Lopi Leyden

[Lobstah]

I have a Lopi Yankee...burning Lignetics, and we've had a terrible time with jams. Stove has not run more than 8hrs to date without a jam.
I had read about taking the tube flap off, but didn't want to do anything to "modify" the stove, but if Travis is saying to remove them, I'll give that a try.
So far, this has been a terrible piece of equipment to deal with.
If removing the flapper fixes things, then great...but if not...this thing is headed right straight back to the dealer.

Jim

 

[imacman]

I have a Lopi Yankee...burning Lignetics, and we've had a terrible time with jams. Stove has not run more than 8hrs to date without a jam.
I had read about taking the tube flap off, but didn't want to do anything to "modify" the stove, but if Travis is saying to remove them, I'll give that a try.
So far, this has been a terrible piece of equipment to deal with.
If removing the flapper fixes things, then great...but if not...this thing is headed right straight back to the dealer.

Jim

Jim, I think you'll find that removing that flapper will solve the jam problem....Travis found out how bad that design was, or else they wouldn't have told everyone to remove it.

If that's not the problem, then the dealer needs to get involved.

 

[marblah]

Hello to all,

My Lopi Lyden was delivered and installed in Mid August, have enjoyed tinkering around with it and heating our home with it since that time.
Regarding the ash buildup on the glass I have used a splash of Windex and a drop of Ivory soap in 4-5 ounces of water in a Walmart spray bottle.
This has worked great as a cleaner and with 2 paper towels it takes 1- 1.5 minutes to clean off the black soot. This gets done daily
mainly because the flames just look a lot prettier.

On the other hand have had 1 episode of brown-grey scale-like material which accumulated on the glass and that
required a little baking soda and wet paper towel and elbow grease to remove it. The baking soda treatment was well tolerated by the glass e.g. no scratches
etc. Have only had to do this (baking soda treatment) one time in 20 bags of pellets over 2.5 months of use.

Regarding that little flap door on the auger shoot, glad that my stove came without one. I was kind of half expecting that eventually my pellets would
jam in the auger (was even gently warned about that in a tangential way by the dealer) but after 20 bags and at least five different pellet brands that just hasn't happened.

Regarding cleaning those clinkers or hard sintered ash that melts and solidifies on the burn pot, I have used a wood chisel with a 3/4 inch blade
to good effect for that purpose. Spruce Point wood pellets provided a good learning experience in clinkerology(one bag was more than enough).

Here's to winter and a warm fire -

 

[aztech63]

I had the stove installed about 2 weeks ago.

My dealer told me not to use windex on the glass as it would damage the glass over time.

I've had no jams at this time. The stove did go out once or twice but it was early on and I think I had the air set to gih and the heat set to low, hence all the pellets burnt off. Since then I've had no problems with this.

I'm still playing with all the adjustments as the thermostat wasn't installed. I guess the therostat only turns it on and off depending onthe temperture and does not adjust anything such as air flow and auger speed.

I've been disappointed with a few things the biggest being the heat output. I live in a standard range with 3 bed rooms and the bathroom at the opposite end of the house from the stove. If I close all 4 doors (bedrooms and bath) and put the stove on low it seems like the heat gets to about 65 in the room where the stove is and maybe low 60's in the adjacsent kitchen and living room. With all the doors closed to the bed rooms and bath I was hoping/expecting the 3 remaining rooms to be warmer. I get 1 day per bag but only on the low setting. If I go higher it seems like I'm burning maybe 2 bags per day and the stove room gets maybe to 69 - 70. The outside temp is around 25 - 35. I have all new windows installed.

What have other people experienced in regards to heat output and # of bags used per day?

Also I cleaned my stove this weekend for the first time. Getting the 2 plates of the inside upper surface of the stove is a royal pain in the ass. Also I seemed to have created a lot of dust on the floor around the stove.

Can you just connect up more electricial wire to the thermostat to extend it more than the 20 feet?

Final question has anyone installed any type of programable therostat so you can be at work all day with the stove off and have it turn on an hour or two before you get home?

 

[richkorn]

What have other people experienced in regards to heat output and # of bags used per day?

Also I cleaned my stove this weekend for the first time. Getting the 2 plates of the inside upper surface of the stove is a royal pain in the ass. Also I seemed to have created a lot of dust on the floor around the stove.

I'm burning about 1 1/2 bags/day, sometimes a bit more. It's been pretty cold. While running on #4 heat and fan (medium/high) my living room has gotten up to 86 degrees and it's an open layout also, so yours should be able to do that. Normally I'm running it at either heat setting #2 or #3 and fan anywhere from #2 to #4 depending on the moment. After the house is up to temp I generally run on #2 heat to keep house at around 68 in the adjacent hallway and 66 in upstairs bedrooms. Living room at this point is usually about 74.

Those baffle plates do take a bit getting used to to get on/off - keep at it, they get easier.

 

[Mury]

We've been running our Leyden for a week now. We are using two bags a day of Granules pellets (with highs all week 28-38). One jam so far, or it might have just not been getting enough air as the burn pot was clogged up. Glass gets dirty fast but so far has wiped clean with just vinegar/water solution. Why shouldn't you use Windex?
My only complaint is that our upstairs is not heating up. It is around 57 up there. Tolerable, but had hoped it would be a little warmer.

 

[flame thrower]

I found that pulling the scraper for the heat tubes about half way out makes it a lot easier to install the baffle plates

 

[marblah]

Lopi Leyden installed 8/2008, house is small new englander 1100 SFt downstairs and 500 SFt upstairs, recent outdoor temp in the 20's-30's, Inside temp 65-80 over past 48 hrs. Using 1 - 1.5 bags/of pellets /day. Stove is very close to stairs and curtain covers stairway by day but is open at night.

Cleaning at least daily but not always doing baffle and/ or brick and/ or plugs and/ or lower vent cover plate removal(but do try to do most all that on a weekly basis). I try to vacuum daily and scrub the convection tubes with pipe cleaner over end of vacuum nozzle. Have removed the cover plate on the burner fan 1 time and was able to salvage the gasket but will not try it again till I order more of the gasket material online. Have not tried to remove or clean the convection fan and
the documentation that came with the stove is very sketchy on that subject.

Any way to make a long story short my BTU output is primarily dependent on three things: 1.> keeping the burn chamber and pot clean,clean,clean. 2.> adjusting airflow for best flame/ heat generation 3.> Using highest BTU pellets I can get my hands on. Lignetics #1, American
Wood Fiber #2, Pennington #3 and Maine Woods #4 in terms of heat generation.

I do use room ceiling fans up or downstairs at various times to distribute the heat more evenly and that works very well.

I only use 1/2 tsp of windex and 1 drop of ivory dish soap in 4-5 ounces of water to clean the glass and I do that daily just because the fire looks so darn good.

 

[clayfist]

Forum and pellet stove newbie here.
I installed our Lopi Leyden pellet stove early Oct. Went through the auger issue and was eventually told to remove the flapper in the chute as well. I didn't really like the idea of completely taking it out so I modified mine. I cut the stationary door off and left the flapper door on then reinstalled it.
I have since went through a ton of pellets (we use "green supreme" from Canada) and have been recently having auger jams. Not sure if it's from the dust or perhaps I'm loading the hopper to full.
Other issues with the stove I'm experiencing are clinkers when I burn on the high setting. I've tried to adjust the air intake but I guess I'm just not sure if its were its supposed to be. And last while cleaning the stove I removed the brick to clean behind it and it crumbled in my hands. It seemed to have been cracked around the hole for the chute.
I'm hoping that most of this is user error and I will eventually get the hang of it. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[flamegrabber]

Hey Clay,

I have a Breckwell Big E and have burned about 18 bags in it so far.

I'm now burning Maine Woods pellets. I have ~30+ bags left and will go thru those before I burn the 2 tons of Lignetics I have stored in the breezeway.

The Maine Woods are 80/20 hardwood/softwood and are smaller than the LG's. Also quite a bit softer. I can break the MW's with my thumbnail fairly easy but the LG's are alot harder.

I burned a few bags of the LG's before I bought the MW's and found they leave much less ash and no clinkers.

The Maine Woods leave a big clinker every 24 hours. I've tried adjusting the damper, stiring the burnpot a few times per day, etc., but the clinker still shows up.

So I've concluded in my case it's the MW's pellets.

I've been told that clinkers are due to moisture in the pellets and that there's no way to tell if the pellet manufactures had stored their pallets outside or not.

They are covered up either way but there's really no way to keep out the moisture when they are outside for a long enough period.

The MW's also dirty up the glass quicker.

FG.

Forum and pellet stove newbie here.
I installed our Lopi Leyden pellet stove early Oct. Went through the auger issue and was eventually told to remove the flapper in the chute as well. I didn't really like the idea of completely taking it out so I modified mine. I cut the stationary door off and left the flapper door on then reinstalled it.
I have since went through a ton of pellets (we use "green supreme" from Canada) and have been recently having auger jams. Not sure if it's from the dust or perhaps I'm loading the hopper to full.
Other issues with the stove I'm experiencing are clinkers when I burn on the high setting. I've tried to adjust the air intake but I guess I'm just not sure if its were its supposed to be. And last while cleaning the stove I removed the brick to clean behind it and it crumbled in my hands. It seemed to have been cracked around the hole for the chute.
I'm hoping that most of this is user error and I will eventually get the hang of it. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[marblah]

Lopi Leyden 2008: Mine was delivered without the auger chute flap and has never had the auger jam in 12-1500 pounds of pellet use so far this year.
I have read that others are having auger jamming issues due to this flap and that the company decided to do away with that feature as a result.
I was fearful that if a lot of fine pellet dust were allowed to accumulate in the chute and the flap was absent that the dust might ignite
while still in the chute. I have included vacuuming the chute and the hopper to get rid of this fine material and have had no problems to date.

Regarding ash buildup, if I had sufficient supply of low ash pellets eg. lignetics or AWF(american wood fiber) that would be a non-issue. With MaineWoods pellets it
is a nuisance by day since it must be cleaned so often, while at night it can extinguish the flames completely (by blocking the burnpot air induction ports)
resulting in a cool and early awakening for the fire-tender. Burning Lignetics at night has solved the problem.

That light brown coating on the glass may occur more at lower burn settings and I have used a little baking soda powder on a damp cloth
to gently remove it. At medium to high temperature the material that adheres to the glass is much easier to remove with 3 mls of windex
and 1-2 drops ivory soap in 4-5 ounces of tap water applied using a small spray bottle. The cost is pennies / bottle, I use it daily
with a paper towel, and I see no adverse effects on the glass.

The brick work is fragile and the baffle is tigthly wedges just above the top edge of the brick and I at first tried to force the baffle into place there
after a cleaning and was surprised to see a bit of crumbling brick at the very top. Now I gently maneuver those brick panels forward or backward
a millimeter or so and can expertly slide the baffles back into place in a jiffy, but it is an art rather than a science and calls for a light touch
or an extra set of brick panels - -

 

[Utilitrack]

Hey Clayfist-

Lopi Leyden's from 2008 have cast iron brick panels, you may want to check with your dealer. No crumbling bricks, no handlig with kid gloves.

 

[richkorn]

Hey Clayfist-

Lopi Leyden's from 2008 have cast iron brick panels, you may want to check with your dealer. No crumbling bricks, no handlig with kid gloves.

Really? I have an '08, made in September - has the brick panels and fuel gate.

 

[Utilitrack]

Hey Clayfist-

Lopi Leyden's from 2008 have cast iron brick panels, you may want to check with your dealer. No crumbling bricks, no handlig with kid gloves.

Really? I have an '08, made in September - has the brick panels and fuel gate.

Mine had the fuel gate as well, but had cast iron brick panels. I assumed that all 2008's had them. Mine was delivered on 10/10/08.

 

[clayfist]

FG,

Thanks for the info. I'm going to try the Lignetics pellets and see If that will help the clinker problem.



Utilitrack,

I checked with my dealer and they are going to give me the cast iron panels for free. Do the baffles sit on top of the iron brick like with they do with the fake brick? The guy at the dealership said it looked like a different setup.

Hey Clay,

I have a Breckwell Big E and have burned about 18 bags in it so far.

I'm now burning Maine Woods pellets. I have ~30+ bags left and will go thru those before I burn the 2 tons of Lignetics I have stored in the breezeway.

The Maine Woods are 80/20 hardwood/softwood and are smaller than the LG's. Also quite a bit softer. I can break the MW's with my thumbnail fairly easy but the LG's are alot harder.

I burned a few bags of the LG's before I bought the MW's and found they leave much less ash and no clinkers.

The Maine Woods leave a big clinker every 24 hours. I've tried adjusting the damper, stiring the burnpot a few times per day, etc., but the clinker still shows up.

So I've concluded in my case it's the MW's pellets.

I've been told that clinkers are due to moisture in the pellets and that there's no way to tell if the pellet manufactures had stored their pallets outside or not.

They are covered up either way but there's really no way to keep out the moisture when they are outside for a long enough period.

The MW's also dirty up the glass quicker.

FG.

Forum and pellet stove newbie here.
I installed our Lopi Leyden pellet stove early Oct. Went through the auger issue and was eventually told to remove the flapper in the chute as well. I didn't really like the idea of completely taking it out so I modified mine. I cut the stationary door off and left the flapper door on then reinstalled it.
I have since went through a ton of pellets (we use "green supreme" from Canada) and have been recently having auger jams. Not sure if it's from the dust or perhaps I'm loading the hopper to full.
Other issues with the stove I'm experiencing are clinkers when I burn on the high setting. I've tried to adjust the air intake but I guess I'm just not sure if its were its supposed to be. And last while cleaning the stove I removed the brick to clean behind it and it crumbled in my hands. It seemed to have been cracked around the hole for the chute.
I'm hoping that most of this is user error and I will eventually get the hang of it. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Utilitrack]

Clayfist-

My baffles sit on a lip on top of bricks and just under the heat exchange tubes. As someone posted earlier perhaps on another thread, you may have to pull out the heat exchange tube scraper about half way to more easily return the baffles to their proper position. Good luck. Marc

 

[marblah]

Cast Iron sounds more durable than the ceramic brick material all right. The ceramic brick material seems like a better insulator though.
Being that the hopper is located at the rear won't more heat loss occur from the burn chamber once the insulating brick is replaced
by the much more conductive cast iron material?? Also the burn chamber air flow occurs behind those bricks so won't that mean
a little more heat will be lost up the chimney after the change-over to cast iron material? Any heating or engineering folks out there with a take on this?


Lopi Leyden - August 2008

 

[Lobstah]

I can't see it losing more heat. The heat you're getting out of that stove is the result of having a fire in the burn pot fed by forced air which is located directly below the convection tubes. The heat from the fire not only rises, but is being blown up onto the tubes. The fact that the backing plate is cast instead of ceramic may radiate a bit more heat from the burning chamber, but I can't see it making a measureable difference in the temps around the convection tubes.

But I've been wrong before

Jim

 

[richkorn]

My dealer has offered me the new cast ones as replacement but I need to bring back the brick ones to them.

What do these cast ones look like? Are they the same color as the stove or are they painted a brick color, anyone have pics of these????

Should I return the refractory brick for these cast panels?

 

[Utilitrack]

The cast iron is painted to look like bricks, i would take a picture but I don't believe that you would be able to tell given the amount of ash currently accumulated on them, sorry not time to clean right now. I would make the change given what I have read about the crumbling ceramic ones being so fragile.

Marc

 

[aztech63]

I just got my stove a few weeks ago so I'm pretty sure I have the cast iron ones and you can't tell they aren't brick by looking at them.

 

[molar]

I had a Lopi Ledyen install on 10/30/2008. I had nothing but problems with the auger jamming for about two weeks. I called the dealer and they informed me that Travis industries recently issued a bulletin. They remove a plate by the auger that was restricting the feed and jamming the auger. They removed the safety plate on the front feed shut. I have not had a problem since. As for the glass turning black, there is not enough air being allow in. You should have a orange-yellow flame that is being pulled towards the top. You should also use a fireplace glass cleaner they say regular glass cleaner will break down the heat resistance glass.

 

[imacman]

I had a Lopi Ledyen install on 10/30/2008.

Hey Molar, welcome to the forum. Where are you in the valley? I'm near Newburgh.

 

[molar]

I had a Lopi Ledyen install on 10/30/2008.

Hey Molar, welcome to the forum. Where are you in the valley? I'm near Newburgh.

 

[molar]

Hi macman, Thanks for the welcome. I'm down by Woodbury Commons.