# Travis Industries



## Mchudy1 (Apr 5, 2011)

Hello every one. I work at a local stove shop. We specialize in travis industries stoves, Such as Avalon. Fireplace Extrodinair, And Lopi.

Im looking for feed back on any Travis product wether its good or bad. 

I am also open to any questions any of you may have about the product. It could be a sales service or install questions please feel free to ask anything. I am familiar with almost every model and may be able to give you some tips on running or trouble shooting the product.


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## imacman (Apr 6, 2011)

Welcome to the forum.  Always nice to have a local dealer here who's willing to help out.  

Quite a few Avalon & Lopi owners on the forum, and most are very happy with their stoves.....don't see too many threads about problems.

My own experience with an Astoria was a good one.  Great heat, easy to maintain & service, never had to replace any parts, and LOVED that huge hopper!!


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## Wood Heat Stoves (Apr 6, 2011)

I love Travis products. I've worked in a retail stove shop for many years and sold Lopi, Avalon and Fireplace Extrodinair. They are some of the best built, trouble free stoves I know of. I also heat my house with a Lopi Liberty.


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## Mchudy1 (Apr 6, 2011)

Im excited to join my first hearth forum. i still have to get used to it but im glad i can offer some of my experience and advice off the clock. The Astoria is one heck of a stove and yes that 115 lb hopper is a nice luxery for long burn times. Travis is a great company and im glad i work along side of them. thank you for the feed back its much appreciated.


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## jtakeman (Apr 6, 2011)

Welcome Mchudy1,

Glad you could join our group. Bunch of nice peeps here(a few nut cases too-me being one). Any assistance you can offer the folks that come looking for help would be much appreciated by us all. 

Travis has a good rep here and we see very few issues.

Enjoy your stay.


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## Mchudy1 (Apr 6, 2011)

Im liking all of the positive feed back about travis. i will be on posting and helping as often as possible.


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## summit (Apr 6, 2011)

Travis makes a very good product. Their steel stoves work very well, but are a little overpriced to sell to just anyone: you gotta pitch the quality. Their gas units are the best IMO. Mostly very user and tech friendly, look great. Pellet units are pretty standard, run of the mill.. setup much like most drop feed units. they did show off a new one at the show (bottom feed) that I guess looks promising. Warranty filing is a very easy right thru the website. Lets you know instantly whether it's a return item or field scrap, generates instant RMA#'s for returns. The dealer online parts shop is awesome, as most parts list much background info and a picture to scale of the item you are looking at, so getting orders right via a part # or description is very easy.


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## Avalon (Apr 6, 2011)

I purchased an Avalon Astoria as my first pellet stove this past December, and it's been wonderful so far.   Setup was a snap, and with regular maintenance,  it's been trouble free ever since.   The huge hopper and large ash box were the key selling points (along with reviews from other happy customers).   I cannot speak about service or support from Travis, as I've had no opportunity to need it yet.   When I do, however, it will be the deciding factor in whether or not I recommend one to someone else.


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## fossil (Apr 6, 2011)

I want to be able to order genuine factory original Lopi woodstove parts online.  Why doesn't Travis seem to see the $$$ potential in an aftermarket e-tail effort?  Rick


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## pen (Apr 6, 2011)

Welcome.

Since you are in the industry, please check in w/ Craig "aka webmaster" regarding your affiliation.

Here is a link w/ information for industry members that you should check out.  https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewannounce/65_22/

pen


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## smwilliamson (Apr 6, 2011)

I think Travis makes some of the best built products on the market. I only deal with pellet but think that theirs is very tolerant, so the threshold for problems tends to be high. That's good as most stove owners fail to perform regular maintenance....or do not perform the maintenance in a timely fashion. The Lopi Leyden is one of the hardest working nicest looking stoves your money will buy. Their parts are very reasonable in price and for the most part so the dealers can keep a better inventory...all that stuff is good.

However; Travis seems to think that it is a league above many of us regular folk. A familiar anecdote of the Cabots and the Lodges comes to mind. I was not so impressed that in Utah I could not have access to the "back room" as it was reserved for dealers only. I have been somewhat scorned that as an independent out here in the field working on their product, when often none of their dealers will do the work because they didn't sell the stove that I am forced to pay at times higher than retail prices for parts. Not a problem, I'll make own igniter thank you very much.

Perhaps that attitude helps protect their brand...I don't know.  I can recommend a Harman any day and know my customer will be treated right and the two local Travis dealers around me can go out of business for all I care. One dealer is absolutely arrogant and the the other is absolutely clueless. Those are your choices. If you want one of these great stoves you have to go through one of these two idiots. JMHPPO.


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## Utilitrack (Apr 6, 2011)

Love my Lopi Leyden, 4th season and have not had to replace or repair anything yet...knock on pellets...


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## Fsappo (Apr 6, 2011)

fossil said:
			
		

> I want to be able to order genuine factory original Lopi woodstove parts online.  Why doesn't Travis seem to see the $$$ potential in an aftermarket e-tail effort?  Rick



The dirty bastards are probably trying to protect the brick and mortar dealers who have spent decades trying to build the brand.

I like the approach that American Energy uses (Or like it less than just cutting the dealer out of the equation)
They opened an e-commerce store and allegedly if a customer from our territory orders a part, they notify us and place something like a 10-15" credit to our account.


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## Don2222 (Apr 6, 2011)

Welcome Mchudy1,

  I have an Avalon Astoria and really like it. You can see by my pics below I spent 3 months making a special place for it in my basement and it more than heats my whole house!!

I did email Sean Hanley, the customer tech service man at Travis and he is very helpful too.

  Quite a few of us would like to see the Hi/Lo Thermostat feature on the digital control board for those cold winter months.
The Auto On/Off works fine for the shoulder seasons. So please bring that up if you can, the more people requesting it will make them take action some day!

Also I would like to see a sliding adjustment on the square hole in the Intake Air Plenum inside the bottom of the stove on the left side. This mixes warm inside air with the outside air going under the burn pot to feed the fire. The mixing of the warm air prevents caked ash in the burn pot and allows the Astoria to burn on the lowest setting where other stoves cannot!

So please note these suggestions and thanks for being with us.

Pic at night shows tiled mantel with candles and amber rope light around back of stove. Red rope light goes around raised hearth in overhang!


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## Mt Ski Bum (Apr 6, 2011)

Mchudy1 said:
			
		

> Hello every one. I work at a local stove shop. We specialize in travis industries stoves, Such as Avalon. Fireplace Extrodinair, And Lopi.
> 
> Im looking for feed back on any Travis product wether its good or bad.
> 
> I am also open to any questions any of you may have about the product. It could be a sales service or install questions please feel free to ask anything. I am familiar with almost every model and may be able to give you some tips on running or trouble shooting the product.



Welcome to the forums!

I have a good family friend who has had a Lopi Patriot (predecessor to the Republic 1250) for maybe 8 years (?) now, & it has done a great job for him. 

Whenever I get around to getting a wood stove/insert of my own (hopefully this summer if my plans to move into a new condo that has an old ZC/pre-fab fireplace  this spring go through), I will most likely get a Travis product- right now I'm thinking the Rainier 


btw- a few things I think would make Travis even better are:  

1. bring back the Lopi Shefield- I still salivate whenever I see a picture of that stove 

2. make their pellet stoves/inserts able to function during a power outtage better (i.e. eliminate the need to force exhaust out with fans)

3.  create a FPX fireplace that uses non-catalytic secondary burn tubes instead of a catalytic converter

4. get some (or all) of their larger inserts certified for installation into a ZC.pre-fab fireplace


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## tumbles (Apr 6, 2011)

Have a Lopi Leyden and I'm really happy with it.  Wife likes the looks (me too) and the kids love the heat.   Only problem was the ignighter and it was changed under warranty.  Very happy so far.  Going on 4 years now.


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## DMZX (Apr 6, 2011)

I have a Lopi Pioneer.  It ran non-stop, (except for cleaning) all winter, without a so much as a hiccup.  Great stove.  Easy to clean and access parts.


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## NWfuel (Apr 6, 2011)

fossil said:
			
		

> I want to be able to order genuine factory original Lopi woodstove parts online.  Why doesn't Travis seem to see the $$$ potential in an aftermarket e-tail effort?  Rick



Hello Rick,

They come in about this time of year for pellets. I am 2 blocks away from their factory. Let me know what you need and I will see what I can do for you.

Take Care
Thomas


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## fishsniffer (Apr 7, 2011)

I have a Lopi Yankee Bay pellet insert that I used to replace a Lopi Revere woodburning insert. 

In either case I was ecstatic with both units. 

I will continue to burn pellets as it is less work for me and my family however we did enjoy the romanticism of the wood fire.

I'm pretty sure with the new clean burn pellets I found I will be in the running for the longest burning non cleaned pellet stove. (Next year of course)


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## JBlank912 (Apr 7, 2011)

I have a Lopi Yankee that I love. Paid for itself in oil savings in 2 years. a 2 year ROI on a $4000 investment is great to me. I have had the igniter replaced twice under warranty, but was able to use it while waiting for the replacments, just lighted it manually. Their remote thermostat leaves something to be desired, the stove would go into runaway mode and stay on when it should have gone off. I replaced it with a Skytech and never looked back. Other than that and normal maintenance and cleaning its been great. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a Pellet stove.


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## pdski (Apr 7, 2011)

We have a Lopi Leyden and really like it.  We are finishing our third winter with it and the only problem was the first year it didn't like the pellets we had, it seems the long pellets wouldn't feed enough on low to keep it going.
Since then it has been great.

Paul


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## checkthisout (Apr 7, 2011)

I bought an Avalon Newport last December. As soon as I turned the thing on the fan made an extraordinarily loud rattling noise. Upon inspection I found the convection blower squirrel cage grossly out of balance. The motor shaft was not centered in it's attachment point to the squirrel cage. The dealer installed a new fan assembly under warranty. The new blower assembly is much better than the first but still exhibits signs of imbalance and makes a much higher frequency rattle on the high setting. I am just ignoring it for now. I notice the blower and motor are made in Hungaria or some other European country. 

Second, now the the auger motor has developed a very loud buzzing noise during operation. It sounds like bug zapper frying a large moth every time it cycles. I cleaned the auger flight and all that stuff but the noise is originating inside the auger motor. More warranty I guess. I'll call on this one after the heating season is done. 

In contrast, my in-laws Lopi Yankee (same stove) has had ZERO trouble in the ten years they have owned it. They burn 2-3 tons a year for the last ten years. 

I don't know if I just had bad luck or if the quality of the electrics has dropped as a result of them trying to save money. I doubt the in-laws stove has parts in it from Eastern Europe. 

I have to say that after thinking about it that I am disappointed. These are the least sophisticated stoves on the market and I was expecting better quality.


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## Mt Ski Bum (Apr 8, 2011)

Checkthisout said:
			
		

> In contrast, my in-laws Lopi Yankee (same stove) has had ZERO trouble in the ten years they have owned it. They burn 2-3 tons a year for the last ten years.
> 
> I don't know if I just had bad luck or if the quality of the electrics has dropped as a result of them trying to save money. I doubt the in-laws stove has parts in it from Eastern Europe.
> 
> I have to say that after thinking about it that I am disappointed. These are the least sophisticated stoves on the market and I was expecting better quality.



Actually, the Lopi equivelent of the Newport would be the Pioneer (small-sized stove).  The Yankee is the Lopi equivelent of Avalon's Astoria (large-sized stove). 

 Don't know if the small stove/large stove thing makes a difference in your problems or not...


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## gck978 (Apr 8, 2011)

i have a avalon astoria bay insert with a warped door if you put a straight edge across the top it just wont lay flat and a extreme vibration from the stove travis said deal with it and as allways change your pellets the dealer is useless they came in after waiting three months tightend the door so tight that you needed a screwdriver to open it and still not fixed and there reply was change your pellets


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## checkthisout (Apr 8, 2011)

Mt Ski Bum said:
			
		

> Checkthisout said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You're right. I always get the names mixed up. They have the Lopi Pioneer. (Same stove)


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## drekick1 (Apr 9, 2011)

I have a Lopi Leyden.  Just cleaned it today.  When I turned it back on it wont feed pellets.  How do I tell if my auger motor is shot?  I stuck a screwdriver up the auger and nothing seems to be stuck.  Please help.


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## heat seeker (Apr 9, 2011)

Does it have a vacuum switch? Make sure the hose is connected tightly at both ends, and the fittings aren't blocked with crud. You may have accidentally plugged a fitting. Are all the wires still connected, such as to the vacuum switch? Is the hopper door closed fully, hitting the switch (if you have one)? It's unlikely the auger motor died just when you cleaned the stove - if it was working before. Is the combustion blower running? Without that, you get no "vacuum". 
You need both the vacuum switch and hopper switch to be satisfied for the auger motor to run on most stoves.


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## quickrch (Apr 11, 2011)

I got my Avalon in December and had it installed by an independent with the OAK.  It runs great and kept our house nice and warm.  No issues to speak of. I cleaned out the pipes 2 times but it didn't really need it.  The glass fogs up after 2-3 bags which I wish wouldn't happen but a paper towel cleans it up nicely.  

I go through a lot of pellets (3 bags a day) when it is under 30 but we are heating a big space (3500+) with high ceilings and a 2 story foyer.  Of course the kids are walking around in shorts and t-shirts.


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## WoodPorn (Apr 11, 2011)

smwilliamson said:
			
		

> I think Travis makes some of the best built products on the market. I only deal with pellet but think that theirs is very tolerant, so the threshold for problems tends to be high. That's good as most stove owners fail to perform regular maintenance....or do not perform the maintenance in a timely fashion. The Lopi Leyden is one of the hardest working nicest looking stoves your money will buy. Their parts are very reasonable in price and for the most part so the dealers can keep a better inventory...all that stuff is good.
> 
> However; Travis seems to think that it is a league above many of us regular folk. A familiar anecdote of the Cabots and the Lodges comes to mind. I was not so impressed that in Utah I could not have access to the "back room" as it was reserved for dealers only. I have been somewhat scorned that as an independent out here in the field working on their product, when often none of their dealers will do the work because they didn't sell the stove that I am forced to pay at times higher than retail prices for parts. Not a problem, I'll make own igniter thank you very much.
> 
> Perhaps that attitude helps protect their brand...I don't know.  I can recommend a Harman any day and know my customer will be treated right and the two local Travis dealers around me can go out of business for all I care. One dealer is absolutely arrogant and the the other is absolutely clueless. Those are your choices. If you want one of these great stoves you have to go through one of these two idiots. JMHPPO.



Hey SM, Clear out your inbox so I can PM you


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