New Lopi Liberty - Oil-canning - bang!

[Isaac Carlson]

It could be a brick retainer, air tube, baffle support, etc... the air tubes should wiggle just a bit.

I rebuilt a stove for a guy snd added air tubes, baffle, etc to bring it up to speed. One thing I had to do was make sure everything could move and expand as it heated up. Let the stove cool, clean it out, and check all internal parts. The air tubes should be loose on at least one end so they can expand. If the brick holders are bolted in, loosen the end bolts just enough so they don't clamp it tight. The same goes for the baffle support if it is bolted.

It sounds like a bolted connection moving and I'm pretty sure you'll find it if you try.
We had a lopi years ago and it made noise when the bolted connections moved. A stove will amplify any mechanical sound.

 

[GreenLiving57]

Thanks for all the ideas. It could be any, or all of them. Lopi specifically told me in their last message to me before they cut me off, to not do ANYTHING, or I would void the warranty.

Of course this was after their first few messages told me to jam something into the heat shields to "tighten them up", I was thinking, hmmmmmmmmmmm 6 grand, and I gotta be jamming something in this thing????

As cold weather has set into the southern Rockies, and I need the heat full-time - I have begun to realize the "banging" that happens EVERY SINGLE time I heat the stove up is not the biggest problem. It's the constant clanging, clicking, buzzing, rattling, popping, and small banging.

This constant noise prevents me from using it to heat my home all night (THE MAIN REASON I GOT THE STOVE).

It's just too darn noisy to get any sleep.

The stove DOES quiet down at about 400 degrees, but to keep it from making massive noise, you have to carefully feed it every 30 minutes to keep the temp stable. As soon as starts cooling, the noise starts again. Last night I watched it....sleeplessly........taking 3 hours to finally shut the heck up. If you get the stove really hot, up to 600 - 700 - the noise never stops.

I'm mad. I'm furious. I'm a fool. I blew 6 grand and am left out in the cold by both Lopi, and my Dealer as of yet.

I will say this, if by any chance anyone from Travis Industries, wants to contact me privately, I will be happy to provide my receipt, and serial number, and will be happy to report here, that this situation was finally worked out.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I hope they reach out to you. It sounds like it could be the air tubes or baffle. They change temp every few seconds as the secondary flames move around because there is cool air cooling them. See if the air tubes move a little. At this point, if they aren't doing anything about the warranty what makes you think they would EVER do anything. I'd say screw 'em and fix the damn thing, or call an attorney. Often times just the threat of lawsuit will get them moving. Where are you located?

 

[Isaac Carlson]

"Lopi® warrants our products to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period up to seven years from the date of purchase (five years for Cast Iron Stoves)."

Did you register your stove on the website? If not, do it. Them call the help line. Tell them your dealer is brushing you off.

 

[Hoytman]

Don’t fix it yourself. It’s under warranty. Make them fix it!! Make sure to register product. Give dealer a chance, but call the attorney before the dealer arrives so you’ve got your ducks in a row. You spent $$$$. They should fix it or replace it… and do it without question and without any hassle.

Take a long video before they arrive of what it is doing so that they don’t have to fire the unit to hear it. That way it’s cool and they can check it out quickly…AND they can leave with the darn thing if need be.

 

[stoveliker]

File a complaint with the better business bureau.

 

[GreenLiving57]

Update on my Liberty issues. My last contact to both Lopi, and my Dealer last week did bring up the fact I will be seeking legal ramification soon.

My dealer responded, tells me they are understaffed, and due to Thanksgiving, can't get out to see me for another two weeks. Because you know, all Wood Stove shops close for two weeks at Thanksgiving, right? My Dealer happens to be one of the largest Home Remodeling in the Southwest, with multiple locations.........

Lopi did answer my latest complaint, and told me,
" we do not control the dealers day to day business practice".

Because, Travis Industries, has no control over what their dealers do right?

If anything, the stove seems to be getting even noisier, with the constant clanging, banging, buzzing, rattling........

I have not tried loosening the screws inside, as Lopi warned me before that me doing ANYTHING inside the stove would completely void their warranty, and let my Dealer take care of it.

This is such a darn nightmare. I am freezing at night, because I can't use the stove if I want any sleep, that is.

6 grand down the toilet so far.

 

[stoveliker]

I repeat my advice above. That is a good means of pressure to get the dealer moving. They hate it when there are negative marks on their BBB account; it's visible to everyone. It makes them move faster in order to reach a "satisfactorily resolved" states of a negative mark.

 

[GreenLiving57]

I took one of the kind posters advice - and took a 3/8th's wrench, and loosened every one of the bolts you can easily reach, on the top right of the stove, the bolts that hold the airtubes in.

It made no difference, unfortunately. I wish it was that simple.

I have also been paying close attention to my Hearthstone Heritage, which I moved to another portion, of my home. The airtubes on the Hearthstone, look darn near identical to the Lopi.

But my Hearthstone rarely makes a sound. None of the constant clicking, clanging, popping, buzzing, and loud bangs.

The one main difference between the two stoves is the upper bypass the Lopi has.

I have spent hours now the past month, sitting next to this Lopi staring into it, trying to figure it out, but I am at a complete loss.

We will see what the person the Dealer sends out, hopefully next week says.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and ever person that has responded to this thread.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I hope they get it figured out. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[GreenLiving57]

Update on my Lopi Liberty issues. I have re-attached the video I took of the clanging and banging - for those just joining in........please note the video has about 30 seconds of the clanging, then the bang. The clanging happens for around 4 - 5 hours after I stop loading wood. Meaning don't put any wood in the stove 4 - 5 hours before you want to get any sleep.........

Nothing has been rectified.

The Dealer did finally get a tech person here, after 2 months of me asking, begging.....bringing up the possibility of legal action.........

He did a quick look inside, and pronounced everything normal......????

He then looked outside, and found some dents on the bottom - done during shipping or delivery, but no big problems.....??

I was told they could talk to Travis/Lopi and get back to me.

I had thought they would remove the Heat Shields, to check all welds underneath - and completely remove and inspect the entire air tube and baffle assembly parts.....I don't think the tech guy had any real serious knowledge of Lopi Stoves, or the interior mechanics........

9 days after the tech visit - I finally heard heard back from my Dealer. I learned that although my Dealer is a huge establishment here in New Mexico - they get their Lopi stoves through a distributor - who in turn gets them from Travis. I can see this is the main issue, all my contacts/e-mails/phone calls, first go to a person in charge of communication at the Dealership, then to someone else there, perhaps management? - then to the Distributor - who then contacts Travis, and then it goes back down the line to get to me - the customer who coughed up 6 grand for a bad stove................and has been given the COMPLETE RUN-A-ROUND FOR OVER TWO MONTHS NOW!!

While I was told directly by Travis Industries 2 months ago - in addition to stop contacting them (leave us alone it's the dealers issue)........to not do anything to the stove or I would void the warranty.........the latest is I am being told to drill into the side of the stove - and put more screws in one end of the side Heat Shields, and this will "100% solve the problem", as they have seen these issues with other stoves.....yipppeee, so easy right? Thanks for letting me know Lopi that you are putting out stoves that require this........ um..........

I am also being told that if I am not comfortable drilling into the side of my new stove, they will send a tech person out to do it for me...............AFTER NEW YEARS???????????!!.....oh great another month or so and they will be back to fix me all up....................

As I have said here, the loud banging happens when the Heat Shields are still cool to the touch - so how the heck will drilling into the side of this new stove solve anything???? And why the heck should I be drilling into the side of a brand new stove I just coughed up 6 grand for????????

Could I be wrong? Could drilling more screws into the Heat Shields instantly solve the banging, popping, clanging, clicking, and buzzing???????

I am completely at a loss of what to do now. I am attaching the photo I was sent, in addition to the sound video.

Thank you in advance for any and all thoughts, and opinions.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

It sounds like they don't know a thing about the stoves they sell. (Not uncommon in most industries)

File an actual warranty claim. Defects in workmanship are covered and loud noises are just that. If needed, get an attorney to write them a letter. That can do more than you think. We had someone copying our products and trying to sell them when we had a patent. I called and asked them to stop and they pretty much said "eff you" and kept on going. My patent attorney wrote them a letter and they called us the next day asking us if we wanted to buy their inventory. (For 4x our cost, lol) Nope, not interested in product that is not made right and is overpriced from someone who tried to rip me off. They had spent about $100,000 trying to rip me off and they got to eat every penny of it. It was some couple that was into real estate and they had tried to rip off other products. The attorney saved the day.

It's time to get serious with lopi.

 

[reaperman1]

Holy cow, thats some serious noise. It doesnt even seem possible something as passive as a wood stove could even make that kind of noise without moving parts. I havent been following the entire post but if by chance you paid via credit card. Nothing gets attention faster than putting a charge in dispute. Your CC company would immediately withhold the full payment amount even if the charges already took place. They would simply withhold any other current payments made to equal your full payment amount. Also I wouldnt drill a single hole in your stove, let them. That way if it doesnt work, you cant be blamed it any way and also provides you with much more ammo.

 

[frankiepower]

I bought a lopi liberty next gen like you this fall her in Quebec, Canada. Not a single minute my stove made a sound like yours. I would try maybe to remove all the stone fire and reput it on a different path. In the past with another stove the fire briks was broke a bit and when the stove was cooling down the stove made a bang because the heat enter between the fire briks and the stove and it expand.
Do you finally found the screw deivers for the side panel? I'm looking to remove both side panel. My stone is in the middle of the bassement. Thanks

 

[Hoytman]

That stove would be taken back to the dealer and a refund demanded, no doubt about it. I absolutely would NOT tolerate that nor a dealer and a manufacturer blowing me off and shafting me for$6000. No way!

 

[Isaac Carlson]

i know...that's why I'd load it up and sit in that dealer's driveway with it with a sign that said "don't shop here". See how long it takes for them to do something about it.

 

[reaperman1]

Any updates?

 

[GreenLiving57]

Well here is an update on my Lopi Liberty situation.

It isn't good.

A few weeks ago, Travis/Lopi let me know, that putting these new screws into Heat Shields would "100% solve all issues"........so they wouldn't do anything regarding the warranty until this was done.

I got the darn screws, 10 - of them - drilled into the side of the new stove, and as I fully expected, it did nothing. There is a new video attached, a second one, showing the bang AFTER these new screws were put in. After sending this to Travis/Lopi, through my dealer (remember, I can't contact Travis directly they don't want to hear from me) , they finally said they will get me a new stove. Great, right?.............

I was told that a distributor in Colorado, (just a few hours away from me in Northern New Mexico), had a new Liberty, and it was getting shipped out. On that day, I let my dealer know we had about a 10 day window, before huge winter snowstorms were forecast to hit the Southern Rockies where I am, and at that point, my steep mountain drive-way would be done until spring, as far as getting the low clearance trailer my dealer uses into my place. My drive-way is 1/10 of a mile, and I park where it starts and walk down to my home when we have huge snows.

10 days. Seems simple enough. The new stove is just a few hours away. After a week I contacted the dealer, and got a short "no new information". NO details on what was going on. Obviously, this stove wasn't coming during the 10 day window.

The storms hit. I had 6 major storms in 7 days. I am totally snowed in now, for at least 12 weeks till spring.

As I have told my dealer, I live off grid - WOOD HEAT is what I use. I DO NOT have Electric, or Gas Backup! I live deep in the mountains at 8000 feet, and not having heat is a serious issue. I AM NOT A RICH MAN, and this $6000 I spent I had to save several years for. I'm an older guy and live off a small monthly fixed income.

I have been forced to a "survival backup plan", and use a stinky Kerosene heater to keep my place livable this winter at night. I do use the Liberty during the day, but it's just too loud and noisy to get any sleep at night - so my $6000 Lemon of a Lopi sits on my hearth, unused at night.

So now, it doesn't matter what the Dealer, or Travis/Lopi do or say, I am stuck for the winter. Will I ever get a new stove next spring? Who knows.............

 

[marty319]

Wow,I feel for you,I have an sbi product and they have been absolutely great.good luck.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

You need a smitty sled and a dog team.

 

[Sealcove]

Well here is an update on my Lopi Liberty situation.

It isn't good.

A few weeks ago, Travis/Lopi let me know, that putting these new screws into Heat Shields would "100% solve all issues"........so they wouldn't do anything regarding the warranty until this was done.

I got the darn screws, 10 - of them - drilled into the side of the new stove, and as I fully expected, it did nothing. There is a new video attached, a second one, showing the bang AFTER these new screws were put in. After sending this to Travis/Lopi, through my dealer (remember, I can't contact Travis directly they don't want to hear from me) , they finally said they will get me a new stove. Great, right?.............

I was told that a distributor in Colorado, (just a few hours away from me in Northern New Mexico), had a new Liberty, and it was getting shipped out. On that day, I let my dealer know we had about a 10 day window, before huge winter snowstorms were forecast to hit the Southern Rockies where I am, and at that point, my steep mountain drive-way would be done until spring, as far as getting the low clearance trailer my dealer uses into my place. My drive-way is 1/10 of a mile, and I park where it starts and walk down to my home when we have huge snows.

10 days. Seems simple enough. The new stove is just a few hours away. After a week I contacted the dealer, and got a short "no new information". NO details on what was going on. Obviously, this stove wasn't coming during the 10 day window.

The storms hit. I had 6 major storms in 7 days. I am totally snowed in now, for at least 12 weeks till spring.

As I have told my dealer, I live off grid - WOOD HEAT is what I use. I DO NOT have Electric, or Gas Backup! I live deep in the mountains at 8000 feet, and not having heat is a serious issue. I AM NOT A RICH MAN, and this $6000 I spent I had to save several years for. I'm an older guy and live off a small monthly fixed income.

I have been forced to a "survival backup plan", and use a stinky Kerosene heater to keep my place livable this winter at night. I do use the Liberty during the day, but it's just too loud and noisy to get any sleep at night - so my $6000 Lemon of a Lopi sits on my hearth, unused at night.

So now, it doesn't matter what the Dealer, or Travis/Lopi do or say, I am stuck for the winter. Will I ever get a new stove next spring? Who knows.............

That is really lousy. I can understand getting a defective stove, but clearly something is wrong between the dealer and the manufacturer for this not to have been resolved promptly. Especially since you have good evidence and even had a potential replacement stove you could get your hand on.

My year old Liberty often makes one similar sounding ping during the warm up cycle. It will occasionally do it on the cooling cycle, but it is pretty rare. I am pretty certain my sound is related to the expansion of external shielding part of the stove and the volume of my ping sounds to be quite a bit less than yours. It is a non-issue in my case, but if it was louder and did it regularly, it sure would be a big issue. As someone who has two Lopi stoves, I am very disappointed to see the lack of action you have seen. Not that it helps you now, but I do hope they get it resolved when conditions allow.

Please keep us posted. I will be in the market for a stove again this spring for a different building, and despite having two Lopi, your experience has me looking at other brands.

 

[Hoytman]

I couldn’t agree more with the last post.

A ping, or pinging is normal, but a GONG belongs on the Gong Show, for sure…and so should Lopi for not getting this resolved sooner than later. I’m thoroughly disappointed in them over this one episode. One episode…I’d want it resolved ASAP so threads like this didn’t have to happen. As they say, good word-of-mouth can help you crush it being successful in business, or bad word-of-mouth can kill your business. Certainly the lack of good PR and the lack of great customer service can kill a business as well.

 

[GreenLiving57]

Here is an update to my Lopi Liberty situation....not good............I was given a replacement stove that arrived with damage.

As I posted in January, I got snowed in before the replacement stove was delivered.

We then had a very brutal winter, and my drive-way just finally dried out, allowing the new stove to be delivered on Friday.

The old stove was taken out, and the new stove was placed onto my Hearth. There was no sort of inspection by the crew - they were gone within seconds........

I quickly looked the stove over, and saw damage.

It looks like a metal object struck the back of the stove, something like a can opener would do, and bent the entire rear of the stove inward, and down, and put a divot/ding in the stove, and then bent the heat shield as well. The latter isn't my concern - the main structure of the stove is.

Standing in front of the stove, looking through towards the back you definitely see from the top, the whole thing is bent and curved down - and of course from the back is looks pretty bad with the divot, and the bend.

I don't think this happened on my property, as I was watching the crew carefully - I believe the stove was damaged at some point during the shipping process - I suspect a forklift prong hit the stove from the rear.

The good news, is that I fired it up, and the stove has no banging, far less noise overall than the old stove.

Is the bent rear simply cosmetic? Should I just be glad there is no banging, and accept this replacement stove? Should I forget about the nearly 6 grand I know have into this thing........I have contact to both my dealer, and Lopi pending..........stay tuned.............

 

[begreen]

That took a lot of force. It looks cosmetic but is very unfortunate. I don't think it will affect performance.

 

[marty319]

Tell them to come and get it.i would not accept damage like that