Ok but I have been doing this a long time working on hundreds of stoves a year. I'm telling you in all my time in the industry and on here I have only come across one stove that had a defect of the sort you are referring to. But I have seen many many of botched installs that caused dramatically reduced draft that caused issues like you are experiencing. If I was called to diagnose this the first thing I would do is pull the surround and check the connection then run a camera through the liner checking for kinks or tears.
Lopi Primary, Secondary Combustion Systems
- Thread starter Martin D2
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If this is happening with the bypass open, then the next thing to check is the draft with a manometer. There's nothing between the the fire and chimney liner in that case.
I have the medium insert as well, non cat version. For me and my setup it’s fairly easy to see air coming in through the pilot orifice. For example, in the morning after an all night burn, I rake the coals to the front middle and open up the air intake wide open. I can see the coals come to life as they get plenty of air through the primary orifice. Same goes for a fresh reload, put a split right in front of the orifice, leave the air on high and soon enough I will have a mini blowtorch effect on the piece of wood in front of the orifice. Slide the lever in and out and immediately see the difference in air flow. Hope this helps.
Really? I have never seen anything similar from day 1. Like Jotel's other thread, I could not even find the pilot hole till recently. My air intake does work, though not very aggressively and it does not provide anything like a blowtorch effect, any draft comes opening the door. I think I will have to try and have a knowledgeable technician look my setup, still under warranty at least. As a matter of technical curiosity, could anyone explain the air intake valve, location, see post 14 above.
And thanks Slim, describing how the system should work.
And thanks Slim, describing how the system should work.
I also have looked into finding the primary and secondary airflow pathways but mainly unsuccessful. My understanding is that as you pull out the lever, it is restricting primary air while opening secondary air at the same time. Disclaimer…. I am not positive of this.
Usually the secondary air is unrestricted. Closing down the primary air increases the vacuum in the firebox which then pulls more air from the secondaries.
CharlieTuna
Member
The problem could be that your air outlet in the stove is fouled with creosote. We have an old Lopi Revere and that has a small hole in the front middle below the door. Whether that is a pilot hole, or just a hole used to weld the frame together, I don't know. The main air outlet in the firebox is on the top front and is partially exposed with the door open. If that gets fouled with creosote, the air supply to the stove gets choked off, leading to problems creating an updraft, cooler temperatures, and more creosote buildup. Get a scrapper or wire brush and clean that up well, and see if that solves the problem. Mine is an older Lopi. That manual is crap at explaining the air intake system. That may be because they want to keep the proprietary designs from easy public access, but it causes problems.
Here's a link to a photo of the main air controller: https://www.rockymountainstove.com/lopi-air-control-assembly-91001722/
It's just a metal plate that slides to reduce the opening on the bottom of the stove. I very much doubt that is your problem.
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Thanks so much for your image, that is what I am looking for. And I have cleaned up the outlets as you suggested, with brushes and a small vacuum. Anyway I have arranged a tech to check everything out, next week as the insert is under warranty. I will post here if that inspection leads to positive results, I remain hopeful.
CharlieTuna
Member
On mine, it's possible to remove the blower mechanism to inspect the main air controller. I removed a little of what looked like insulation from inside it, but that could have been dust and dirt. My guess is that the air intake system is a rectangle made of hollow tubing in the front of the stove. So, the air enters from below center from the main controller, then goes horizontally under the door before rising vertically on the sides to disperse on the top. Assuming the "pilot hole" is exactly that, it could be cleaned with the right fitting for compressed air, but that could be messy. Beyond that, it would be difficult to remove debris from the tubular structure.
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