Dimplex: Optimyst 86

Seven feet of realistic flame, made entirely of water and light.

Quick Facts

• Heating Capacity: 0–400 sq ft
• Viewing Area: 84¼” wide fire—just over seven feet.
• Fuel: Electric; the flame effect runs on water and light.
• Controls: Phone app, included remote, or hidden touch panel.
• Fan: Included (fan-forced heater).

Who It’s For

There’s a wall in your house that was made for a fireplace—except there’s no chimney anywhere in the plans, and a real flame doesn’t fit the way your family uses the room. You need a fire that looks real without being real. If you want a statement fire you can run year-round—flames on a July evening, flames and heat in January—this is the one to look at. A conventional electric gives you a flat flicker behind glass; the Optimyst 86 fills the opening with real, rising mist.

What Makes It Special

The flame isn’t an image of fire. It’s a patented 3D flame built from water vapor and light—ultra-fine mist rises from the ember bed, LEDs light it from below, and it curls and drifts the way real smoke does. No two flames are ever the same shape. Hold your hand in it and it’s cool. No gas line, no chimney, no hot glass.

It’s also built to run without babysitting. Add the optional plumb kit and it draws from a continuous water-line connection, with an overflow sensor that shuts the water off before a leak can start. Control it from the Flame Connect app on your phone, the included remote, or the hidden touch panel, and a self-diagnosing module with a 2-year warranty backs it all up.

Dimplex rates the fan-forced heater to warm up to 1,000 sq ft; in most rooms, expect up to 400 sq ft, depending on climate and layout. It also shuts off entirely, so the fire runs on the warmest night of the year. It builds into a framed wall like any built-in fireplace, and our team plans the framing and the fresh-air opening it needs as part of the install.

Possible Downsides

• Full heat output requires a 240-volt connection—on a standard 120-volt circuit, the unit runs flame-only.
• The plumb kit for a continuous water supply is optional, not included.
• The heat is supplemental—it warms the room it’s in, not the whole house.

If you want a seven-foot fire where a real flame can’t go—or shouldn’t—the Optimyst 86 is the right decision. The room it’s in becomes the room the house lives in—in January with the heat on, and in July with it off.

The firebox comes with acrylic crystals and a driftwood ember bed, and you can restyle it with tumbled glass, river rock, or black rock ember beds and faux log sets ranging from split logs to driftwood, beach driftwood, and chunky driftwood.