Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Water vapour fireplace vs LED flame

Updated: October 2026

You want the fire to look convincing, and you also know you may never remember a water bottle. A water vapour fireplace vs LED flame choice is that trade. Optimyst builds the flame from a fine mist and light, and it needs a tank. An Optiflame-style fire uses LEDs and a reflective surface, and it has nothing to fill. Products Compared used Dimplex’s Optimyst notes, two UK retailer explainers marked as seller opinions, and review themes from the amazon.co.uk listings captured on 15 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The stove rows are on the [water vapour fireplace comparison](/hub/fireplaces-and-stoves/water-vapour-fireplace).

You want the fire to look convincing, and you also know you may never remember a water bottle. A water vapour fireplace vs LED flame choice is that trade.

Our top picks

flatpincololee 3D water-vapour insert 500 mm

Best overall

flatpincololee 3D water-vapour insert 500 mm
2.9/10about £221.99
View offer
Dimplex Dimplex Gosford Optimyst

Rank 2

Dimplex Dimplex Gosford Optimyst
8.1/10about £639
View offer
Dimplex Dimplex Bayport Optimyst

Best value

Dimplex Dimplex Bayport Optimyst
7.9/10about £419
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What each effect is
  2. 2.What you maintain
  3. 3.Heat and running cost, briefly
  4. 4.When to pick which

What each effect is

Dimplex describes Optimyst as water mist with a three-dimensional flame and a wisp that reads as smoke. The same shop pages describe Optiflame as LEDs on a reflective bed, with no tank. The mist flame is described as cool. Stoves Are Us calls Optimyst more realistic in their view, and Direct Fireplaces calls Optiflame a two-dimensional mirror illusion. Those are seller descriptions, not a laboratory ranking. Stored Gosford and Fortrose reviews often say visitors thought the mist was a real log burner. Bayport reviews call the mist realistic and, in the same file, call the logs plastic. The generic inserts atomise water and add coloured LEDs. They are not Optiflame, because Optiflame has no water, and they are not a way around the tank.

What you maintain

An Optimyst stove asks for a routine an LED fire never mentions. You fill with filtered water. The UK care sheet says not to use de-ionised water, about 8 to 10 hours a fill, a clean about every two weeks, and no water left standing longer than that. The bullets say up to 8 hours. Stored reviews are often shorter. Scale stops the transducer. The glass adds a job. The care sheet says the door can mist on start-up, and Willowbrook, Fortrose, and Bayport reviews describe glass that stays wet. An LED bed does not put water on the glass, and it does not throw the empty-tank error that appears in Bayport reviews when the bottle is full. If you will not descale a sump, the mist will annoy you within a fortnight.
flatpincololee 3D water-vapour insert 500 mm

Testsieger

flatpincololee 3D water-vapour insert 500 mm
2.9/10about £221.99
View offer

Heat and running cost, briefly

On the five Optimyst stoves the heater is a separate 1 kW or 2 kW fan, and the mist can run with that fan off. Many Optiflame fires are sold with a heater too, so choosing LED does not by itself remove a 2 kW load. A 2 kW hour is 2 kWh, times your unit rate. No pence figure is given. The care sheet’s note of about 200 W for flame-only is a class figure, not the Bayport’s 80 W field, the Evandale’s 90 W field, or the Fortrose’s 130 W field. Two inserts in this set say they do not heat at all. Shop Dimplex, on the day these notes were taken, listed an Optiflame Casper at about £180 on its freestanding collection. That is the maker’s own shelf, not an amazon.co.uk ASIN in this file.

When to pick which

Choose the water-vapour stove if you will refill and descale it, and you want the depth owners describe when visitors mistake the mist for a log burner. In this set that means a Dimplex Optimyst stove: the Gosford for the largest review pile, the Bayport for the lower stove price at 58 cm high. Choose the LED flame if you will not keep a bottle, if wet glass would bother you, or if the fire will sit for weeks and you do not want standing water. The mist is the more three-dimensional effect in the maker’s description and in many of these reviews, and it costs you a tank and a transducer. The LED flame drops that upkeep, and retailers describe it as the flatter picture. A coloured insert with a water inlet is still a water appliance.

Common questions

What do I have to do every week that an LED fire does not ask?
You top up filtered water, and about every two weeks you clean the sump, following the Optimyst care sheet. You also deal with scale and with mist on the glass. An Optiflame-style fire has none of that water path. If a fortnightly clean already sounds unlikely, the LED flame matches how you will live with it.
Is the mist hot?
Dimplex describes the Optimyst flame as cool. The heater, when you switch it on, is the hot part and needs the usual clearances. The glass can still be wet from the mist. A burning smell, a damaged plug, or a tripping breaker means you stop and get help.
Will it add humidity the way a humidifier does?
Dimplex says the humidity from an Optimyst effect is not significant. Do not buy the Gosford or the Bayport as a humidifier. Some generic insert bullets promise dry-air relief. That claim is not checked by any review stored for those listings.
When is the LED flame the better buy?
It is the better buy when you will not refill, descale, or wipe mist off the glass, or when the fire will stand unused beyond the two weeks Dimplex allows water to sit. It is the weaker buy when the three-dimensional mist is why you are shopping and you already keep filtered water. The condition is your upkeep, not a lab score.
Are the generic coloured inserts the same thing as Optimyst?
They use water and light, and several claim many LED colours. They are not the Dimplex Optimyst stoves, and they are not Optiflame. Most have no review line, some state no heat, and one says it must be wired. If you want the effect owners describe on the Gosford, start with a named stove that has a review count.

Related pages

Water vapour fireplace buying guide

How to use a water vapour fireplace

Best water vapour fireplace

Water vapour fireplace

Electric fireplace no chimney: the plug, not a flue

Sources

Public UK sources and the Dimplex care sheet, read with the amazon.co.uk listings on 15 October 2026.

  1. Dimplex Optimyst collection (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Dimplex Fortrose Optimyst electric stove (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. Dimplex Optimyst maintenance guide (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. Approved Document J: combustion appliances and fuel storage (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Smoke control area rules (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 35 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Approved Document P: electrical safety in dwellings (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Electrical Safety First: portable heaters (retrieved 15 October 2026)