Napoleon Astound FlexMount Built-In or Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace

Wall Mount It, Half-Recess It, or Build It In Flush

The Napoleon Astound FlexMount is a linear electric fireplace sold in 50, 62 and 74-inch widths, and the whole unit is 7 1/8 inches deep. That depth is where the name comes from. You can hang it flat on a finished wall with no framing at all, sink half of it into a standard stud bay, or frame a deeper opening and set it flush. Whether it reads as one-sided, two-sided or three-sided is decided the same way, by how deep you set it and which trim you fit, so one model covers installs that would normally mean three different fireplaces.

7 1/8 Inches Deep, and a Partial Recess Fits a 2x4

The partial recess is the configuration most people end up building, and it is the reason this unit is worth a look. It needs a 3 1/2 inch deep opening in a non-load-bearing wall, which is exactly what a standard 2x4 stud wall already provides. Nothing has to be furred out and nothing has to be rebuilt. The rest of the fireplace stands off the wall and stays three-sided, so you see flame through both ends as well as the front.

Going fully flush is a bigger job. That needs a 7 1/2 inch deep opening, which neither a 2x4 nor a 2x6 wall gives you on its own, so a flush install means a bump-out or a purpose-built wall. What you get for the work is the choice of one, two or three sides, and a trim-free finish, because the finishing edge panels and trim come in the box. Wall mounted and partially recessed installs are three-sided only.

5,000 BTU on a Plug, 10,000 Hardwired to 240 Volts

Plugged into a dedicated 15-amp circuit it runs at 1,500 watts and 5,000 BTU. Hardwired to 240 volts it doubles to 3,000 watts and 10,000 BTU. Napoleon rates it to heat up to 400 square feet. ECO mode runs it at half heat, BOOST runs the heater at maximum with the blower sped up, and heat is vented out the front into the room rather than up.

Worth being straight about: this is supplemental heat. It will take the chill off a room and it will not replace a furnace. And the 240-volt option is not something you add later without opening the wall again, so decide it before anything gets closed up.

The Remote Does Everything, Including a 7-Day Schedule

The remote in the box covers on and off, the thermostat, the flame, the ember bed and the top lights, and it holds a seven-day schedule so the fireplace can come on by itself. The Napoleon Home app over WiFi adds saved favorites and the full range of color combinations, and once it is on WiFi it answers to Alexa and Google Home. There is an optional wall-mounted control as well, which is the sensible choice anywhere a handheld remote goes missing.

Thirteen colors are available across the ember bed and top lights, and the flame itself runs orange, yellow or both together with Napoleon's spark effect moving through it. The glass is tinted, which cuts reflections and matters more than it sounds in a bright room with windows opposite.

Best for a Room Divider, a Corner, or a Finished Wall

Because it stays three-sided in a partial recess, it suits the spots where a flat single-sided fireplace looks wrong: the end of a peninsula wall, a corner you walk around, a divider between a living room and a hallway. It is equally the answer when the wall is masonry, or on a concrete floor, or simply somewhere you do not want to start cutting studs, since the wall-mounted install needs no framing whatsoever.

Settle the Wiring and Clearances Before the Wall Closes

Decide 120 or 240 volts first, because the 10,000 BTU figure only exists on a hardwired 240-volt circuit and the wiring has to be run before the wall is finished. Check your mantel plan too: Napoleon asks for a minimum of 4 inches between the top of the appliance and a mantel projecting up to 3 inches, and the same thinking governs anything heat-sensitive mounted above, including a TV.

This is an indoor appliance and Napoleon states plainly that it is not suitable for installation in a bathroom. Finally, order your media with the fireplace rather than after it. The glass bead quantities and the birch log and mineral rock kit sizes are all specific to the width you buy, and the amounts are listed in the Features section on this page.

Optional Accessories: Birch Logs, Glass Beads, Mineral Rocks, Black Crystals, and Wall-Mounted Remote

WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including lead and lead compounds, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer, and chemicals including BBP and DEHP, which are known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.