Help With Older LOPI

[Blazzinghot]

I am looking at a LOPI wood stove to buy but could not find out much about it. I looked at all the older manuals on the LOPI site but none of the pictures match this stove . Does anyone know anything about it. I am waiting for the owner to send me pictures of the upper inside of the stove. The side view picture shows some kind of thermostat control. It is a good looking stove and does not looked like is was used much. She is asking $300.00 but I might make an offer pending on what I can find out about this stove.

 

[begreen]

No UL label on back?

 

[Blazzinghot]

Hi begreen, They did not post a picture of the back of the stove but I did notice after looking closer at the picture of the stove with the doors open it looks like the manual is in the stove towards the back. Now that could be very helpful. From the measurements the stove is about the same size as my Country Striker. I am hoping this stove has secondary burners inside. They sent me via messenger a small closer picture of the inside but not the top and the stove looks like it was not used much. If the door gasket is the original my guess could be correct. They were not home when I asked for more pictures but hopefully have more by tonight. But it would be nice to find someone who has owned this stove but it might be a longshot but there are allot of stove guys on this forum.

 

[begreen]

It does look lightly used, or refinished. With that rear air control I'm going to guess this is a circa 1984 model 380T. It had that distinctive ribbed baffle. I think a secondary air tube was added in 1985 with a more conventional baffle design. Here is the manual:

https://www.travisindustries.com/Docs/93508001.pdf

Those old Lopis were tanks. Lots of heavy metal in them.

 

[Blazzinghot]

Thanks for taking the time to find this manual it was very helpful. I knew the stove was repainted but the inside of the stove and the condition of the bricks seems almost new. I wished the diagram was clearer on how the air control works but this does tell me they developed some type of secondary burn which that call "combustion air." How this air is added to the chamber is still a mystery. I just sold the Seefire to my neighbor today so think I will go see this stove. Thanks again.

 

[Blazzinghot]

I went and took a look at this stove this morning and it was pretty small. begreen, this was the stove in the manual you sent. It was tempting as I could see how I could install a secondary system in this stove but would have been difficult. So I passed on this one. The home owner was great to visit with. He did not know much about wood stoves and asked me what a secondary burner was. But I also explained to him about EPA for which he was thankful. This stove is not an EPA rated stove which would make a nice stove for a small shop. Here is a picture of the top inside for those who are interested.

 

[begreen]

IIRC this is a medium-sized firebox of about 2 cu ft, in between the smaller Answer and the larger Liberty. I like that it has a square firebox. True, but today's standards it is not a clean burner. Seems like with a bit of modification the baffle could be changed over to the later 440 models style with a secondary tube.

 

[Blazzinghot]

Oh this stove was a super well built and nice looking to boot but hard to work inside of for making the changes. I did not want to cut off the lid on anther stove. or try to fit my welding helmet through that small door. The other factor was the price. When I purchase a wood stove I have to think about how much time I put into it and how much I can sell it for. It was a hard call. And what you said about the size of the stove is correct as I looked at every manual for older stoves on the Lopi site. When I saw this stove today I was wondering what size is Answer, Partiot, and the Parlor stove were? They must be be for 800 sq, ft. or less. I think my Country Stricker is for a 1200 sq. ft. home and the Lopi 380T does not look any larger. Well thanks again for you help. This was a fun adventure but I am back on the hunt prowling the internet for another stove to work on.

 

[begreen]

The 380 line evolved into the mid-sized Endeavor and 1750 Rebublic. The Lopi firebox is deeper and about .4 cu ft larger than the little Striker which is closer to the Answer in size. However, the Striker is much more efficient. It would use less fuel to produce more heat, cleaner.