Touchstone Sideline 50-Inch Recessed Smart Electric Fireplace (#80004)

A 50-Inch Linear Electric Fireplace That Recesses Flush Into the Wall

The Touchstone Sideline 50 is a wall fireplace with a 45 by 12 inch flame behind black glass, built to sit either flush inside a 2x6 wall or on the surface of one. It needs no venting and no gas line, and it runs from a standard 120 volt outlet or can be hardwired. The flame works with or without the heater, so it earns its place on the wall in every season.

The Heat Comes Out the Front, Which Is Why It Can Sit Inside the Wall

The vents along the top face forward rather than upward, so warm air enters the room instead of the wall cavity above the fireplace. That is what makes a flush recess possible in a unit only 5 1/2 inches deep. The heater runs at 750 or 1,500 watts, roughly 5,000 BTU, which is supplemental warmth for a room of about 400 square feet.

It Frames Into a 2x6 Wall, Not a 2x4

The rough opening is 47 1/8 inches wide, 20 1/2 inches high and 5 3/4 inches deep. Frame to those numbers rather than to the fireplace dimensions, because the glass frame is wider than the hole and overlaps the wall around it. A 2x4 wall gives about 4 inches of depth once the drywall is on, which is not enough, and Touchstone does not allow the fireplace in a load-bearing wall.

Surface Mounting Leaves the Sides of the Firebox in View

The wall bracket, screws and anchors are in the box, and the manual gives surface mounting its own procedure: fasten the bracket to at least two studs, then have two people lift the fireplace onto its hooks. Worth knowing before you choose. Only the front of the unit is finished, so mounted on the wall it stands 5 1/2 inches out and both sides show plain black steel. A shallow surround or a false wall built around it gives the built-in look without framing a full opening.

WiFi, Voice Control, and a Remote in the Box

The Sideline 50 connects to the Touchstone Fireplace app over WiFi and answers to Amazon Alexa and Google Home, so flame color, heat and the timer can all be set from a phone or by voice. The remote and the panel on the fireplace do the same things. Flame color runs orange, blue or both together, with five brightness levels, three flame speeds, and ten ember bed colors glowing under the crystals or the log. The shut-off timer runs from 30 minutes to 8 hours.

Leave 8 Inches Between the Fireplace and a TV

Measured from the front of the glass to the bottom of the television, 8 inches is the minimum. The same 8 inches applies to a mantel above it or to the ceiling, and the bottom edge needs 6 inches of clearance to the floor. No clearance is required at the sides or the back.