Dimplex Opti-Myst Aura 30-Inch 3-Sided Vapor Fireplace (3STEP-RGB-AM)

A Water Vapor Fireplace You Can See From Three Sides

The Dimplex Opti-Myst Aura is a 30-inch built-in water vapor fireplace. It frames into a wall like any built-in electric fireplace, but the flame is made of mist and light rather than a picture on a screen, so it has real depth and you can put your hand straight through it. You choose at install whether it shows one side, a corner or all three, and the heater is optional, so it works in July as well as January.

The Flame Is Real Mist, So It Looks Right From the Side

Water sits in a tank in a pull-out drawer. A transducer vibrates it into a fine mist, LEDs light the mist from below, and it rises through a log set molded from real wood. Because the flame has volume, it still looks like a fire when you see it from an angle, which is where a screen-based fireplace falls flat. That matters more on a three-sided unit than on any other kind.

You can set the flame to one of five colors or let Prism mode cycle through them, pick one of six flame heights, and add a crackling log sound.

Install It Flat, Open on a Corner or Open on Three Sides

The same unit handles four layouts: front-facing only, open on the left corner, open on the right corner, or open on all three sides. Nothing changes in the fireplace itself. The layout comes from how you frame and finish the wall around it.

The framed opening is 29 1/2" H x 30 3/8" W for a front-facing install and 29 9/16" H x 29 1/4" W for three sides, 15 15/16" deep either way. The trim is designed to sit on 1/2-inch drywall.

Heat Is Optional and Rated for Up to 1,000 Sq. Ft.

A fan-forced heater sits behind the flame and switches on separately, so you can run the flame alone all summer. Dimplex rates it for supplemental heat in spaces up to 1,000 square feet. It has a thermostat, an on/off timer, a weekly schedule and frost protection, and it runs on a standard 120V circuit.

Best for Rooms Where People See the Fire From the Side

The Aura earns its place in an open-plan room, at the end of a dividing wall, or on a corner, anywhere the fire is seen from more than one spot. For a front-facing look in a fireplace you already have, the Dimplex Opti-Myst Revive insert is the better fit.

Plan the Air Intake and Power Before You Frame the Wall

The Aura has to breathe. It needs a fresh air inlet of at least 29 square inches at the top, drawing air from the same room, and the gap under the drawer has to stay clear. A second 16-square-inch inlet below improves the flame. If you cover the top inlet with a grille, make the opening larger to make up for it.

It is hardwired as standard. To plug it into an outlet instead, add the Dimplex plug kit before the wall is closed.

Keep it out of the path of ceiling fans, HVAC vents and drafts, which bend a mist flame the same way they bend a candle. Keep a TV or mantel at least 12 inches above the top. Use clean tap water, softened if your water is hard, and plan to rinse the tank and reservoir about once a month.

Optional Accessories

• Dimplex Opti-Myst Plug Kit (CDFI-PLUGKIT), to plug into an outlet instead of hardwiring
• Dimplex Opti-Myst Plumb Kit (CDFIPLUMB-KIT), to connect a water line so you never refill it
• Dimplex Air Intake Grille (X-00275), to finish the top air inlet