Our Record# 2380
Review of Lopi:Travis Industries --- Leydon -- Freestanding Stove burning Wood only
Installation Type: Wood/Coal - into masonry chimney
Date Reviewed: April 29th, 2008

Satisfaction Ratings from 1 (best) to 5 (worst)

Satisfaction with unit=1-very satisfied
Satisfaction with dealer=1-very satisfied
Satisfaction with manufacturer=0-no rating/experience

Other Information about the Home and Stove

Room Size (Square feet): 900 | House Size: 2300
Bought in 2008 , Price Paid: $2100
Location : Dayton , ME , United States - Email of Reviewer:
Purchased from: Fireplace Retail Store - Frost n Flame


Likes: Top and front loading
Large wood capacity
Great looks
Very long burn times


Dislikes: Poor Quality assurance from factory


Comments: It is now April and I have had a couple of months to evaluate this wood stove. At the time of initial delivery of the Lopi Leydon, it did not live up to its advertised burn times of 12-18 hours. Not even close. It was closer to 5 hours. After a couple of weeks of fires I took a close look at the doors on the stove and discovered that they did not close all the way which prevented a controlled air flow and burn. The stove was getting way too much air. I think that if this was a cast iron non-painted model I would not have experienced any issues but the model I purchased has a thick coat of firerun red on it that looks great. The problem is that the paint makes contact in some areas when the doors are closed. You can latch the doors but not get a tight seal. I used a dremel tool with a grinding wheel to take down the contact areas to the cast iron. It took about 15 minutes total. The contact areas are all where you cant see from the exterior so the esthetics of the stove are not compromised. With this quick modification the Leydon went from a 5-6 hour burn to 12-14. It made a huge difference.
If I hadn't made the above modification I would only rate the unit as a (4). However, the wood stove is truely impressive. The unit heats my entire 2008 colonial with the use on no oil.
I can only guess that Lopi is having trouble keeping up with production demand with the high prices of heating oil and are rushing stoves out of the factory without checking for a good door closure fit. The stove is truely built to get long burns and I am very happy with it at this point.
* Dates that reviews were submitted were not recorded prior to Nov. 2004