Touchstone Sideline Elite Pro Built-In/Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace

The Sideline Elite Pro Is the Elite With a Deeper Firebox and Built-In Crackling Sound

The Touchstone Sideline Elite Pro is a smart linear electric fireplace that recesses into a wall or hangs on its surface. It has the same app, Alexa and Google Home control as the Sideline Elite, plus a deeper firebox that gives the flame more visible depth and a speaker that plays a fire crackle.

Sideline Elite vs. Sideline Elite Pro

Three things separate them.

Depth. The Pro is 6 5/16 inches deep against the Elite's 5 1/2. That extra depth is where the realism comes from, and it also decides how the Pro installs.

Sound. The Pro has a built-in crackle speaker with three volume levels. The Elite has none.

Sizes. The Pro starts at 36 inches, a size the Elite does not come in. Both go up to 100.

Take the Elite if you want a flush fit in a standard 2x6 wall. Take the Pro if the flame is the point and the wall can give it a little more depth.

Designed for Professional Installs, Where the Wall Is Built Around It

Touchstone designs the Pro for professional installs, and it is popular with builders and contractors. It makes the most sense when the wall is being built around it: a new media wall, a bump-out under a TV, or a wall of built-in cabinets and shelves. It needs no clearance at the sides or back, so it can sit tight between cabinets. Touchstone asks for 8 inches from the top of the fireplace to a TV, a mantel or the ceiling, and 6 inches down to the floor. Keep furniture, curtains and bedding at least 36 inches from the front.

Install It Three Ways: Full Recess, Partial 2x4 Recess, or Wall Mount

Full recess. The framed opening has to be 6 3/8 inches deep. A 2x6 stud is 5 1/2 inches and half-inch drywall brings the wall to 6, so the Pro sits 3/8 of an inch short of flush and a full recess means a bump-out, which is what Touchstone recommends. It only goes in a non-load-bearing wall.

Partial 2x4 recess. The Sideline Elite Pro spacer kit mounts it into 2x4 framing without deepening the wall. The front stands out from the wall and the kit finishes the sides.

Wall mount. It hangs on the included bracket, no framing at all. Only the front of the firebox is finished, so the sides show when it is surface mounted, and the same spacer kit's side and top brackets cover them for a clean edge.

There is no spacer kit for the 36 inch.

Every Size Heats the Same 400 Square Feet, So Width Buys Flame, Not Warmth

Touchstone rates every size from 36 to 100 inches at 1,500 watts and 5,000 BTU, enough for about 400 square feet.

Treat it as supplemental heat that takes the chill off a room, not the main heat for a cold winter. The flames can run without the heater, but the heater will not run without the flames.

Every Size Frames to an 18 1/4 by 6 3/8 Inch Opening, Only the Width Changes

Frame the opening 1 5/16 inches narrower than the fireplace. A 60 inch Pro takes a 58 11/16 inch wide opening. Check the spec sheet for your size before the framing goes up.

It plugs in or hardwires. Use a grounded 120 volt, 15 amp outlet on a circuit it does not share, and never an extension cord or surge protector. Hardwiring is a job for an electrician.

Plan on two people. Touchstone calls for two to lift it into the opening and to handle the glass front, which comes off during the install.

Cutting the power resets the flame color. Turn it off with the remote or the control panel and it remembers your color. A smart plug or wall switch that cuts power sends it back to the default.

Other sizes and models: browse the full Touchstone Sideline series. Finish the look with a fireplace mantel.