MistfireWater-vapour fireplaces · Calgary

How it works

Mist, lit from below. And what that asks of a room.

A water-vapour fire is the simplest fireplace there is: a tray of water, an ultrasonic disc that turns it into a fine mist, light that shapes the mist into flame, and a small fan that lifts it. Nothing burns. Everything else on this page follows from those four parts.

INSIDE EVERY OPTIMYST (schematic, not to scale) media plate: rock, glass or logs on top; slots for the mist sump: a shallow tray of water, level and overflow sensors ultrasonic transducer disc: vibrates the water into mist LEDs light the mist from below (RGB on most units) fan fresh air in from below: 40 to 160 in² depending on the unit water in: refill container or drawer, or a plumbed 1/4 in line through a filter and valve the mist, lit, reads as flame; a little vapour rises and dissolves clear zone above: nothing over the flame, no draft across it heater (5 of 7)
Inside every Optimyst. A sump of water; a transducer disc that vibrates it into mist; a fan that draws fresh air from below and lifts the mist through the media plate; LEDs under the plate that colour it into flame. Water comes from a container, a drawer, or a plumbed line. Five of the seven formats add a fan heater beside all this. The rules on the rest of this page are the consequences.

What every unit needs

Water, air, power, and stillness.

Four things, and each one decides something about the build.

Water: refill or plumbed

Refill. The Revive, Aura and Mapleton have a pull-out drawer with a tank; the cassette ships with a 1.25 L container; the Linear and Pro Box have a reservoir. You fill by hand with softened or filtered water. No plumber. Good in an old fireplace, a half wall, a stove.

Plumbed. The e-MatriX is designed for it; the cassette, Linear and Pro Box take Dimplex's plumb kit: a 1/4 in cold line under 58 psi through a shutoff, a leak-detection valve, a regulator and a softening cartridge, into the unit's own inlet with its overflow sensor. Never filled. What we do in counters and walls.

Air: a real path

The fan lifts the mist with fresh air from below, so every unit needs a stated inlet area with an open path to its underside: 40 in² for a cassette (80 for two), 80 / 120 / 160 in² for the Linear by size, 80 in² for the e-MatriX, two openings of 29 and 16 in² for the Aura, the gap under the drawer plus 16 in² for the Revive, half an inch behind the Mapleton. A grille needs a larger opening to compensate. Seal a unit into a wall or a cabinet and the flame starves; Dimplex says so in every manual.

Power: a 120 V circuit

The flame itself draws about 230 to 270 W. Every built-in unit is hardwired to a 120 V circuit (plug kits exist for the cassette, Pro Box and Linear; the Mapleton plugs in). Dimplex recommends a dedicated 15 A circuit and requires one if the breaker trips with a heater on. The Linear takes 240 V for full heat and its 86 in gives no heat at all on 120 V. An electrician, with the permit, every time.

Stillness: no drafts, nothing above

Dimplex compares it to a candle: large movements of air disturb the flame. Not under a range hood, not in the path of a register, a ceiling fan or a door that stays open. Where a spot is exposed, a low glass guard, or the glass-fronted Pro Box. And nothing directly over the flame: at least 16 in of clear air over a cassette (18 is better), open space over every trough, a mantel break or a considered TV height on a wall.

Heat

Five heat, two don't, and none of them is a furnace.

Every unit has a flame-only mode. The heaters are fan heaters at the front, on demand, a good space heater's worth.

  • LinearComfort$aver proportional fan heater with Eco, Boost and fan modes. 1,220 / 1,480 W at 120 V (46 / 66 in), 1,920 / 2,180 / 2,400 W at 240 V (46 / 66 / 86 in). The 86 in gives no heat on 120 V.
  • Aura1,275 W fan heater, up to 1,000 sq ft per Dimplex's sell sheet, vents at the front.
  • Revive1,250 W fan heater, up to 1,000 sq ft per the sell sheet.
  • Mapleton1,150 W fan heater, up to 400 sq ft, vents front-bottom.
  • Pro BoxDimplex describes a discreet fan-forced heater; the 2026 box's rating is confirmed from its manual before we promise it.
  • CassetteFlame only, 230 W.
  • e-MatriXFlame only, 270 W.

A television or shelf above a heated unit follows that object's own maker's guidance for mounting over a heater; that is Dimplex's rule, and it is why we settle TV height on the drawing.

Living with it

The clean, the water, the noise, the cost.

  • The clean.

    Mist leaves minerals behind. You lift the top plate and wipe the sump and the transducer disc with soap and water: every two weeks on the cassette per its manual, at least monthly on the Revive per its, more often with hard water. Minutes, not an afternoon. Softened water is what makes it light.

  • Calgary water is hard.

    Dimplex recommends a softener in hard-water areas and filtered or decalcified water in the drawer units. Plumbed installs get a quick-change softening cartridge you swap a few times a year; drawer units get a jug of filtered water. Do not use reverse-osmosis or zero-mineral water on its own: the level sensor needs a little conductivity.

  • Noise.

    A small fan; in a very quiet room you may hear it. Dimplex rates the Aura and the Mapleton at 50 dB. The crackle sound effect is optional. A heater fan sounds like a heater fan.

  • Cost to run.

    The flame is 230 to 270 W, a few cents an hour at Alberta rates, plus a small amount of water. Heat adds what any 1,000 to 2,400 W electric heater adds; run it when you want it and not otherwise.

  • Safety and listings.

    No combustion, no hot glass on the flame-only units, cool-touch surfaces in Dimplex's words. listed appliances (UL 2021 / CSA C22.2 No. 46, listed by UL or Intertek) that we install unmodified, so the listing and Dimplex's two-year limited warranty stay intact.

  • Controls.

    Remote and the Flame Connect app on most units (colour, flame height, mist, timers, schedules); the Mapleton is remote only, on purpose. Wall switches allowed. The Bluetooth receiver has to be within sight of the room, not behind stone or metal.

  • Leaving it.

    Away for more than two weeks: empty and dry the water parts, says the manual. Moving a unit: drain it first. Winter cabins, plan for both.

  • Real hours per fill.

    Dimplex's price list and the manuals we hold do not print run time per fill for the drawer units. Dimplex Canada's Mapleton page says up to 6 hours; its US page says 8. We tell you what the manual for your unit says at the site visit, and we don't guess on this site.

Next

Now pick the spot.

Six situations, each with the unit that fits, what the job includes and what it costs. Or go straight to the table of every unit.

Where it goes

See it in my space

Send a photo of the spot.

You get it back with the fire in it, plus a rough price for the build that fits. Usually within a couple of days. No obligation and no sales calls unless you ask for one.

  • Take one photo of the wall, opening, counter or corner from where you usually sit. Phone is fine.
  • We place the right unit for your depth, water and heat answers and send the picture back, labelled as a concept.
  • You get a rough price: the unit at list price, the build as a range, and what a site visit would confirm.

Your photo is used only to make your render and is not shared. Prefer email? hello@mistfire.ca

So we know it's inside the area we cover.
Decides which units fit. Guess if you have to.
Linear, Aura, Revive, Mapleton and Pro Box heat; the cassette and e-MatriX are flame only.
Plumbed or refill: this decides it.
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