Reviews of SEI Claremont Media Console with Electric Fireplace

Customer Ratings:

Just finished putting it together and giving her a test run. Good to great quality. Looks great, easy assembly. They say "glass remains cool to the touch" which is 100% accurate and why we purchased for our living room thinking we wouldn't have to worry about our 14 month old burning himself. HOWEVER, what they don't tell you (until you get it and see the big warning sticker) is that the grid directly above the glass and exposed to everyone gets VERY VERY HOT. NOT good for kids or even animals. That being said, we really like it and still think it is a great value.

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This was my 1st time ordering thru Amazon and my experience was rewarding. I was a little worried about ordering something on line without actually seeing it, pictures don't always give the proper representation of the product that is displayed. With that said, I am very pleased with the Electric fireplace that I recieved, it came in two boxes (one being the wooden console and the other the fireplace insert)and the UPS agent brought right into the house for me.

Now a couple of hints that will make the assembly easier: When you open the box, have a vacumm cleaner near by to remove the styrofoam from the items, due to static, the styrofoam is difficult to remove from the wood, but the vacumm will make cleanup easier as you remove from the packing. Inventory your parts and check off the paper as you locate them and then spread them out for easy recognition. Before you start assembling, spread a blanket on the floor to eliminate potential scratching, then follow the step by step instructions and take your time. Took approx 2.5 hours to assemble, this included removing stickers after the items were assembled (leave stickers on until assembled), the cam locks require a #2 phillips screwdriver, but I suggest using a #2 flat screwdriver to get the cams tight, then go back with the phillips to break the edges of the slots, this will allow the cover caps to be inserted into the cam. I utilized the corner shelf on the back of the console, so it would fit in the corner of the room and it is mounted on hinges, so if you want to eventually put it on a wall the shelf will just fold down.

The heater insert comes with a remote control that allows you to adjust the lights in the logs and also adjust the intensity of the flames. The remote will also turn the heat on / off as you need, there is a temperture switch located in a hidden panel that will allow you to set the heat and will shut off automatically once the temperture is reached. Very pleased with the realistic look of the logs / flame and also the adjustable shelfs that are located on each side of the console behind glass doors.

Downside: The media shelf is only 13" deep, did not allow my cable box to fully sit on the shelf without overhanging in the front, but by eliminating the back plate on the console, this was easily rectified.

Overall for the money, this was a great addition to my living room and the 55"flat screen looks great sitting on top.

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This corner unit fireplace takes some time to put together. I would say at least 1 hour. The firebox had an issue when first plugged in, the heater blower sounded like a sneaker in dryer (clunk, clunk). We took off the back panel and discovered that through shipping a metal plate had fallen onto a rotating piece. We pushed it back into place and the unit is working just fine. It looks real nice holding a flat screen tv and the cable components and dvd player fit perfectly. Yes, I would recommend it.

Honest reviews on SEI Claremont Media Console with Electric Fireplace

This is a nicely designed console. It fits perfectly in the corner where I installed it and it looks good. But there are some

negative issues as well. The console arrives complely unassembled. Mine arrived with some damage. I contaced customer service and they were helpful but I decided to repair the damage myself rather than to pack it all up again and return it.

Assembly is not all that easy. A number of the pre-drilled holes were way to small to hand screw into unless you are a professional body builder. So I had to re-drill many of the screw holes. The assembly instructions are pretty good but the print is very small and difficult to read.

The burner unit arrives seperately. The manual specifies / suggests a dedicated electrical circuit, so for safety's sake I installed a new circuit. I already had a proper breaker, room in my panel, wire and outlet box. so it didn't cost me anything but time. If you can't do this yourself it might add a couple hunderd dollars to your costs to hire an electrician and to buy the necessary components.

I'm fairly handy and this not my first rodeo but it took me about 5 hours to complete this project. One more thing, the packing material flaked apart and made a big mess that was unavoidable no matter how carefull I was to not make a mess.

In spite of the experience being an overall P.I.T.A. the end result is a nice looking and relatively inexpensive corner electric fireplace / tv stand.

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I love the fireplace but did have a problem with the remote. I called the company that made it (southern enterprises)

They would not even discuss it with me. They told me they were sorry they could not help (all they said) amazon

was wonderful they tried everything to help even calling southern enterprises to try to find a solution. Amazon was told the same thing. My advice don't buy anything this company makes. Amazon was great. I will buy from them again.