# Berkshire LP stove ?



## Mainely Saws (Oct 2, 2010)

hello folks ,
    I've been looking at Lp stoves for heating a 1000 sq. ft. space & came across a used Berkshire LP stove . It is in very good condition & includes all the venting ( interior & exterior ) , a variable speed blower , a wall thermostat & the extra tall legs . It heats at 16,000 to 31,000 btu's . Will this adequately heat my well insulated & open floor plan space ? The asking price is $1250 , is this a fair price ? Thanks for all replies ............


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## DAKSY (Oct 2, 2010)

I don't think it's big enough to heat 1000 sf. 
If it's 75% efficient, it's gonna output 23.25K. 
If your house is as tight as a duck's butt, you'll need roughly 30BTU/SF
23.25KBTU/30BTU(per sf) = 775sf...
The price IS good, however, but it's too small for your needs.
You need something in the 40K BTU (input) range.
My $.02 (you asked...)


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## Wood Heat Stoves (Oct 2, 2010)

awesome deal!
but like bob said, it is likely a bit undersized

unless your home is insulated like a bunker it would likely run 24/7 trying to maintain temps. let alone coming home to a cold house


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## Mainely Saws (Oct 2, 2010)

Thanks for the info . I do run a woodstove that I have heated the entire space for a long time but was hoping the Berkshire would handle the heating needs by itself should I be away for a while or get lazy . I suppose I could add some electric baseboard units for back up or -20 temps once in a while .


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## vvvv (Oct 2, 2010)

which model?


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## Mainely Saws (Oct 3, 2010)

I only know that it is a Berkshire LP/NG stove .........I'm heading to take a look at it right now ............


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## Mainely Saws (Oct 4, 2010)

Well , I ended buying the Lopi Berkshire . It's et up for natural gas & I have only Lp at my home so I will need to find the necessary parts & manual to change it over . Should I leave this to a servicing Lopi dealer , a furnace business or maybe do it nyself ? I've worked with tools my whole life but haven't dealt with gas conversions before .

                          Thanks


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## vvvv (Oct 4, 2010)

Mainely Saws said:
			
		

> Well , I ended buying the Lopi Berkshire . It's et up for natural gas & I have only Lp at my home so I will need to find the necessary parts & manual to change it over . Should I leave this to a servicing Lopi dealer , a furnace business or maybe do it nyself ? I've worked with tools my whole life but haven't dealt with gas conversions before .
> 
> Thanks


conversion kit comes with instructions, done it myself on gas furnace & worked well


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## DAKSY (Oct 4, 2010)

Mainely Saws said:
			
		

> Well , I ended buying the Lopi Berkshire . It's et up for natural gas & I have only Lp at my home so I will need to find the necessary parts & manual to change it over . Should I leave this to a servicing Lopi dealer , a furnace business or maybe do it nyself ? I've worked with tools my whole life but haven't dealt with gas conversions before .
> 
> Thanks



There are 5 steps to MOST gas conversions.
1) Change the regulator head.
2) Change the pilot orifice.
3) Change the burner orifice.
4) Adjust the air shutter on the burner to regulate the air-to-fuel mix.
5) Install the sticker on the valve, IDing the correct fuel source/type.
Like I said, MOST.
Some units require a burner change from one fuel to another. 
As long as you arew not the 800 lb Gorilla with your tools, & can read & follow directions, you will be fine.
If in doubt call a pro.


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## Wood Heat Stoves (Oct 4, 2010)

travis includes pretty detailed instructions..

my advice, go overboard with leak checking when done


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## Mainely Saws (Oct 5, 2010)

Well , I'm not having much luck locally getting both NG to LP conversion kit with instructions & I also want to get a manual for the stove . Any suggestions as to where I can find these items ? 

Thanks,
Bob


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## DAKSY (Oct 5, 2010)

Calling Dave Gault! Dave Gault! Come in please!


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## pyrotom (Oct 5, 2010)

Is this a single door Berkshire or double door? Do you have the serial number available?

There are two different versions, but either way you're looking at about $40 for the parts Bob described above.

I can send you the manual if you send me an e-mail from your regular address: tom@coastroadonline.com


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## Mainely Saws (Oct 6, 2010)

I'm not sure what you mean about it being a single door or a double door . It has a large glass viewing area in the front of the stove that doesn't really open . The s/n is 854392 & it was manufactured in Nov. of 2000 . ........


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## pyrotom (Oct 6, 2010)

I assume you got everything I sent. Let me know if you need anything else.


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## Mainely Saws (Oct 7, 2010)

Hey Tom ,
   I got the e-mail with the online manual attached & I thank you . I'm still waiting to hear from my local guy about getting the NG to LP conversion kit . 
                              Thanks again ,

                                   Bob


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## peedenmark7 (Oct 23, 2010)

from what I have been told berkshires seldom pop up for sale, usually when someone converts to another fuel source. we paid $850 for an enameled one with blower last nov. .  a fantastic deal !


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## Mainely Saws (Oct 23, 2010)

Thanks for the thumbs upo on the used Lopi Berkshire peedenmark7 . I ended up getting the stove for $1000 & I'm pleased with that . I did find a dealer about 20 miles away from me to get the NG to LP conversion kit from but I've called 3 times now hoping to get it ordered but they are still " researching " it . I know everyone is busy at this time of year but I'd like to get these parts ordered . I may very well give Tom at coastroadonline.com a call to get my parts on order . 
  Question ---- Do you burn LP or NG & how do you like the stove since you've had it almost a year now ? Do you use it to heat a particular room or something more ?   Thanks ,
               Bob


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## peedenmark7 (Oct 23, 2010)

our stove came set up for nat gas, so I picked up the conversion kit $45 for a local lopi dealer.  you will need the serial number of your unit so they can correctly date it as there are 2 LP kits depending on that #, if memory serves me.

our secondary home is sort of chopped up. the original cottage was basically 30x30 with an added 30x12 "L" in the late 50s which was comprised of a spare bedroom leading down to the detached garage which now serves as a laundry room.
the lopi sits in what is now the old living room basically the middle of the original structure,   it heats the old living room , powder room and 2 small bedrooms VERY nicely.  I am sure it would heat the rest of the old portion of the home completely but with the house being so chopped up , we  do not get such good heat from it to the "L" now part of a kitchen as well as the dining room..  doorways are small and unless we opened up the wall that the lopi sits on thus having to install a steel I beam as a header, I dont believe we'll ever have the berki's full potential utilized.

that being said, we have a 2 story addition which was added along side the original structure in the late 80s.  while away the electric meter spins continuously as the baseboards supplement the berki.. when we are there, we use our wilkening "pyrotechnique" wood fireplace to heat the new part of the house which it does to overkill, even with the 22 foot cathedral. so about 80 of the house is heated nicely, reasonably and well.
we just replaced the pyro's old chimney flue etc with a class A one.  we were told the old ceramic flue/chimney was damaged, far to large for the box and we were sending much of the heat out the top ,thus burning way more wood than we needed to trying to keep the flue warm.

where I am having trouble is in the dead zone, the old 50's addition "L", now kitchen leading in to what is now the laundry room. its always cold in this area during the winter months. we picked up a jotul GF200 for way cheap back in march t put into the laundry room which is a few step lower than the rest of the house, but it has not been installed as of yet because we are going to add a walk in closet above the laundry room and install a sub floor in the laundry room to lose the cold concrete .. this may all be confusing to most reading .
 in a nutshell , my folks never put a dimes worth of forethought into heating this place. as LP was cheap as was the wood back in the day.

I'm close though...I am R57 over much of the old structure ceilings , the walls are true log on the old part of the house so we lose a bit there.
 our plan is to install either another berki or a jotul 600dv in the cathedral room so the baseboards can go the way of the dinosaur...the jotul in the laundry room which should solve all issues.. and of course  have wood as a main source ,provided I am there.

after all that... to answer your initial question, we love the berki... it is dialed in and doing a great job !
we planned to buy new and were in the process of doing so , so   to have a scantly used   fancier soapstone and enameled version  fall into our laps for so reasonable was a blessing !


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## Wood Heat Stoves (Oct 23, 2010)

DAKSY said:
			
		

> Calling Dave Gault! Dave Gault! Come in please!



oops just saw this,
op if you still ned this info feel free to pm me


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## Mainely Saws (Oct 28, 2010)

Hello again folks ,
    Well it's been about two weeks & 4 phone calls of me trying to get the NG to LP conversion kit through a local dealer ( about 20 miles away ) for my used Lopi Berkshire stove . I wanted to deal locally but I can't wait any longer so I'm looking to purchase the kit from a dealer belonging to this site . The Lopi Berkshire was manufactured in 2000 & the serial number is 854392 . I understand there are a couple of kits & the serial number is needed to insure getting the right one . Thanks in advance .

                                                                Bob


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## summit (Oct 29, 2010)

Mainely Saws said:
			
		

> Hello again folks ,
> Well it's been about two weeks & 4 phone calls of me trying to get the NG to LP conversion kit through a local dealer ( about 20 miles away ) for my used Lopi Berkshire stove . I wanted to deal locally but I can't wait any longer so I'm looking to purchase the kit from a dealer belonging to this site . The Lopi Berkshire was manufactured in 2000 & the serial number is 854392 . I understand there are a couple of kits & the serial number is needed to insure getting the right one . Thanks in advance .
> 
> Bob



send me a pm w/ your info i can getcha one.


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