Some of that crackle is a recording. Amantii, Touchstone and PuraFlame build speakers into certain models to play the sound of a wood fire, and the remote or app turns it down or off. Most other noises come from two motors: the blower behind a 1,500 watt fan heater, and a small motor turning the rod or spinner that throws the moving flame picture.
So the first question is when you hear it. With the heat on, suspect the blower. With only the flames on, suspect the flame rod and its motor. Straight after switching off, it is usually a fan finishing its cool-down.
What follows comes from manuals, service manuals, support articles and product pages by Napoleon, Dimplex, Touchstone, Real Flame, Duraflame, Amantii and PuraFlame. The electrical warnings in them deserve more of your attention than any sound, and they are collected near the end.
Some noise comes with the design
"It is normal for your electric appliance to produce noise, especially when installed in a quiet space such as a bedroom." That sentence sits among the safety warnings in the Napoleon Astound manual, with no decibel limit attached. Fan rush, a faint hum from the flame motor and any speaker effect all count.
With no published ceiling for normal, sort the sound by its timing instead: heat on, flames only, or after switch-off.
Some sellers treat the sound as a feature. Twin-Star invites owners of its duraflame infrared quartz electric log set to "Enjoy the look, sound, and warmth of a traditional fireplace".
A hum or roar with the heat on is the blower
A fan pushes air across the heating element, and that is the hum. Unusual heater noise has two causes in the troubleshooting tables: dust and lint in the blower, or a fan or heater assembly that has failed.
Twin-Star's DFS-400 stove instructions for the Duraflame stove list "Excessive noise with the heater on" against a "Dirty heater blower motor", fixed with "Gently vacuum heater blower vents", or a "Defective heater blower motor" that needs replacing. The only copy of that file we could find is hosted by Home Depot. Dimplex's Nova service manual gives the same pair in its own terms: a "Buildup of dust/debris" in the heater, cleared by making sure the "exterior intake louvers and firebox cavity" are free of dust, or a "Defective heater assembly".
Real Flame's 5020E users guide is shorter. "There is excessive noise when the heater is operating" leads to "The fan is defective" or "The heater assembly is defective", and both lead to "Call Customer Service." The guide also covers a related symptom: "If the heater blows alternating cold and warm air, check the fan for free movement and for debris restricting air flow."
Napoleon asks the most of owners. "It is imperative that the control compartments, circulating blower and its passageway in the appliance are kept clean," its manual reads, and "More frequent cleaning may be required due to excessive lint from carpeting, bedding material, etc." On top of that it wants the fireplace inspected "before use and at least annually by a qualified service person."
Why does the fan keep running after I turn the heat off?
To cool the heater. The delay is short and printed in the manuals.
Touchstone's Sideline Elite manual covers both ends of the cycle: "To prevent overheating, the heater blows cool air for 10 seconds before the heater turns on, and after it turns off." Its Sideline Steel manual gives "8-10 seconds". That means a puff of cool air when you first press the heat button is deliberate too.
Dimplex runs longer. After moving from flame and high heat to another setting on the BFSL33, "there is a 30 second fan delay, where the fan will continue running before turning off," according to its owner's manual. Some other Dimplex fireplaces run on for up to 2 minutes; the quietest electric fireplace guide lists them.
A fan can also run with no heat because that is the setting. Napoleon's Astound heater menu puts a "FAN" step, described as "Heater is off and blower is on", between fully off and heating.
Why is my electric fireplace making noise when it is off?
Check whether the flames are still running. With the heater off, the flame effect is the usual source, and the makers point at the flame motor and whatever it turns.
The DFS-400 table has a row for exactly this, "Noise with flames on and heater off", with three causes: a "Defective flame generator drive motor", a "Dented back panel" and a "Warped Flame Generator/Spinner shaft". All three go to Duraflame customer service. Dimplex's matching row, "Excessive noise when flames are on", blames a "Flicker rod is hitting or rubbing against internal component" or a "Defective flicker motor".
Once the fireplace is fully off and the fan has finished, no maker describes any sound at all. Napoleon, Real Flame and Duraflame ask owners to unplug the fireplace when it is not in use anyway, and Touchstone asks the same if it will sit idle "for an extended period of time."
Squeaks, ticks and rattles start at the flame rod
The rod behind the flame picture can rub on a bushing, slip out of its socket or bend. Amantii, Touchstone, Dimplex and Duraflame each describe one of these, and none of them calls the result normal.
Amantii's FAQ answers the squeak head on: "The noise is due to the flicker rod coming in contact with the rod end bushing. To rid the noise, this area will need to be re greased." The repair guide for your model has the steps.
A rattle that keeps time with the flames has its own Touchstone article. Starting from "There is a rattling noise when the flames are moving", it puts the noise down to the rod working loose from its socket and walks you through reinstalling the flame rod, finishing with a reminder to "test the fireplace to be sure that there is no noise." Shipping can cause it. The Sideline Steel manual blames "rough transit/handing of the product" for a displaced rod, which makes it the first thing to check on a fireplace that has rattled since the day it arrived. For a "Flame motor defective", that manual's answer is "Call a qualified service technician to replace flame motor."
Dimplex wants owners to "Ensure that the flicker rod is straight and mounted properly in the bracket", spinning clear of everything, and then to replace the rod or motor if needed. Duraflame has you unplug the stove, remove the back panel and confirm the spinner "is correctly mounted to the Flame Generator Drive Motor."
Whether to grease it depends on the brand
Amantii tells owners to re-grease the bushing at the end of the flicker rod. Real Flame and Touchstone say their motors leave the factory lubricated and need nothing.
"The motors used on the fan heater and flame blower are pre-lubricated for extended bearing life and require no further lubrication," reads the Real Flame manual, while Touchstone's says "The fan motors are lubricated at the factory and will not require lubrication." Follow the manual for your own fireplace, not another brand's.
For a flame that stops moving, Napoleon has the simplest first step. Its table says the "Motor is stalled/malfunctioning" and prescribes "Cycle on/off. If problem persists, consult dealer."
Why does my electric fireplace click?
None of these manuals names a click. The closest explanation is Napoleon's thermostat, which turns the heat off at the set temperature and back on as the room cools, over and over through an evening.
"The heater has a built-in thermostat so it will shut off automatically once the pre-set temperature is reached. It will also turn on automatically if the room temperature drops below the pre-set temperature." The Astound wiring diagram shows six relays on the control board, though the manual says nothing about how they sound, and none of the manuals we could open mentions metal ticking as the heater warms or cools. In fan heaters more broadly, De'Longhi and Vornado describe the thermostat cycle on our space heater noises page.
A heater that cuts out and will not restart is a separate problem. If the BFSL33 overheats, "an automatic cutout will turn the fireplace off and it will not come back on without being reset", which takes switching off and waiting ten minutes. Napoleon asks for a 15 minute wait and Real Flame for 5 minutes unplugged.
Turning the crackle down or off
The crackle comes from a built-in speaker playing a recorded fire, on the models that have one. Amantii, Touchstone and PuraFlame all let you silence it from the remote or app.
How far you can turn it down varies. On Amantii's Symmetry Bespoke the "fireplace crackling sound can be controlled through the remote or Wi-Fi App to turn the sound on or off, however there is no volume control," so off is the only quieter setting.
Touchstone's Sideline Elite Pro has "a built-in crackle speaker with adjustable volume", and the BurnBrite log insert an "Adjustable built-in crackle speaker for authentic wood-burning sound." PuraFlame's Alice Pro offers "crackling sound with 5 levels volume to set", and its mantel suites with the Western insert list "6 crackling sound" choices. The Astound, BFSL33 and 5020E manuals describe no sound effect.
A crackle or snap that carries on with the sound off goes unexplained in all of these documents. A rattle in step with the flames sends you back to the flame rod.
A buzz sends you to the plug and outlet
No manual explains a buzz. They all print rules about the plug, cord and wall outlet, though, and a buzz you can trace to the outlet belongs under those rules.
Touchstone's version is the most complete: "Make sure this plug fits securely into the outlet. Faulty wall outlet connections or loose plugs can cause the outlet to overheat. If the outlet or faceplate is hot, discontinue use immediately and have a qualified electrician inspect and/or replace the faulty outlet."
Duraflame accepts a warm cord as "Normal operation" but cautions that "Heaters draw more current than small appliances, overheating of the outlet may occur even if it has not occurred with the use of other appliances." Check often whether the plug, outlet or faceplate "is HOT! If so, discontinue use of the heater and have a qualified electrician check and/or replace the faulty outlet(s)."
Napoleon and Duraflame both warn about hot and arcing parts. In Napoleon's words: "All electric appliances have hot and arcing or sparking parts inside. Do not use it in areas where a gas line, paint or flammable liquids are present."
No go-betweens, either. "Always plug appliances directly into a wall outlet/receptacle. Never use an extension cord or relocatable power tap (outlet/power strip)." That is Napoleon, and Touchstone, Real Flame and Duraflame agree. Touchstone adds that if the fireplace trips the breaker, "unplug all other appliances on the same circuit before the next use."
A new fireplace may smell for a few hours
Napoleon, Dimplex, Real Flame and Duraflame all call a slight odor normal the first time the heater runs. None describes a sound that belongs only to the first few uses.
"The appliance may emit a slight, harmless odour when first used. This odour is normal and it is caused by the initial heating of internal appliance elements and will not occur again," says Napoleon. The BFSL33 manual's wording is almost identical, "a normal condition caused by initial heating of internal heater parts."
Duraflame explains the chemistry. "The heater has a surface coating on the internal parts. For the first several hours of operation, the coating reacts with the internal parts to permanently protect them." The smell is safe, it says, and a well ventilated room helps "until the odor dissipates." Real Flame warns that it "should not occur again unless the heater is not used for an extended period of time", so a fireplace left alone all summer may smell briefly in autumn. A smell that lingers longer than that is outside every maker's list.
When to stop and call for service
Each row is a maker's printed instruction.
| Sign | Maker | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Hot outlet, plug or faceplate | Touchstone, Duraflame | Stop using it and have a qualified electrician check the outlet |
| Damaged cord or plug, or a unit that has malfunctioned, been dropped or damaged | Napoleon | "Return appliance to authorized service facility for examination, electrical or mechanical adjustment, or repair." |
| Any malfunction | Dimplex | "Disconnect power at the service panel and have the heater inspected by a reputable electrician before reusing." |
| A heater cutout you keep resetting | Dimplex | "disconnect power and call Dimplex customer service." |
| Any part that has been under water | Napoleon | "Immediately call a qualified service technician to inspect the appliance." |
| A fan that does not turn freely | Real Flame | The unit "must be turned off and the fan replaced immediately in order to prevent further damage to the fireplace." |
| "E-2" on an Astound, its "Error code for blower" | Napoleon | "Consult local service dealer." |
| A defective flame motor | Touchstone, Duraflame | A qualified service technician, or Duraflame customer service |
Repairs go to professionals in every one of these manuals. "Always use a qualified technician or service agency to repair this firebox," says the Nova service manual. Real Flame: "Any repairs to this fireplace should be carried out by a qualified service person." Napoleon is blunter: "Under no circumstances should this appliance be modified."
Placement rules differ by model. "To prevent a possible fire, do not block air intakes or exhaust in any manner. Do not use on soft surfaces, like a carpet, where openings may become blocked," Napoleon warns, while the DFS-400 stove may stand on carpet if flammable items stay at least 3 feet from its front and sides. Read the rule for your own model.
How loud is a normal electric fireplace?
Between 36 and 55 on Dimplex's decibel scale. Dimplex is the only fireplace maker in this group that prints figures, and it names no setting or distance, so they only compare Dimplex models with one another.
The detail is in the quietest electric fireplace guide: 36 for the Slim Linear and 42 for the Nova fireboxes, rising to 55 for the Ignite XL and Optimyst Linear. Napoleon, Touchstone, Amantii and SimpliFire print nothing. SimpliFire's manual server refused our download, so it appears only through the guide.
What the heater adds shows up in one pair of numbers, from the budget seller Costway. A representative put its 18 inch FP10831 insert at roughly 45 dB while heating and roughly 28 dB with the heat off. The decibel chart sets figures like these beside household sounds, and comparing decibel ratings shows why two makers' numbers rarely line up.
For portable fan heaters and oil-filled radiators, see space heater noises explained and the quietest space heaters guide. A fireplace in a bedroom shares the room with other machines, which the quiet bedroom page covers, and dBA explained sorts out the units.
