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Dimplex CHT20 Cheriton Electric Fire
by brittle1906
Review of Dimplex CHT20 'Cheriton' Electric Fire.
This fire was purchased around five years ago from our local branch of Homebase; I believe the cost was around £150.00.
The fire was bought to replace an old fashioned gas fire in the dining room of my home. The gas fire was old, quite hideous and I was worried ... about using it, so when it was last due a service, I decided to have the thing taken away.
To be perfectly frank, I would not have bought this electric fire at all. We have gas fired central heating which is efficient and heats the property adequately. However at the time, my mother was still with us, she was frail and suffered badly with the cold, she often found the need for a little back-up heat throughout the year, which was the main reason we bought this heater. I am not a terribly technically minded person so if I have omitted from my review anything readers wish to know, please get in touch!
**The Fire**
The Dimplex CHT20 Cheriton Electric fire is a good looking item, the styling is traditional and the fire has a wealth of shiny brass which fits very well with my 1930's property. The fire has a coal effect fuel bed and a flame effect which can be operated in conjunction with the two heat settings or alone for a visual effect.
The main casing of the fire is made from a matte black metal, the front is trimmed with a wide brass decorative edging which runs down to a brass fire basket. The controls are situated under a lift up flap on the front of the fire. The controls are very easy to use; there are three switches, one for each of the heat settings and the other for the flame effect, plus the on/off switch. This is a 2kw electric fan heater and it blows warm air from the vents in the top in the top of the fire.
This fire is a flue less, free standing model; it needs virtually no installation, other than screwing four Phillips cross-headed type screws into the wall. The fire has four small brackets, two on each side and it should be sited against a wall for stability, we positioned ours in the space left by the old gas fire after it was removed and the gas supply capped off by our plumber. Once in situ, all that remained was to plug the fire into a nearby electrical socket.
This fire requires little or no maintenance, the only thing we have replaced in the years we have owned this appliance is the red light bulb that sits behind the fronts-piece of the fire.
**Specifications and Availability**
Max Output: 2kw
Heat settings: 2 (1kw and 2kw)
Fire dimensions: W 639mm x D 194mm x H 682mm
Safety features: Overheat protection safety cut out
Guarantee: 1 Year
Fuel Type: Electric
This model is still on the market and can be obtained from various on line and off line sources. A quick web search conducted today brought up the following stockists and prices.
Amazon from £149.00
Argos £175.00
John Lewis £169.00
Ebay from £154.00
**My Thoughts and Conclusions**
My dining room is not large; it is a basically square room measuring approximately 12 feet by 12 feet. The room is at the rear of my home and is south facing. It adjoins my kitchen, has two outside walls and at the rear end of the room is a double glazed conservatory. The room is not what I could describe as a 'cold' room.
The Dimplex CHT20 Cheriton electric fire looks very attractive in my dining room, but that is about the only positive comment I can make!
The fire throws out a minimal amount of heat, it barely takes the chill of the room and to be honest was a total waste of money! As I have mentioned, my late Mother liked a little extra heating in the dining room, but unless you are standing directly in front of this fire, other than the noisy fan, you would not know the fire was on. Another issue I have had with this fire is that the replacement bulbs are becoming quite difficult to source in my local area, they are the old fashioned screw in type of bulb which do not seem to be seem too widely available.
I am very unimpressed with this fire, aesthetically it is fine, but as a form of heating, I do not rate this at all. I intend to have some work done in the dining room in the near future, I want to have the chimney re-opened and will be replacing this fire and it will be replaced with a solid fuel fire.
I do not really feel this fire is suited to be anything but a heater for a very small room, it is not effective enough for my room and to be frank, we no longer bother switching it on!
I am awarding the Dimplex CHT20 Cheriton Electric fire a 1*rating.
Thank you for reading
©brittle1906 January 2013
N.B. My reviews may be found on other sites under the same user name.
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