Hi all,
I went into a local dealer today that does quadrafire and lopi (I'm doing a wood burning insert suitable for heating ~1800 square feet). They had a quadrafire 3100i and a Lopi Freedom, though I'm looking for a Lopi Republic 1750.
The quadrafire and lopi seemed to have almost identical build quality....really nice units. The Lopi has independent controls for both intake and exhaust....which I think I like for personal control....whereas the quadrafire has a single control that's supposed to optimize air intake on a "timer", automatically adjusting itself.
On the flip side, the quadrafire's fan system looks awesome. If I saw it right, it's fan intakes on the left side and flows back the left side of the unit and then up and out the top and right side. Looked very cool. The Lopi didn't have a fan on it, but it appears to blow underneath and then up and out the top? Likely works great.
However, let's talk brass tacks:
My wood mantel is ~22" above where the insert door will be, requiring me to have a mantel shield. I'm going to get a surround, and a blower.
Lopi Republic 1750 w/ Blower, black door, black surrounding, and mantel shield - $1960
Quadrafire 3100i w/ blower, arch black, black surround, and mantel shield - $2430
Installation is expected to be $1100-1200 for 25 feet of 6" liner in a standard 2 story colonial chimney.
I think these are really nice prices, I'm quite happy with it, and I don't see why the Quad would be worth another $450-500....after the tax credit, I'm looking at only about $2100 for the Lopi!
Any and all final thoughts and input is welcome. I'm looking for last minute feedback prior to pulling the trigger
Joe
I went into a local dealer today that does quadrafire and lopi (I'm doing a wood burning insert suitable for heating ~1800 square feet). They had a quadrafire 3100i and a Lopi Freedom, though I'm looking for a Lopi Republic 1750.
The quadrafire and lopi seemed to have almost identical build quality....really nice units. The Lopi has independent controls for both intake and exhaust....which I think I like for personal control....whereas the quadrafire has a single control that's supposed to optimize air intake on a "timer", automatically adjusting itself.
On the flip side, the quadrafire's fan system looks awesome. If I saw it right, it's fan intakes on the left side and flows back the left side of the unit and then up and out the top and right side. Looked very cool. The Lopi didn't have a fan on it, but it appears to blow underneath and then up and out the top? Likely works great.
However, let's talk brass tacks:
My wood mantel is ~22" above where the insert door will be, requiring me to have a mantel shield. I'm going to get a surround, and a blower.
Lopi Republic 1750 w/ Blower, black door, black surrounding, and mantel shield - $1960
Quadrafire 3100i w/ blower, arch black, black surround, and mantel shield - $2430
Installation is expected to be $1100-1200 for 25 feet of 6" liner in a standard 2 story colonial chimney.
I think these are really nice prices, I'm quite happy with it, and I don't see why the Quad would be worth another $450-500....after the tax credit, I'm looking at only about $2100 for the Lopi!
Any and all final thoughts and input is welcome. I'm looking for last minute feedback prior to pulling the trigger
Joe