. On the positive side, it does look great as a piece of furniture, so I keep it around as decor; but if function is more important than appearance, I suggest getting a cheaper, fireless infared space heater.

We bought this to replace a heat surge fireplace that went bad and was too expensive to repair.The Lifesmart arrived in good shape except for a small crush on one corner of the top of the cabinet [not very noticeable].The flames look as nice as the heat surge and the fireplace puts out more heat than the surge did.The only complaint is the thermostat seems to be somewhat inaccurate and does not cycle like it should-I have to bump up the temp to get the heat to come on again after it cycles off.All in all,we are happy with it and it looks nice at half the price of a heat surge.Update-We used this for 3 months and it worked fine then we stored it for the season.Now we tried to use it again during a cold spell and the unit does NOTHING.I contacted Life Zone for warranty service and they said they will replace with comparable unit-we will see!

Received in a few days. This unit is SMALL. Looks small and a tad on the cheap side, I got what I paid for and no more. It does work well, puts out heat and the remote is easy to use. You need your own AAA battteries. I wish I had measured more carefully the area it was to occupy. This unit would be good in a spare room but not living or family room. I will have to build it up somehow like another poster said. It needs a good 12" on the bottom or some kind of cabinet. Would not put TV on top of this, it's only 10 1/2" deep, 28 1/2" wide.Would not buy again but too hard to return. Will put it somewhere!

This product is not as tall as I would like. I purchased a different product a couple of years ago and loved it so much. As I started shopping the other product was no longer available so after reading reviews I select this one. It arrived fast and no damages; box was heavy 50lbs. However, once unloaded from box it's very easy to push and set up in room.Cons: Power cord short in length, remote control is very poor made "buttons stick"Pros: Heats room in minutes, easy to wheel on floor, PRICE

This showed up at my door completely beat up. There are scuffs all over one side of it, and I even found a piece of the wood at the bottom of the box. It also had no remote with it. I contacted LifeSmart to let them know and received an email back that they basically didn't care. I would recommend buying from a different company. Rated 2 stars because the flame looks nice, otherwise, it is garbage.

The box it came in had such big holes in it you could see the fireplace, and the wood on the top front has four big dents in it. I stained the dents to cover them up as much as possible, it is just too big to return.Jay

This came with some minor damage to the wood which I would have overlooked, but this unit just does not heat the way described. It was nice to look at but did not "heat" the living room in which it was placed. (15 x 18). Disappointed b./c the "fire" was pretty to have in the room, although much smaller than I imagined, but the dimensions were clearly listed. The seller did agree to a return without any hassle.

Does not heat the amount of space specified in the description. It heats a 400 sq ft room but I would not recommend it for larger rooms in chilly weather. Outside temperatures have been ranging between 30 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I have the heater placed in my living room near my thermostat. The furnace in my small duplex (850 sq ft) is very inefficient to run so I bought this portable heater to supplement it. I am disappointed that this portable heater doesn't help maintain the temperature even with the assistance of my home furnace. If I take the heater into my bedroom and shut the door, it works fine, but the portable heater is ineffective in any room larger than that. Also, the heater's thermostat is not accurate because it will not turn on when it's set for a specific temperature. For example, when it is set at 68 degrees, it won't turn on until it's 64 degrees in the house.

I was looking forward to receiving this electric fireplace. I recently moved into an older home on the northern California coast... the first time I have owned a home that used propane, so I wanted a way to not have to run my heater all the time during this cold time of year. (Why this home didn't have a fireplace or wood-burning stove puzzles me. Eventually, I'll have one installed.) In the meantime I thought the LARGE ROOM Infrared Quartz Fireplace would do the job. It arrived quickly, and I loved the woodwork and look of the unit. The fire and logs looked good enough. I read through the information and instructions provided (Yes. I'm one of those.) This unit is very easy to understand and use. Unfortunately, it just didn't heat my living room, as promised. I used it for several days (per instructions), giving it a chance to redeem itself - and hopefully, give me a reason to keep it. When I found myself (dressed in layers, as usual) trying to push myself deeper into the sofa, and shoving my feet under the dog in an attempt to stave off shivering, while sitting just a few feet from the infrared unit (which was on), I knew I just had to send it back. I took a small Stanley space heater I had been using in my bedroom. Sat it next to the Lifesmart (box says Life Zone) unit (which I turned off), turned on (the Stanley) and within several minutes, the chill was out of the air. That was my expectation. Just keep the chill down enough to keep me from having to put on a puffy coat, and the home heating unit from coming on so often. I think I'll check to see if Stanley makes an electric fireplace or wood burning stove.

I usually adore Amazon and have perfectly fine experiences with the sellers, so when it came to making a large and expensive purchase, I was less apprehensive than I normally would be. This fireplace has potential. As it works when I plug it in and turn it on, but that is not all that matters with a $200-$300 piece. For the cost, it was poorly constructed. It arrived three days later than promised, and is noticeably very damaged. I don't know if the damage occurred during shipping, or if it was sent out this way. The poor and hasty construction may be an indicator of poor quality control, so it is perfectly possible that it was sent out damaged. Who knows, but I am disappointed. For the cost I know I should send it back and demand a replacement, but what a headache, and it will cost me to send it back! Or I can put even more time and money into trying to repair it. This is such a shame. I aim to update this and attach pictures of the damage as well.

The first one I received had a cracked cabinet and only half of the logs were lit. I received a replacement yesterday and the cabinet was busted worse than the first. I never took it out of the packing.

The product came broken and not working. Was very disappointed and returned it.

Loud. Super loud. Can't hear yourself think when this thing is running. Cheap craftsmanship, high electric cost/heat benefit. Very disappointed.

Stopped working less than a month of having it

This fireplace could be nice but they are cheaply made and prone to all types of issues. I received my new heater yesterday and was excited. This was shortly lived as the second I set the temp I had to push it all the way up to 78 degrees just to get the hater to start. It was not 77 degrees (closer to 72) inside my home at the time. The heating part of of this product will not and does not shut down automatically. Basiaclly there is tow setting on my unit; ON of OFF.I am so disappointed because I got this right before the price went up 30-40% and I now have a nice looking fake fire without any other function. The amount of time and effort I am going to have to make just to get my money back makes me feel like I was cheated.

Defective. We had to send it back, which was a HUGE hassle. It would run for 1-2 minutes and then shut off. We had an electrician friend look at it, and he said the fan wasn't operating. Hugely disappointed.