# LOPI stove ID help



## domino2332 (Nov 8, 2008)

Can someone help me identify the model # of a LOPI stove I looked at yesterday?  Itl ooked to be black ast iron with two doors that opened from the center of the stove with an interlocking handle mechanism.  Lopi was branded in large letters under the doors.  There also was an outdoor scene etched in the glass..I could not get the model number off the stove since it was in a garage flush against the wall.  Anything else you could tell me about the stove would be greatle appreciated.  Thanks!


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## fossil (Nov 8, 2008)

Not likely it's a cast iron stove.  More likely it's a welded steel plate stove.  Doors on the front might have cast iron frames.  Is it a step-top type stove?  Can you post a pic of it?  Does it look anything like the old Lopi stove in the pic I've attached?  We need more info_...especially _a picture!  Rick


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## domino2332 (Nov 8, 2008)

It is a step top stove and it looks very similar to what you have posted except it does not have the gold trim.  I will work on posting a pic, but it might take a few days...I bought it from the guy at a bargain...I wasn't anticipating him having a Lopi for sale...I did not have a trailer to haul it so I had to leave it at his residence. What year is your Liberty?  THe ones I see pictured in the LOPI brochure only have the single handle door. Thanks for the help!


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## fossil (Nov 8, 2008)

The trim is just that..."trim".  Same stove could come in a different color, and with with different trim.  Whether or not you got a "bargain" remains to be seen.  Get us some pics here, and we'll try to help you figure out what you've gotten yourself into.  Be careful...it's real heavy!      Rick


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## domino2332 (Nov 8, 2008)

Thanks..I'll work on getting the pic out...I am new to wood stoves so any help in the future is appreciated!


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## fossil (Nov 8, 2008)

domino2332 said:
			
		

> ...What year is your Liberty?  THe ones I see pictured in the LOPI brochure only have the single handle door. Thanks for the help!



The old Lopi stove in the pic I posted is _not_ a Lopi Liberty, it's a 30+ year old Lopi M530 that was in our house when we bought it.  Undoubtedly the ancestor of the Liberty, but not at all the same stove.  The old M530 was a pre-EPA wood-eating smoke dragon with an 8" flue.  Our Liberty (ca. 2007) is a modern, efficient, EPA approved appliance, with which we are very pleased.  You're very perceptive, the Liberty has but one door.  Pic attached.  Rick


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## fossil (Nov 9, 2008)

The old double-door Lopi that I posted the first pic of and identified as an M-530 is actually an M-520.  If it turns out that the stove you're looking at is that model and you decide to take it home and you want a copy of the original owners' manual, lemme know.  Don't have the stove anymore, but today I came across the book for it.  It's pre-EPA, 8" flue, but it actually does have a baffle and secondary air/combustion.  Sort of an "evolutionary" stove.  I burned this one for a few months, and it flat put out some heat.  Rick


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## crazy_dan (Nov 9, 2008)

yep that old LOPI sure does look sexy. 
BTW did the glass stay clean enough to see the fire in the old LOPI?


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## fossil (Nov 9, 2008)

crazy_dan said:
			
		

> yep that old LOPI sure does look sexy.
> BTW did the glass stay clean enough to see the fire in the old LOPI?



That old Lopi was something like a "transition" stove, for want of a better term.  It was in our home when we bought it, but we wanted a new stove in a different location.  The old M-520 had both primary and secondary air controls, manually adjustable.  It had a baffle and secondary combustion.  It had airwash.  It was UL tested/listed, but it was pre-EPA.  It had about a 2.8 cubic foot firebox.  It had an 8" flue collar.  I suppose for its time, it had the potential to be a pretty clean-burning and efficient beast, if properly operated.  Yes, the windows stayed as clean as does the window on my new Liberty.  When we were ripping things out for a home remodel, I gave the old stove to one of my trusted firewood suppliers, who's also a scrap metal dealer...in Oregon it would be illegal for me to sell it for re-use.  My bet would be that it's burning in his house right now.  He owes me some wood for that, and other stuff I gave him, which I expect to see in the spring to process for future years' burning.  It's a pretty cool old stove, actually.  Rick

EDIT:  What you see that looks like dirt or fog in the window of the pic of the old Lopi is actually a sand-blasted wildlife scene that was etched into the window material as part of the original stove...not a dirty window.


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## crazy_dan (Nov 9, 2008)

I could make the etched scene. 
I was just curious. thanks


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## BJ64 (Nov 9, 2008)

crazy_dan said:
			
		

> I could make the etched scene.
> I was just curious. thanks



Did I see some custom fab connection pipe on that old Lopi of Rick's?  I may be wrong but it looked like that pipe was wielded at the angle.  If so that was quite the install for it's time.


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## fossil (Nov 9, 2008)

The etched scene on the windows of that old Lopi was a factory option.  You can still order a Lopi stove with decorative scenes like that.  That pic was taken when I came out to close escrow, the house was empty and thoroughly cleaned.  After we moved here, I burned that stove a bunch until the new Liberty was installed on the other side of the room.  That was one good old stove.   Yeah, Bobby, that was 8" steel well casing all welded together.  It took three of us to lift that pipe up & out of the flue collar.   Rick


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## madrone (Nov 9, 2008)

My '99 Endeavor has the exact same etching. Ducks in flight over a moonlit swamp. It's actually a little weird. I've considered replacing it with my own etched design. Maybe a volcano, or a little pitchfork wielding devil.


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## fossil (Nov 9, 2008)

Yeah, nothing says "woodstove" like ducks flying over a swamp.   %-P   I like my Liberty with nothing but clear, unadorned window.  Rick


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## BJ64 (Nov 9, 2008)

fossil said:
			
		

> Yeah, nothing says "woodstove" like ducks flying over a swamp.   %-P



I think that scene would better fit on one of those Harmon stoves with the grill basket in the top.


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## fossil (Nov 9, 2008)

I like to just watch the fire without being plagued by persistent vague cravings for roast duck.      Rick


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## domino2332 (Nov 10, 2008)

Rick...Thanks for the offer on the manual.  I am planning to pick up the stove this week...I'll check out the model number and if it is the M-520 I will take you up on the offer.  BTW...Do you know if the M-520 is the same as the 520/96 model?


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## fossil (Nov 10, 2008)

Sorry, no, I don't know.  All I know is what I see from the manual I have, and that is that the M-380 was the "poor man's" M-520.  Same basic box, but without the M-520's secondary burn capability, apparently.  What you want to see are two loading doors, two primary air controls just beneath the doors, and a single secondary air control on the right side above the doors.  Primary air comes through two slots beneath the doors, secondary air comes through a series of holes arrayed horizontally above the doors.  What the difference between a 520 and a 520/96 might be, I've no idea.  Anyway, this little book is yours if you want it and it would be of use to you, lemme know.  Rick


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## Jay Shank (Nov 10, 2008)

domino2332 said:
			
		

> Rick...Thanks for the offer on the manual.  I am planning to pick up the stove this week...I'll check out the model number and if it is the M-520 I will take you up on the offer.  BTW...Do you know if the M-520 is the same as the 520/96 model?


The 520/96 is  the liberty. This is the model I have. 

Jay


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## fossil (Nov 10, 2008)

Well, that certainly explains the obvious lineage.  I _knew_ my old M-520 was my 2007 Liberty's grandpa.  Thanks, hawkeye!  Rick


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## gawebster (Nov 10, 2008)

Quickest way is to contact Travis Customer Service .  The stove should have the safety tag on the back with the Model Name and Serial number.  

From the looks it is a 520 from the 80's.  Double Doors, Air Slide controls above and under the door.

Contact them at 425 609-2500 and ask for Customer Service.

Gary


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## fossil (Nov 10, 2008)

This thread may have become a bit confusing without a real careful re-read.  We don't yet have a pic of the stove in question that the OP is looking at.  The only two pics in this thread are of my old M-520 and my new Liberty.  Still waiting for a pic of the OP's stove.  RIck


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## domino2332 (Nov 10, 2008)

Will Do...Hoping to get a pic posted today or tomorrow.  I still need to pick the stove up from the seller, but I appreciate all the insight (and drama created).


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## domino2332 (Nov 11, 2008)

gawebster said:
			
		

> Quickest way is to contact Travis Customer Service .  The stove should have the safety tag on the back with the Model Name and Serial number.
> 
> From the looks it is a 520 from the 80's.  Double Doors, Air Slide controls above and under the door.
> 
> ...



Well, I just picked up the stove...still working on the pictures, but it is a LOPI Model 520 and looks like it was made in 1984.  Now I just need to determine if this will actually work for me.  It has the clearance requirements on the back which may give me some difficulties for space given the size.  A couple other questions for the group...I have a house ~ 1500sq ft single story ranch with an open concept...I am trying to determine if this is too much stove for me and if I would be better off with something else...I am trying to stay low budget by getting something used if possible...I heard this being called a "smoke dragon" and that they chew through the wood, but then I also hear that this may be one of the better manufactureres and stoves of that time and its efficiencies were pretty good...Any comments?

Another interesting nuance of my stove is that, unlike the picture on the M-520 manual...My stove does not have a secondary draft controls or the holes that run lateral to the secondary draft control.  My stove also does not seem to have a masonry baffle...Can that be right?  I sent this info to Travis customer service who has been very helpful so far.


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## fossil (Nov 12, 2008)

If it has no masonry (firebrick) baffle assembly in the top of the firebox, and it has no secondary air controls, it sounds more like an M-380 than an M-520.  Does it have the convection chamber...like a double box where air enters beneath the firebox, travels under then up behind, and comes out from slots just beneath the upper surface of the step-top?  Rick


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## domino2332 (Nov 12, 2008)

That's the kicker...It does have the convection chamber with the warm air outflow slots on the second level where the pipe exits.


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## fossil (Nov 12, 2008)

Interesting.  I'm (quite obviously) not a subject matter expert.  All I have to go on is the book from my old M-520 and my new Liberty.  I imagine models changed in details through the years of development and what you may have is like a "M-380+", or something like that, dunno.  Or an M-520 before they built secondary combustion capability into it.  The book I have covers the M-520 and M-380 that were being produced at the time the book was current...and of course, the book has no date to be found on it anywhere.  Rick


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## domino2332 (Nov 13, 2008)

Well...Here are a few pics I took...


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## jhirsche (Jan 9, 2009)

fossil said:
			
		

> Interesting.  I'm (quite obviously) not a subject matter expert.  All I have to go on is the book from my old M-520 and my new Liberty.  I imagine models changed in details through the years of development and what you may have is like a "M-380+", or something like that, dunno.  Or an M-520 before they built secondary combustion capability into it.  The book I have covers the M-520 and M-380 that were being produced at the time the book was current...and of course, the book has no date to be found on it anywhere.  Rick



Rick / Fossil,

Just bought a house with an old, but gently used Lopi M-520.. in excellent condition.  HAs the etched doors with the "duck" scene, like yours.  Unfortunatelty, we didn't get a manual with it.  Wondering if you could email me a PDF of the manual.... to jhirsche1<at>yahoo<dot>com ?  Would be greatly appreciated... can post a pic of the stove if you like.

Also - previous owners had a dual-squirrel cage powered blower on it, with rheostat-adjustable fan speed.  Having some trouble with the unit.. took it apart and cleaned it, but it squeaks, rattles, and doesn't put out like when we first moved in.  Wondering if you have any suggestions on a replacement unit?

Thanks, 

Jacob


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## fossil (Jan 9, 2009)

jhirsche said:
			
		

> ...Just bought a house with an old, but gently used Lopi M-520.. in excellent condition.  HAs the etched doors with the "duck" scene, like yours.  Unfortunatelty, we didn't get a manual with it...



Can't help you with the blower, Jacob, my old M-520 didn't have one on it.  If you PM me your mailing address, I'll be happy to send you the original M-380/520 manual I have.  Rick


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## wi_wood (Jan 22, 2009)

I have the same stove, same year.  It is a 520.  Has a sliding draft control lever on bottom of stove?  The reason that you don't see the masonry secondary baffle inside is because it is easily removable.  Once removed, the stove can really be stuffed with wood (not a good idea, although when young and dumb I did this!).  There is a piece of angle iron that is supposed to run across the width of the fire box, then 5 or 6 fire bricks sit on top of that forming the baffle.  You could easily make the piece of angle iron or have a piece cut for you, then buy the fire brick to fit on top.  There should be tabs on each side of the fire box where the angle iron sits.

For the most part I love my 520.  I have the double blower which is great, and brass doors with etching(lame).  Mine is even worse than the wildlife scene as it is a grape vine with grapes...  Always have wished I had the single door for better fire viewing.  Glass stays clean if you run it at the right temp and use dry wood.  This stove puts out some serious heat, and is fairly conservative with wood use considering.  It is not going to be up to the new EPA standards I am sure, but still a great stove.  Smoke-belching?  Any stove will produce smoke if the oxygen supply is cut down enough (although this is not possible on some) and any stove will burn relatively smoke free if burned with plenty of oxygen (open draft).  If you burn this stove where it should be burned (approx 300-350 degrees where flue exits stove) you will have the best results.  The real question for any stove is how many BTU's can be utilized for a given unit of wood.  My 520 would heat 1,000 sq feet no problem- it is currently heating about 1,500.  I believe they were figured to put out 70-80,000 btu's or so.  If you have the blower attachment it makes a HUGE difference in heat output.  If you paid $300 or less you got yourself a fair deal, especially if it has a working double blower.  Make sure there are no cracks or non-factory welds (unlikely but possible).  If there are, get the stove looked at by a welder to make sure it is safe.  Might need new seals around the doors too.  I bought mine in 1994 for $450.00, and that was a good deal.  Good luck- if anyone knows of a single door Liberty-type of same size as 520 for sale in WI, plz let me know!


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## wi_wood (Jan 22, 2009)

I should clarify.  The Liberty is essentially a 520 that has been fitted with the current EPA-listed secondary combustion system.  The dimensions of the 520 and Liberty are the same - heck, even the dimension diagram for the Liberty on the LOPI website shows a 25 year old 520 just like yours!  The double door went to single, but the cut-out in the stove is still the same size- a single door can be retro-fitted to an old 520.  I talked to Lopi about this years ago.  I just wish I could find a nice, cheap, used single door for sale!  I wouldn't mind the elk in the mountains scene...or even the duck over the marsh!  

Your old 520 will tend to produce way more smoke than the Liberty.  The Liberty can't produce much smoke- it HAS to burn up to EPA standards.  it is built that way.  Smoke is essentially un-combusted wood.  Your 520 WILL produce LOTS of smoke if you really damp it down, especially with a large load of wood that is not at or close to the "coal" stage, or wood that has not been seasoned and dryed.  If you burn it around 350-400 degrees, you will not be smoking much out the flue, if at all.  It is a good general balance between efficiency and BTU sequestration.  A lot depends on chimney construction and design as well.  


So is your stove up to EPA standards of the Liberty?  No.  Will it produce more smoke?  Most likely, or if it doesn't, you will be burning more wood than you would with the Liberty, and the efficiency will be lower.  Will it use more wood than the Liberty to "give-off" the same btu's?  Yes.  The real benefit to the 520 over other stoves of that vintage was the increase in efficiency due to the functional "seconary combustion" design, plus the quality and control was top-notch, still is.


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## wi_wood (Jan 22, 2009)

To the guy looking for the squirrel-cage blower for the 520:  I believe that the liberty blower will bolt on to your 520, although of a newer design, and will work.  You better contact Travis Ind first to make sure though.  You can buy them new from them.  They would be pretty steep in price though.


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## kenny chaos (Jan 22, 2009)

A couple of nice little tidbits of info.  Thank-you
I prefer the clear glass also but sometimes when buying used....


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## wi_wood (Jan 23, 2009)

That's really nice Kenny, way to rub it in.  I'll have to take a picture of mine soon and post it on here- you can't beat a grape vine with a big bunch of grapes (sarcasm).  I wonder what the people that paid extra for that (when it was bought new) were like... probably pretty interesting folks.  Maybe it originated at a vineyard?  Who knows!


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## diesel665 (Sep 5, 2009)

I just bought a 1984 Lopi 520 was wondering if anyone ever found a pdf of the manual, would like to find clearances from non combustible walls.


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## fossil (Sep 6, 2009)

diesel665 said:
			
		

> I just bought a 1984 Lopi 520 was wondering if anyone ever found a pdf of the manual, would like to find clearances from non combustible walls.



I gotta assume you mean minimum clearances from _combustible_ walls.  If you have a truly non-combustible wall (solid concrete, stone, or masonry with no combustible material of any kind in it or behind it), then there is no minimum required clearance.

I had a manual for the M520/M380, but I mailed it to member jhirsche some time back, since I no longer owned the stove.  Don't have an electronic copy, sorry.  Rick


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## diesel665 (Sep 8, 2009)

On the back of the stove there is a label with clearances from combustable walls.  But when I was looking at Lopi's website about the liberty and noticed reduced clearances from noncombustible walls. looking at the NFPA website I found reduced clearances from noncobustables walls for unlisted stoves and since I don't have a manual It is considered an unlisted stove but the clearances weren't to far of that from combustible walls.  Just want to make sure everything is on the up and up.


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## tickbitty (Oct 21, 2009)

Wow, just searched this thread out.  I have posted about a stove I found on CL that appears to be a Lopi revere, and I will be getting a good deal on it if I choose to buy it from the guy tonight.  I am trying to prepare myself for the possibility of it being an older stove.  Did all these transitional and older Lopi stoves have double doors in the front?  The one I am looking at has just one door and it's that distinctive looking door.  THe pics are pretty awful though so it's hard to tell.  A few revere owners thought it looked like their stoves, but a couple others had doubts on some details.  I would post the CL listing again, but it just expired!  Lucky I saw it when I did, lol!


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## Fred Wood (Nov 1, 2009)

So what ever happened to the thread's author---got that stove, _finally_ posted pics, and then nothing..........or am I missing something? I wonder how he is with it a year later.........most likely went with something else....
I just picked up a Model 380 from April '84, haha.......it looks about in the same condition as Dominos did. I have no info on it other than the label on the back. This was the poor man's model? 'Smoking Dragon?' Oh boy.....thought I had a cool project to start. I just got my old Whitfield Advantage('88) running right and very nice, in the other part of our home.....hoping that would hold me over so I can work on this 350+# wood burning beast. Am I a fool??
Here's a pic or two. I hope maybe I can catch back some of your interest and get some feedback, whatever info/ideas, and maybe that manual is still floating around somewhere?? If you have an older LOPI I love to see some pics of it, or a link to your thread. If I get much showing of interest in this I may start another thread. So that will probably scare you guys out of saying anything, eh?
Yes, I very well may just have to go buy a new one............

Well, this will not let me post pics atm.....might be my comp, might be the sight......either way, I'll be back with pics.............

Oh, and I read somewhere here that this stove became the Endeavor--------but that is incorrect and it's what became the Liberty??

Thanks, 
fred


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## Fred Wood (Nov 1, 2009)

........do I sandblast it, or is there another way----I just got it in there tonight to warm up and was hoping to not have to drag it all out again.......
But I have the angle iron for the upper part where more brick go, new gasket/rope, brick, chimney kit and exterior pipe. I went all 6" on the chimney($90 for ea 36" section---$79 for 24", go figure) from the ceiling up; and well, this actually hasn't happened yet but is supposed to tomorrow or Monday for sure, if they got thier job completed that they're installing today. The wood stove is going where the ladder sit now---my pellet stove is in the other room there so the stacks will be about 15' appart-----the Advantage's stack opens up into a 10" ID from the three incher and is ALL double wall stainless (16' $$$)---must have had something else in there at some point, though this place was new in '01.........   I am becoming the RamblingMan............yada yada(anybody have that handle??duh).
K..... er da pic----whatcha tink?


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## addison (Nov 12, 2009)

Ive just finished restoring an older lopi 520.I dont have a manual so I have a question or two.1st does lopi suggest putting fire bricks on top of the baffle<the piece of iron inside at a diagonal>the old one was warped and had a big hole through it.2nd,what REALLY cleans stove glass that is cloudy .3rd do you ever close the top vents?how bout the bottom vents,can you shut them down at night? back to that baffle,does the angled lip go up?down?front or back? If I knew how Id post pics.


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## Fred Wood (Nov 12, 2009)

addison: I am not sure enough to tell you any of the answers but somebody that did know said about putting the bricks up above to create a chamber like area. I haven't yet run my LOPI 380, so I cant say about the vents either, or how much you can dampen it down at night. My stove does have that angle piece with two slots for them in the upper area so it would set in there pointing East to West, and I am not sure if the lip goes forward or back: I haven't even tried to lay out the brick. One thing I can tell you for sure: these are awesome old stoves and I most definately want to get this one I have running. The steel is 5/16" thick and the craftmanship that went into these really shows----especially when you look at the welds and moving parts on some of the newer stoves.
Well, I hope somebody comes along that can answer your questions for you!!  Good luck----would love to see some pics of your stove.

fred


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## huntgrouse (Jul 25, 2010)

Burning Chunk:  How'd the 380 rebuild turn out?  I have a 380 and the top angle piece that holds firebricks up completely disinigrated and I had to toss it last winter.  I finished the winter without the top bricks installed, but need to get this stove ship-shape before snow flies this fall.  Any chance you have a picture of that angle piece that holds up the firebricks, or the dimensions? I need to make a new one to hold up the bricks.


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## Fred Wood (Jul 25, 2010)

Okay, firestarter, haha.......
I actually still need to paint it but plan to use it this year. I will get a pic of the iron piece you are referring to.....but I am thinking this one's is just like a heavy piece of angle iron. I was skeptical to run this stove last year due to all of the comments I recieved here about them being called a 'smoking dragon' amoung other things... I 'd love to hear about your and how it's performed. Have a pic??

Was just in Medford last week


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## huntgrouse (Jul 26, 2010)

Fred-
Here's a scan from the owners manual that shows the parts of my baffle that failed.  I'll try to get some pictures posted of the actuall stove.

I don't know what year my stove is, but the owners manual has Oct 1986 printed on the front, so it must be newer than that.  It's mounted inside the fireplace so I can't get a look at the tag on the back to see the model/date.  

I'm sure that the newer stoves are more efficient than this 380, but I think labeling it a "smoking dragon" may be a bit harsh.  Before the baffle in ours failed I felt that it did a good job of recapturing particulates.  I'd alway start it with both dampers open, then after about 30 minutes close the bypass damper which caused a secondary burning of the emmisions.  The first 30 minutes were as smokey as if it were an old stove without the secondary burn feature, but after that I could hardly ever see smoke from the pipe.

We live at 4600' and have used this stove as our only heat source in a 1500 sq ft house for the last two winters.  I definately don't want to pay for a new stove, so my goal is to maximize the potential my "smoking dragon", Ha.  Hopefully I can do it without breaking anything, or having to move it!


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## madrone (Jul 26, 2010)

I haven't seen one of these, but looking at the drawing I'd say that the "brick retainer" looks easy enough to fab up with a few measurements from inside the stove. Probably 1/4" angle iron. Maybe 1"x 2"? It has a shorter piece of flat bar welded on the back. 1/4" x 1 1/4"? The back retainer looks a little more complicated. It's probably 2" x 2" angle, but it might need to be welded on. That would be easier with the stove emptied out and on it's back.  As I said, I haven't seen anything but this drawing, but it looks doable.


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## huntgrouse (Jul 26, 2010)

I took some pictures and noticed that the hooks in front are turned inward 90-degrees from what is shown in the installation manual sketch.  Seems suspious.  I also remembered that when I removed what was left of the baffle frame this winter it had flat bar going down each side.  I think it had flat bar across the back also, but don't realy remember how it all fit together.  I definately remember that it had angle across the front, but can't remember if it had that little lip welded on.  I suppose it's possible that the previous owner did some fabrication work on it also?   Something else kinda suspisous is that the Installation Manual is titled 380/440/520, but the Operation and Maintenance Handbook refers to this stove as the "Flawless - Frestanding".


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