Side by Side Comparison of: Smart for Life vs Moda Flame

We've had a mild winter in Maine, so I haven't used this a lot, but it does work great. During a snowstorm or a particularly chilly, blustery night, I've turned this on and it has taken the extra chill off in my living room very quickly and effectively. It is well built, attractive and I love the ambiance provided by the "fire". The finish is lighter than in this picture, so it is not as dark as my other furniture, but it blends in well where it's placed.

I love it. Wish it was a bit taller and bigger in general, but it's perfect in our bedroom. Our 6 cats love to lay by the fire all day!

You will love it. The fire looks real and the heat is very warm. Worth every penny. It is very well made and easy to run. During this cold Northeastern PA winter, this is the key to warmth. Did I say I love it!

This is a very nice heater. It heats very well & has an excellent fairly quiet blower for dispersing the heat. It heats my 700 square foot combo kitchen, living room, dining room, & foyer area very efficiently. I am not sure that it is any more cost effective than using my central heating system, but I prefer this type of heat as it is better for my respiratory system. I usually turn off my central heat at night & heat only my bedroom with a small radiator type electric heater on very low. I use the central heat to warm up my great room in the mornings (it has 14 foot ceilings) & then switch to this heater for the rest of the day. It is much less drying for my nasal passages & provides a nice uniform warming heat to the room. The fire feature is fairly realistic & is so much better to me than dealing with the messiness of my fireplace which I have not used in years. Just my personal preference. A regular fire in an open fireplace is not very efficient anyway. This heater was more cost effective than purchasing an electric or propane firelog system. I just placed this heater in front of my fireplace. It did have a very irritating crackling sound that was made by some foil tinsel type device inside the cabinet. You could not turn it off. I quickly opened up the back of the cabinet & removed the entire apparatus. My handyman was performing some work for me when the heater arrived. He liked the crackling sound, but I found it to be unbearably irritating & would have returned the heater if I was unable to deactivate the sound. So it is just up to personal preference whether you like the sound or not. The only other feature that is a minor inconvenience is the fact that it only has swivel wheels on one end. It does make it a little more difficult to move. Overall, I have been well pleased with the heater.

The amount of heat it puts out is beyond what I thought it would . Having the heater portion on the top part instead of the bottom makes all the difference in the world. Its light , easy to move around and does not look cheap at all.

I couldn't be more pleased with the Lifesmart Easy Fireplace. It works beautifully, and really warms up the livingroom...with a very pleasing look about it. Came right out of the box without any assembly required. Friends that saw it said they were going to buy one too. Great price for this fireplace too!

I love this fireplace! I wasn't sure about the heat vent on the top. I have art hanging above where I mounted the fireplace and it was getting warm so I put a vent deflector on it to push the air out in front more. It doesn't look too bad but I can remove it when not using the blower.

Was super nervous with how this unit would be for the price. But when it arrived it was absolutely exactly what we wanted!!! Works great and looks great couldn't be happier! :)

The Moda Flame 50" is a very nice wall mounted fireplace. I got it for my wife as she wanted a fireplace in our bedroom and clearly running a gas line for a real fire wasn't an option. It looks very sleek mounted on the wall and she uses it every night. I haven't tried the heater part yet since it is still warm out, but the flame looks real and provides the right amount of light and ambiance.

One cautionary item we figured out is it can be turned off with the remote but there is also a master on/off switch that is in a different place than the other buttons. I spent a couple minutes trying to figure out what it wouldn't work at first until my wife noticed the other switch.

This added a great contemporary look to our living room. Flames look very real. However, I didn't like the faux logs look so instead bought the moda ceramic pebble stones in gray to compliment my modern decor. It looks awesome!

I'm very pleased with my Moda flame fireplace no complaints here......

I got this for my upstairs as with three bedrooms there's only one heat vent between them. Iowa winters get cold (-10 to -15) and this little heater has done a great job at keeping the bedroom warm.My room's around 20 by 15 and typically drops to around 50-55 during the day (the house is set to 60 while I'm at work). In the evening I go up around 30-45 minutes before I go to bed and turn it on. And it'll be 65 by the time I'm ready for bed.The dogs love it. My eldest, who's 11, is slowly losing his sight and the added soft glow of the fire at night helps him get around & is much softer then a regular nightlight.The downside is the temperature gauge. It seems to be off by about 5-7 degrees. Maybe I have a defective model, but if I set my temp to 70, the room only ever gets to a 65 max temp before the heater turns off thinking it's reached it's set temp. Now it does hold this temp, but just not the temp it as set too. Not a big deal just have to do some math before bed haha.The remote is awesome too. When I first was trying to determine how far off the gauge was, being able to roll over and crank up/down the heat was awesome. Somedays I'll even crank it up to 75 (70) before emerging from the cocoon of blankets.

It is nice looking and very realistic, It was heavier than I was expecting, so I think it is well built. Fully assembled and up and running in a matter of minutes. Heat works nicely, although one con is the slightly loud fan. I put it in our large, high ceiling bedroom (27 x 13) and it seems to be up to the task. Our bedroom is too far away from the central heat, so we bought this to remedy the cold room. So far so good. I agree with another reviewer that the thermostat is inaccurate, but once you figure out what setting is comfortable, it is irrelevant. I would buy it again and recommend.

I was hoping to give this fireplace a five star rating. I have a Lifesmart fireplace that seemed similar and it's been amazing for over four years. I trust this will as well. I'm just taking off one star because when the item arrived, there wasn't anywhere that was labelled Lifesmart. The box, the manual and the back of the fireplace all say Life Corp. if you type in Life Corp on Amazon, this item doesn't even show up, so I'm hoping that I got a fireplace from the same company as my other. There are a few imperfections with the woodwork, but only noticeable up close.

I found this fireplace to be as advertised, although a little bit cheaply made, but of good value for the money I spent. I was mostly looking for something of that size and for a reasonable price, and this one fit the bill. The ambiance and the heat both work well for the room it's in. A fake fire is a fake fire no matter who makes it, unless there are flames of some sort. For the value, I'm happy; and I would recommend this for all I've listed above, and it does knock the chill off the room without having to run my furnace for the whole house all the time.

I received this item last night, and it is beautiful!....it is functional and pretty....note that it is a "light" oak color, much lighter than the picture. If it wasn't for that, I would have given it 5 stars. Can't wait to use it this winter! :)

This is a good product. Does the job. One problem. Thermostat not very accurate. Needs improvement. Once improved then 5 stars.

For the price it's okay. First one came in was not working and we had to go through a hassle of shipping it back and purchasing another one. Second one came in was good. Remote does not connect well so I had to hold the remote 2 feet away from the left side of the fireplace for it to turn on. It does heat up the place well and looks cozy.

We put this on a bathroom wall. Instead of using the black power cord to plug into an outlet that would look unsightly, our contractor hardwired it.We have a wall switch to power it. The remote is very handy. Because the warm air blows straight up to ceiling a mantel was made to deflect it.It is made from pine board and just sits on top of unit so it's easily lifted off if necessary. Very decorative. However if the heat is on high setting it makes the wall too warm and the unit shuts off. But because it looks so good, we don't use the high setting. That's only useful in the cold months anyway. We mostly use the flames feature that is very attractive.

I haven't installed this on the wall yet but I did test it when it arrived. It was working properly and there was no damage. I initially thought the glass was scratched but I cleaned the glass and there wasn't any visible scratch. While I do love the look, the only reason that I gave it 4 stars versus 5 is that you can obviously tell its not a real fireplace, nonetheless for the cost, I think it's great quality. Like some of the other reviewers I also think it would have been better if the background was black but for the room that I am putting it in I am going to use earth tones primarily so this doesn't make a big difference for me.

I like this unit. My girlfriend and I bought it for our bedroom. Our house gets cold and it is a nice addition to our wall heaters. The unit looks nice and the flame effect is good. The mechanism makes a very faint noise that I actually kind of enjoy it almost is a very low white noise that sounds like a real fire. I am sure it wasn't intended that way but I find the sound and just having it on to be soothing aside from the extra heat and the visuals. Unit shipped fine, I was worried it would get busted up in transit. Very nice having the remote, I keep it in my nightstand. Mounting it was fairly straight forward, get a level, a pencil and a stud finder, or some fairly strong drywall screws. I was able to mount myself but would be easier with two people. Watch the draw, it sucks a lot of juice. I usually use the low setting but I believe the high setting uses up to 1500 watts, which is enough to pop a 15 amp circuit if you have some other items on. Also probably not good for a sole heat source in a large room. I use this in tandem with a wall heater or if you need to break the chill in a room.

This fireplace is for my new entertainment. It is beautiful and perfect size for my house. Heat is coming from the top, so I put a mantel between my TV and this fireplace.

The web site listed for registration is not correct. Can't find the correct web site. Need corrected web site and or phone number to register this product. Disappointed that it is in correct. As for the fireplace itself, it is just the right size, is pretty but don't know how good it works until we have some cold weather. We live in SW Fl so it will be a couple of months before we can see how well it heats up our home. Will let you know later on in the winter months, however, my rating is mainly because this product can't be registered.

Seems good so far. Puts out a lot of heat. The fire looks very nice. My only issue is it was a little beat up. This is not something I would have spent that much money on. If it was in a store, it would be in the clearance aisle being sold as is. I'm assuming it was from shipping, but from reading the other comments, this seems to be a problem, easily fixed by packaging better. Other than this issue, it does seem to be a very nice electric fireplace and even thought it looks beat up I'm looking forward to using it. Also, if anyone has the issue of the fireplace (not the heat) not turning on, take of the back and make sure the bulbs are screwed all the way in.

Actually does not put out the heat that I was hoping for but it looks very authentic, just wished it put out more heat!

Got it last year, worked amazing! Used it from November to feb 16. Started using it in mid October '16, and two months using it...it dies. Get the extended warranty. When it works, it's great for heating up my living room and kitchen (roughly 600 sq ft)

I bought this in late October and now in December it has began to make noises when the fire place is on and it's incredibly annoying, still works. Just won't be silent like it was at purchase,

This unit is probably ok for a smaller room, definitely not a large room. I bought this unit for the infrared heat but i notice no difference from any other space heater. I cant feel any heat sitting 10' away. I have it in a 1000sf insulated basement and it takes hours just to raise the temperature a degree or two (measured by separate thermostat). It runs continuously and never gets the room above 70. I thought the infrared would heat me and the objects near it but that's not the case. I have only ran it for 3 days now but I am sure that with the unit running 24/7 on hi its going to cost a fortune. It does look nice and is very easy to set up.

Wish it would be flushed to wall. But heat is coming from the top so it's still protruding about 5 inches. It's a nice touch for plain wall. But don't rely on it for heat. Doesn't do much

Looks good but very cheap remote that stopped working after 1 week

I like the length of this item as a sole wall mount for my dining room but it gets so hot that it requires extra room surrounding the entire item so I couldn't use it between my TV and entertainment center.

Very real looking fire, but has packing foam particles inside the unit. Unit can't be opened to clean. Should be shipped better.

I give this 3 stars because it is awesome.... if set in some sort of housing.The flame looks real. I simply wanted it for ambience not heat. Never turned the heater on.. cannot comment on that.Here's the kicker this thing is like 8 inches thick. It could look good if placed at a distance but, in a main traffic area it just juts out too much! Sent it back.If Moda would simply offer a housing this thing could be awesome. Damn shame!

look is great! Heater and remote are cheap. No display to see what speed fan or heat is on. Do not even know how to work the timer.... on off switch on side is best bet. I do love the look!

Does not put out enough heat.

This was our third fireplace ordered, the other two arrived with a lot of damage and were returned. This one, too, was damaged, but we kept it out of frustration. I do not recommend this purchase if you want a quality unit.

Such a shame.This is beautiful, however, it had a rusted dent on the metal grate (small and we can deal with it). I contacted Amazon and they provided me with a partial refund. I was happy, until we had it on for more than 15 minutes. It has an incredibly annoying rolling noise. The heat works well and the flame is pretty, but I'm really unhappy with the quality.

Smaller than expected and "fake". Could not use it for purpose purchased

It's beautiful but it takes 3 hours to heat up a 14x14 room. I didn't expect that. And I didn't get any paperwork or manuals with it so I don't know what to do to register it for the warranty.

After trying it out in my living room, the first thing I noticed was the unit is pretty small...! I thought it would be a Larger item but it did not impressed me. It does not heat up Large rooms very well either like it says. The only thing I like about it, is that the flames look realistic. It works great for small rooms...!Also, when I received it, it appeared that it was damaged on the edges, had three dents on the front and corners edges.

Bought this fireplace in November 2015...January of 2017 it does not work. Only used in the cold months in So. California.

Beautiful to look at. Heat worked once. This is the second one; first ordered was in a million glass shards upon arrival.

Beware the Re-branding of Ubiquitous Chinese Crap. I wanted to try one of these fireplaces. I waded through all of the options on Amazon, aware that many similar looking products were being hawked under various names. I found a brand which seemed to be a fireplace company - MODA FLAME. Realizing this was a large, heavy, expensive item I took a chance thinking I'd be better off at least with a recognized name. WRONG... when it arrived it said "Gibson Living" on the box. I opened it and nowhere did I see the name MODA. I plugged it in and the flames looked OK. Then I turned on the heat. It buzzed like a transformer, even louder at the high setting. Not exactly relaxing. I hunted around for some batteries AAA which were not provided with this $270 dollar item. Found some and installed. The remote turns things on but not off. Now I will spend several hours tomorrow boxing up this heavy worthless piece of junk and returning it. JOY.

I have had several issues. Starting with receiving a shattered fireplace. Once the replacement was received the brackets and mounting material were not sent. Currently waiting on brackets, really disappointed hopefully once mounted all will be well.

This now the second white unit we purchased after returning the first and both have the same scratches on the white glass coating. Since it is so obvious there is no way to hide the scratch (2 dark elongated spots where the double screws from the main body housing touch) we have to return again hoping for a better result next time around.What is particularly upsetting about this is that it is a simple design flaw that can easily be avoided with 2 small felt pads placed above the housing screws to prevent the front glass surface which is hinged on the top only from bumping against the screws during transportation. It's that easy.As another customer wrote it is frustrating to have drilled 3 holes in an otherwise prefect wall and now the fireplace can't be used.Dear Modaflame team, we will ask for another exchange instead of a refund hoping that it will work the 3rd time. I will increase this rating if the product arrives without defect.What I strongly recommend is that you:- perform an incoming inspection for your product coming from China before you ship it within the states- send a note to your supplier making him aware of this design flaw

This is a gorgeous fireplace that complements our living room perfectly. The frame is crystal white and the led "flames" are entrancing and warm. The only issue is that our frame appears to be scratched from the inside, revealing a silver metal looking spot that is very noticable and unreachable from the back. It must have happened when the unit was being built, as there is no other access to that spot on the frame, which we are unable to patch or anything. There is also styrofoam on the inside of the window, which is stuck in the unit and unable to be cleaned. Of course, we noticed these issues after drilling all the mounting hardware and installing the fireplace to the wall. Super frustrating!!!This review would receive 5 out of 5 stars if the frame wasn't damaged- not sure what to do at this point, but we are hoping that Moda Flame will send us a new unit to replace it. Depending on how this issue is addressed, we would certainly consider this product nice enough to purchase again.

The fireplace temperature sensor stopped working after 2 months. Manufacturer customer service is nonexistent, no known email address, voicemail is full after numerous phone calls. the seller, VMINNOVATIONS ,has told me I'd have to pay return shipping for the defective fireplace, ($50-$70), for an exchange on a new fireplace. The Lifesmart Easy Large Room Infrared Fireplace warranty is a joke!

when I opened the box I noticed the wood was 2 different colors. the top had dings on all 4 corners, the inner cuts of wood were misshapen and discolored, the wheels barely stayed on, the back panel was barely attached and was very flimsy. I didn't even bother to plug it in this was so beat up.

Was excited to get this to heat a bedroom in my cottage.Got it set up arranged all the furniture turned it on and just a matter of hours later the heater quit working. This was upsetting considering that was the sole purpose for this purchase. Clearly because it's heavy and bulky returning it is not an option, so I'm stuck with a mock fireplace and another heater next to it. So not what I planned. And posting a picture does not use cause it's just gonna show up pretty mock fireplace with no heat !

Did not work power light on back came on but control panel would not come on. I bought this for my weekend cabin. Co customer service is horrible and very limited during work week. Can't return box was damaged in in packing process

I purchased in Feb 2015..loved it in all aspects...stopped using in March...now just turned on to check on it's working for fall and the heater does not work...checked warrenty and it states it has run out in March!!!!!!! I would not reccomend "unless" someone can tell me how to remedy this. So far can not get any answers. Sure is beautiful to look at though!!!...and when working...heated a 12 by 14 room..with a door super...so sorry it did not last.

Total junk! Has not worked right since we purchased it. Sent parts to put on and it still doesn't work. Don't waste your money!

Please contact me ,this item isn't working , you turn on and it shut off. Tried everything but won't work

Honestly a puts out a good chunk of heat but there are problems with this fireplace.1) The heat vent (source of heated air) is located in the center at the top of the fireplace, so I caution you to put anything above it because it may melt2) The air flows up and that's it... the hot air does not flow out at all so it doesn't warm my space necessarily. With high ceilings it will do the same to your place... the air will flow up and the heat will get sucked up and dissipate.I am pretty disappointed in this fireplace. It's pretty to look at but does nothing for my apartment.

Looks so fake had to return to avoid embarrasment

not happy at all. box was damaged I couldn't take it back for a refund it's made of glass something I didn't know

Item is clearly cheaply made. It had fiberglass threads hanging off of logs. Did not look good.

The first one I got was amazing.... For a few days. It had this beautiful crackling noise and it really set the mood. Then the thudding started. Not a little thud that occasionally enters the fray of the crackle like a falling log but a heavy thud with every rotation of the crackling mechanism. I couldn't turn it off and it lost the ambience. So I ordered a replacement. They weren't able to provide me one because the price went UP in the two weeks I had it by 10 dollars and Amazon was forced to refund me my original 280 and I had to spend 290 to get it again. We thought "Eh, we already have the mounting brackets, it will be a quick fix."WRONG. Same design, no mounting bracket... Just 3 screws to dig into your wall. We had to rip the other mounting bracket off to install the new one. There are now 7 holes in that wall. We hoist the new one up and hit the ON. No thudding noise! Yay... No Crackling either... Boo. I'm not playing this game again. I bet if we replaced it a third time, we'd get a damn mounting bracket again and don't get me started on trying to box this thing back up for UPS to pick it up.I will be actively seeking a refund of that original ten dollars and perhaps the company needs to provide me a bit more for my lack of crackle.Don't buy it