Electric woodburner-style fires - do you get what you pay for?

[PassTheTwiglets]

I'm looking at the electric equivalent of a woodburner. Some which I know are good quality are £600+ but there are some others which are about £80. These get mixed reviews - some saying they're fine, some saying they're dreadful quality. I don't really fancy either the £600 or the £80 options.

Well I've since found some from Dimplex for around £200 and am very much hoping that these are a nice middle ground. Or are they rubbish quality too but over-priced?

It's an electric heater with a fake surround, right?

can't see the point in spending much money on a fake.

If you have gas, electricity costs two to three times as much per kWh.

Yes, an electric heater with a fake surround. I'm not too worried about running costs as we won't use it much - it will be more decorative than anything else. We don't need the heat.

I think I'd want to feel some in a showroom. Real stoves are usually cast iron, so I'd worry they would be thin and unconvincing.

The expensive electric ones are cast iron but the cheap ones obviously aren't. I don't imagine that they look that different from a difference, I judt want something that isn't going to fall apart after a fortnight.