# Lopi wood stove??  Are they good?



## sixman

Our local, 75 miles away, (This is Texas and that is considered Local) carries Lopi wood stoves and just wondering if that is a good brand. I was thinking about the Endeavor or Liberty models. I have been having an internal debate over pellet or wood and just about to go crazy making up my mind. Good points for which ever I decide to go with. Just afraid that if I go with the wood stove I may not use it as much since our winters are not that severe here and usually a little heat goes a long ways and may just be easier to turn on the gas heater to take the chill out of the air during fall and spring instead of building a fire. I put some numbers together and figured my propane use over the last seven years and assumed that 50% of that was for heat and the other for hot water and cooking. Assuming that pellets were $200 a ton over that period and I used a ton a year, I would have saved $900 if I used a pellet stove for heat and $2400 if I used a wood stove since wood is free for the cutting out here. But there is a lot to be said for the convenience of the pellet stove. Kinda wondering what the price of pellets will do over the next 10 years as more and more of these stoves are put to use. Also the pellet stove that I am looking at, Harman P43 shows to use 255W of electricity while in operation. Gas bill goes down and electric goes up.


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## begreen

Lopi is an excellent brand of stove, made by Travis Industries. They been making good solid stoves for years. 

I've had both pellet and wood, now only have wood. Pellets are convenient and the unit works just like a furnace. However, it is higher maintenance than a wood stove and needs power to run. If you are not in an area where pellets are made, I would figure at least $250/ton. As the price of oil and gas go up, so will the costs of pellets. A pellet fire is not that pretty, but it's fire. 

Wood cost is more stable, works during a power outage and on a cold, blizzardy night, does a better job of warming the bones. It is messier, but just a little so. Hard to beat the beauty of a nice wood fire. Based on your fuel consumption, it sounds like you do not have a big space to heat, or the house is nicely insulated. In that case, the Endeavor might work out better. But we would need to know more about the area where the stove would be going, size of the house, open or closed floor plan, 1 or 2 story, etc.


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## sixman

My living area is about 1500sq ft. single story ranch style brick home 30 x 70, two car garage closed in and used or storage room. Pretty well insulated as we only use one wall mounted propane stove to heat and an 18000 BTU window unit for cooling.


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## ControlFreak

As for Lopi, they're a big name and you'll do fine getting one.  I would advise you to avoid the everburn technology though as it introduces a lot of complexities that you really don't need to deal with.  I have one of these everburn stoves, as well as a regular "secondary burn" Napoleon stove.  The Napoleon is so much easier to deal with.  I'm considering getting rid of the everburn unit - it's just more hassle than it's worth.

As for wood vs pellets, that depends upon whether you enjoy all the labor of dealing with processing the wood, how much you enjoy the view of the fire, how much you want the convenience of flipping a switch and getting heat.  I heat almost exclusively with wood.  It sure is a lot of work, but I also love watching the fire, and love having complete control over the cost.  I consider the exercise to be a healthy thing and I can get the wood for free if I want to go through the effort of collecting, cutting and splitting, or I can buy cut/split/delivered.


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## rdust

I'm just finishing up my first season with the Endeavor and it's been a great heater.  I'm heating a 1950 sq' 2 story house in Michigan with it.  The house was built in 1980, windows replaced in 2005 and I'm sure the insulation is less then stellar.  The stove is in our family room and our living room has doors that can be closed so during the colder weather this knocked off about 300 sq'.  Lower level temps during the winter were always in the Mid 70's or more when I got crazy, bedrooms upstairs usually had a 5-6 degree swing.  I didn't think I'd like that much heat in the winter but I was wrong, the warmth from wood heat is like no other.  My wife says it best, with wood heat the rooms don't have cold spots, every room seems to be heated evenly even if you may have some temp differences between rooms.      

For the 2008/2009 season I used 1400+ gallons of propane.  I started burning the stove in Nov. of 2009, I've used just over 500 gallons for the 2009/2010 season with 300 gallons of that coming before we fired up the stove.  

Likes
Brick Baffle:  Big plus when you're careless with the poker/rake.
Bypass Damper:  This feature is absolutely priceless, it's very rare to have any smoke come back into the house.
Step Top: Gives the stove a nice look.
Square Firebox:  Loads n/s or e/w  
Rear Clearance:  The rear clearance on this stove is 4.25" with double wall stove pipe, this was huge for my family room layout, side clearance is 13". 

Dislikes
Ash Lip:  Could be a little lower then it is.  Far from a deal breaker.    
Air Tube Roll Pins:  Have lost two roll pins that hold the air tubes in place.  I plan to drill and tap them in the off season to fix this.  


As for wood or pellets the choice was easy for me since we have a large wood resource in Michigan.  If I had to pay for wood maybe I'd consider pellets.


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## begreen

tjones said:
			
		

> My living area is about 1500sq ft. single story ranch style brick home 30 x 70, two car garage closed in and used or storage room. Pretty well insulated as we only use one wall mounted propane stove to heat and an 18000 BTU window unit for cooling.



If getting a woodstove, I would go with the Endeavor then if you want long burn times and plan on heating 24/7 with wood. But if this is mostly for weekends and evenings, the Lopi Answer would probably be adequate.


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## kenny chaos

My Lopi Liberty has saved me about $6,000 the last two winters but caused me a lot of work.
Is today Wednesday?


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## sixman

It has been a long hard fought battle but I think with the numbers I have crunched and the advice that I have gotten from members of this site I have finally come to a decision. I think I will go with the Lopi wood stove over the Harman pellet stove. Even if I end up burning the gas stove a little during fall and spring when the wood stove would be too much, the money I will save not having to buy pellets will more than offset a little propane use. I am sure the exercise I get cutting and splitting wood will not hurt me. I think 1 to 1.5 cords should get me through the winter and it would take $200 -$300 in pellets and around $400 to $500 for propane. I have not priced the pipe yet but I have been told that the pipe for a wood stove is much more expensive than that used on a pellet stove. I hope it isn't too expensive. I need about 12 ft.


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## begreen

kenny chaos said:
			
		

> My Lopi Liberty has saved me about $6,000 the last two winters but caused me a lot of work.
> Is today Wednesday?



Ya, but that is heating an old stone igloo in NY .


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## fossil

We're very pleased with our Liberty, but I'd say it's more stove than you need, capacity-wise.  Yes, stovepipe is considerably more expensive than the piping used for pellet units.  The installations are very different in a number of ways.  Rick


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## prajna101

I have a Lopi Answer and like it.  I heat 1800 sq ft two stories.  Portland Oregon so pretty temperate.  Not much insulation.  It saves us lots of money.  

The only thing I hate is that travis or Lopi does not sell anything over the internet.  If you dont have a dealer, or you dont like them.  You are totally screwed.  

Honestly, there are two types of businesses in the world now.  Those who recognize that the Internet is a good place to sell stuff and those who dont.  In the future, only one of those business will still be alive.  Even small replacement parts (like the mentioned tube pins) they are unwilling to just mail to me.  What is wrong with that customer service model?  Come on. I know exactly what I want.  So does the person at travis industries on the other end of the email.  But they wont take my money.  

So, I am happy with my lopi.  However. because of the customer service, I will never buy one again.  Hopefully they smarten up.  

t


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## Backwoods Savage

I have heard a whole lot more good than bad about Travis Industries. I heard of some problems with the Leyden but also heard that they fixed all the problems and left nobody with a bad stove. We looked long and hard at their stoves before settling on our Woodstock.


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## DBoon

I have a Lopi Answer.  It's a good solid stove with heavy duty materials.  It will last a long time.  Money well spent.


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## sixman

That really sucks that they do not offer internet sales for parts. What are they thinking? In this technological age so many people get their information from the web and find out what they need either from the web or a part number from the owner's manual and it is so easy to get online and get it coming. That is sad that they leave it all up to the local dealer to get the parts out to the customers. If you are heating an 1800 sq ft home with an Answer then it would definitely heat my home. What should I expect to pay for 12 ft of pipe for a wood stove?


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## BrotherBart

If  I were still living in North Central Texas I would head for a Sutherland's store and have them order me either a Englander 13-NC or a 30-NC. Once they load the stove in your truck you deal straight with the manufacturer for warranty and parts. All online or via an 800 number. I had mine shipped from a Sutherland's in Colorado to Virginia because I didn't want to mess with begging a dealer to provide service. I happened to end up with a stove with a defect and they just replaced it.

In fact if you buy one from Lowe's they will just give you the money back, no questions asked.

Lopis are outstanding wood stoves. But that dealer only crap for expendable parts is a crock. Hell, what if you move. You are screwed if you break a burn tube or a baffle.


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## begreen

I don't think Travis limits the owner to working with just one dealer if one needs parts, or do they? And although they have a lame internet policy, there's always the phone and email. Not that the 13NC wouldn't work, but the Lopi has some distinct differences, in particular the hearth requirements. The Lopi just requires an ember shield. The Englander requires a costly R= 2.0 hearth. Lopi also uses firebrick above the burn tubes instead of insulation board.


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## BrotherBart

I am sure that Dave's Stove Shop in Fort Worth will take care of you via a phone call. Unless Dave is in a bad mood that day.  :lol: 

Or unless Dave takes Travis' threat to pull his dealership agreement because he sold stuff outside his area seriously.

Since I figure that you are in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area he is probably the dealer you are talking about so you should be fine. Just don't move down the road a  piece.


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## prajna101

I tried working with some dealers that are not in my area.  They would not even ship the stuff to me.  In the end, I made my own new burn tube.  Travis, Lopi, and my local dealer all lost money.  I would have loved to give it to them.  But it was easier to make my own.  That is a pathetic business plan.  I know what they are trying to do.  Its just not going to work.  

All that being said. I love my stove.  It is well built.  Does its job with no complaints.  Works well.  Is reliable. But all those things are available with any real modern stove.  If you remove the fervent loyalty of stove ownership, I think you would be hard pressed to buy a bad stove in the market today.  Most of the complaints come to bad wood, or bad installs, or bad operators.  SO. . . You are buying customer service.  And getting easy access to what I need online is important to me.  But no everyone feels that way.  and that is ok. 

t


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## madrone

My Endeavor's been great. I can run small loads when it's not as cold, or load up for longer burns in colder weather. Probably the right size for you. Easy to use.
So far, customer service has not been an issue, as I've never needed any. Sure, I lost the roll pins for the burn tubes as well, but some stainless steel cotter pins from the hardware store did the trick.


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## Pagey

We really enjoy our Endeavor.  See my full review here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/37171/


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## 1600classic

We have an Endeavor and absolutely love it.  It heats our 1800 sq. ft. rambler up great.  Like others have mentioned, it has the square firebox so its asy to load in either n/s or e/w.


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## rdust

Pagey said:
			
		

> We really enjoy our Endeavor.  See my full review here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/37171/



Not to hijack this post completely but how did the blower install work for you?


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## Gomez

My Freedom insert is 10 years old. 
It has served us well.

Some observations:
As mentioned, the secondary air-tube pins have a way of evaporating.

The thermal switch on the blower was promptly bypassed when it started acting up after a year.

A vaccuum for the ash makes things easier, and the wife happier due to less dust compared with shoveling the ash out.


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## Pagey

rdust said:
			
		

> Pagey said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We really enjoy our Endeavor.  See my full review here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/37171/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not to hijack this post completely but how did the blower install work for you?
Click to expand...


rdust,

The blower has made a HUGE difference in the way the stove throws heat.  It vastly improves upon the stove's natural convective properties.  I would highly recommend it if you want to move the heat around better/further.  Note, however, that it will lower the stove top temps some.  I like to get the stove cruising at a good 600-650F for about 20 minutes before I turn it on.  Then I usually leave it on low and just let it hum away in the background.  I think they are way overpriced.  Hell, it's a glorified fan.  But it's made just for that particular application, and it does a great job.  I'd do it again, bottom line.


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## rdust

Sounds like it was worth it, I was curious how it worked in your application.

I have one on my stove, Lopi was giving out free blowers when I bought mine.  I also run mine on low unless I let the temp in the house slip a lot and want to move some heat around or if I wasn't paying close enough attention and let the stove top get a little warm.


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## Himiler

Several questions concerning the Lopi:
1. I'm currently looking at the Answer or the Revere.  What other manufacturers compare to the Lopi?  I have a 1500 sq ft single story slab on grade home.
2. Any recommendations on local (North Texas) dealers, Lopi or otherwise?
3. The dealer I chatted with today really cautioned me about burning Boise de Arc wood, said it was a quick way to ruin any stove.  My friend has been burning it almost exclusively for 3 years in a Drolet.  My thinking is with a bit of common sense it should be fine.  
Thanks


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## Pagey

Himiler said:
			
		

> Several questions concerning the Lopi:
> 1. I'm currently looking at the Answer or the Revere.  What other manufacturers compare to the Lopi?  I have a 1500 sq ft single story slab on grade home.
> 2. Any recommendations on local (North Texas) dealers, Lopi or otherwise?
> 3. The dealer I chatted with today really cautioned me about burning Boise de Arc wood, said it was a quick way to ruin any stove.  My friend has been burning it almost exclusively for 3 years in a Drolet.  My thinking is with a bit of common sense it should be fine.
> Thanks



1.) For similar steel stoves, you could look at: Buck, Quadrafire, Summer's Heat, or Englander (the last two are made by the same company, England's Stove Works).

2.) Sorry, no clue there.

3.) Never heard of this wood.  What does the dealer feel makes it so hard on a stove?


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## madrone

Himiler said:
			
		

> 3. The dealer I chatted with today really cautioned me about burning Boise de Arc wood, said it was a quick way to ruin any stove.  My friend has been burning it almost exclusively for 3 years in a Drolet.  My thinking is with a bit of common sense it should be fine.
> Thanks



Osage Orange? Everybody here loves it. I've never even seen it, but to hear folks here tell it, it's the closest thing to coal. Do a search on this site for Osage. Anything that goes in a stove ought to be well seasoned first, and if it's a high BTU wood you'll have to get used to how to set the air control. Only wood that shouldn't go in a woodstove is chemically treated, plywood or painted wood.
Oh, and take anything your dealer says with a grain of salt.


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## Himiler

Thanks for the replys!  
1. The dealer (Chimney King in Plano) really talked up the Lennox line of stoves and attempted to steer me away from the Lopi.  Thanks to Hearth.com I brought more than a knife to a gunfight. 
2. Wife & I are going to make a road trip out of visiting local (North Texas) wood stove insert dealers.  I'll keep a notebook and share the impressions/results.
3. The Orange Osage, Hedgeapple, or Bo'darc are other names for this tree that's considered a nuisance by many in its range, and it's got some MEAN thorns.  Guess it's tailor made for those with wood stoves and a bit of personal reliance. 

Steve


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## begreen

Lennox sells Country stoves, which are stout and well made. Their plant is about 20 miles from here and only about 35 miles south of the Lopi plant. Both good stoves. Travis Industries (Lopi) also makes Avalon stoves which are very similar to their Lopi equivalents. Canadian made Drolet or Napoleon would be fine as well as Pacific Energy if available. You might also check to see if there are any Regency dealers in the area.


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## Himiler

Thanks BeGreen for the input.  
I'm taking my cue for Country based on the Lennox reviews.  Went back to the Country Stove reviews, and it's like people are talking about two different stoves.  The one area I seem to have questions about with the Country involve the "blanket" above the top bricks of the firebox.  I appears that this area would probably work fine until it gets thoroughly saturated and covered with creosote, ash, and any other combustion byproducts as the combustion gasses pass by this area, then it would become a black crusty mat.  I've been accused of being too anal, could this yet be another example of my person"anal"ity?   :roll:


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## begreen

Yep. Ceramic blankets and/or insulation board are used on top of the secondary tubes on several stove models. I too prefer bricks or for the insulation to be enclosed like on the Pacific Energy stoves. But with care, the other system works well and is not that expensive to replace. They get dusty with soot, but it is easy to shake it off and no one will be looking up there, promise.


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## summit

sixman said:
			
		

> That really sucks that they do not offer internet sales for parts. What are they thinking? In this technological age so many people get their information from the web and find out what they need either from the web or a part number from the owner's manual and it is so easy to get online and get it coming. That is sad that they leave it all up to the local dealer to get the parts out to the customers. If you are heating an 1800 sq ft home with an Answer then it would definitely heat my home. What should I expect to pay for 12 ft of pipe for a wood stove?



As far as the internet sales thing: It's harmful to your local dealer, and does not provide the service and expertse needed for you. The reason lines like LOPI have good reputations is that they do not have internet sales, and this prevents the whoring out and cheapening of the brand to satisfy the price point issues you run into when comparing stoves on a computer screen. Parts needed for your LOPI should be few and far between, and any dealer worth his salt will have some gaskets and firebrick ready for you. Check a LOPI out on the dealer's floor, then check out a USSC or englander from a big box, check the fit and finish, you'll appreciate the reasons why they don't do internet sales.


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## BrotherBart

summit said:
			
		

> ...then check out a USSC or englander from a big box, check the fit and finish, you'll appreciate the reasons why they don't do internet sales.



I guess that is the reason our, in business for 43 years, local stove store sold Englander stoves up until the big box price competition set in and then they started selling Lopi. He told me he just couldn't compete on them anymore. And he ain't lied to me that I know of since his daddy sold me a stove in 1985.


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## DBoon

I would have a hard time being convinced that a stove brand (or any brand) sold through a big box store is as good a quality, in general, as one not sold through a big box store.  The big box stores chisel every penny out of the manufacturer over time and result in a cheaper quality construction.  It might still be good enough, but it is most likely not the same quality as one that doesn't take that route for distribution.   

So I would prefer to buy something of very high quality once and not have to need a lot of replacement parts than buy something cheaper and need a lot of service and parts support.  I'm not saying that this is true of any of the stove brands mentioned here, but when the quality is less, there is a greater need for a wide, easy availability of "parts".


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## begreen

Mass production can dramatically reduce costs while maintaining reasonable quality. But one needs to sell volumes of the product to make up for the tooling costs. Henry Ford figured that out quite awhile ago. 

No doubt there are some compromises with the lower cost like heat shielding optional, poorer bottom shielding, insulation board, etc. But basically these stoves burn as well or better than the others. Just look at the low emissions for the Englanders. They may be simple, but they get the job done well. If they were poorly made, we'd be hearing it here for sure.


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## WOODplay

YES!  LOPI Endeaver is what I have and I love it.  Really nice!  Great heat transfer and also good cooking area when you don't have power.  I would buy another for the basment if I had the money.


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## btuser

I've got a Freedom insert.  A couple bricks cracked right away, other than that its an insert. I did notice from the specs it's one of the heavier inserts.   Got home and the house was 65F.  Right now the room is 80F.  Hard to lay off the throttle when the woodpile is full.  

I went for the wood insert for one reason above others:  I had a lot of trees to get make disappear.  Other than that I would have gone for the pellet stove, but now I'm wary about the fluxuations in the cost of pellets.  I'd like to know how the price can go from $250 all the way to almost $400 in a single season.  Makes me think the oil guys own the pellet stores too.


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## sixman

I was also concerned about the price of pellets when I tried to make my decision between wood and pellets. Sure they may be $250 - $300 now but how about in 4 years??? The wood is the same price and the labor is the same. Since I started this thread months ago I have gone from not knowing what kind of stove, pellet or wood, to a fully self installed Lopi Endeavor. I now have at least three year of wood cut and stacked thanks to the reluctant help of my girls, when we cut our first bit of wood I told them that it would be enough for the whole winter and they were excited till we went out to cut more. Dad we already have enough for the winter, why do we need to cut more. Not sure they get the whole seasoning thing but that is okay because I do it to make sure they are warm and safe from a chimney fire from burning green wood. We have already had a few fires this year but not quite cold enough to keep the Lopi  cranked up. I plan to update in a few weeks and leave a review for future Hearth.com users. This place is awesome and many thanks to all that helped. BB, BG, Firefighterjake, Summit, Pagey and the old Savage just to name a few and Savage I hope you get good news from the Dr. today. I know that I live way too far away but I would gladly bring you wood if you were my neighbor.


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## Treacherous

I didn't even consider pellet stove.  Trees are everywhere near cabin and firewood permits are easy to get.


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## sixman

A permit here is "Hey, do you mind if I cut some of that mesquite?" And they say "I wish you would cut them all down!"


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## Treacherous

sixman said:
			
		

> A permit here is "Hey, do you mind if I cut some of that mesquite?" And they say "I wish you would cut them all down!"



  Never really asked anyone.

$20 permit here lets you get up to 4 cords IIRC.


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## sixman

That is cheap enough. I bet it is better wood than mesquite. Mesquite is a really good hardwood but you get a lot of rounds.


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## Treacherous

Usually maple or fir


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## firefighterjake

sixman said:
			
		

> I was also concerned about the price of pellets when I tried to make my decision between wood and pellets. Sure they may be $250 - $300 now but how about in 4 years??? The wood is the same price and the labor is the same. Since I started this thread months ago I have gone from not knowing what kind of stove, pellet or wood, to a fully self installed Lopi Endeavor. I now have at least three year of wood cut and stacked thanks to the reluctant help of my girls, when we cut our first bit of wood I told them that it would be enough for the whole winter and they were excited till we went out to cut more. Dad we already have enough for the winter, why do we need to cut more. Not sure they get the whole seasoning thing but that is okay because I do it to make sure they are warm and safe from a chimney fire from burning green wood. We have already had a few fires this year but not quite cold enough to keep the Lopi  cranked up. I plan to update in a few weeks and leave a review for future Hearth.com users. This place is awesome and many thanks to all that helped. BB, BG, Firefighterjake, Summit, Pagey and the old Savage just to name a few and Savage I hope you get good news from the Dr. today. I know that I live way too far away but I would gladly bring you wood if you were my neighbor.



Thanks for the attaboy . . . but truthfully I learned . . . and still learn . . . a lot here myself . . . which is probably why I continue to hang around . . . well that and the chance to give Backwoods Savage a hard time with the way he runs his wood splitter.


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## tickbitty

For anyone interested in Lopi stoves, they have a whole video gallery on their page now, from a factory tour to how to light a fire etc etc, there is some good stuff on there!
http://www.lopistoves.com/videos/
All the videos are with one of the heads of the company and feature the Endeavor.  It definitely gives you a pretty good feeling about the quality.
There's also a page with cooking recipes!


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