Anyone Have an Electric Fireplace/heater?

Sometimes you can find the instruction or assembly manual for models online, and they will usually give you the requirements for mounting or assembling. I'd Google it and see what the actual unit's manufacturer advises.

I've not seen anyone mount them in a shelving unit. I've seen them mounted on walls and in media type units. My in laws have one in a media center with a TV on top of the fireplace. Theirs has a fan to blow the heat out around the room. The TV is fine - never hot.

we've got one for our chilly breezeway, and also given one to my in-laws who live in a basement apartment, and like many old folks get cold very easily. both electric heaters have thermostats, and shut down automatically.
no, they have never overheated.
ETA i wouldn't put one inside a shelving unit. that DOES seem to be just asking for trouble.
khairete
S.

I would look at the specs before buying, or at least before installing, it should tell you what is safe, what materials, etc.
I'm with your husband, as someone who grew up in the age of electrical space heaters (and the fires and tragedies that often came from them) I would be wary too.

If it didn't come with some kind of surrounding (like a TV stand, bookcase) then I would not put it inside a shelving unit. The stand alone units are space heaters and shouldn't be put inside anything.

Example:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/tv-stands/tv-stands-fireplace...

I have the fireplace media stand. The TV sits on top and there are shelves on either side of the fireplace unit for the dvd player and video games. The kids have it on lots in the winter and it has never been an issue.

Heaters require open air for the flow of air and to cool themselves.

Fireplace heaters go into insulated openings with flues that have safety measures in place to prevent the heat of the fire from igniting the walls of the chimney and where the fires are.

So no, you can't bring home what is basically a space heater, plug it in, and sit it in a bookshelf. You have to be able to feel the wall around and above the plus so you can see if the wall is getting hot. If it is? Then you could have a fire start inside the wall. If the plug is hot you can have a fire that is electrical that would short out the entire unit electricity and have a massive fire breaking out from every plug in or appliance.

If you don't have propane heat or natural gas heat or live in a total electric home then you really need to figure out what you're trying to do.

I live in a mobile home that has a minimal roof and a plastic bladder that covers the stuff underneath the floor. My heat goes out the window glass, through the roof, and through any cracks in the floors around heater vents, carpet tacks, etc...

I put a small ceramic heater in my sitting area. I plug it in directly to a wall socket. It is NOT safe to use any sort of extension cord or anything that isn't direct. I turn it on when I'm sitting here watching TV or on the computer. I feel the wall to make sure it's not overheating. I sit on a blanket so the backs of my legs are not exposed to the room air. I wrap this blanket around my feet and legs. I open it up and sit closer to the ceramic heater when I'm very cold. I do not leave it on when I'm not in the room or when I leave.

I have huge comforter's over the windows in every room. These block the cold air coming in and the warm air going out. I make sure they stay covering the windows.

I am responsible for finding ways to keep myself warm.

Yes we have one. There are very strict rules for how high shelves above it need to be. We have one shelf above ours (at the correct height) and it gets VERY hot. Inside a shelving unit would probably not be good. And I think it would be against regulation and would definitely be a fire hazard. My other advice (for anyone thinking about getting an insert) is to get one with a fan that pushes the hot air outward. The once that came with our house does not do a good job of distributing heat.