Is a Lopi Pioneer too big?

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rwthomas1

Member
Dec 20, 2011
163
Wakefield, RI
Hello All,
New member here and I am seeking info on sizing a pellet stove for my house. I live in a Cape with a dormer, the living/dining "L" shaped room where the pellet stove would be installed is approximately 350sq/ft. with a kitchen filling in the "inside corner" of the L shape, adding another 150sq/ft, and having two doors to the dining and living sides respectively. There is a hallway off the kitchen to the rest of the first floor, and a stairwell to the dormer second floor from the living room. The house is 1600sq/ft total.

Not exactly an open floor plan, I would like to install a Lopi Pioneer in the living/dining area. I am concerned that the stove will be too much and simply run us out of the living/dining room on low. I don't expect this to heat the whole house, given the floorplan. I do expect it to make the living/dining/kitchen toasty warm and maybe get a little boost in other areas. The whole house is electric heat so each room is independently controlled, so there will be no "cold" rooms.

Given I am in Southern RI, the house is fairly tight, is this stove appropriate or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Any input welcome, sizing these things seems to be more difficult than I anticipated.
Thanks, RT
 
Pellet stoves and thermostats go hand in hand. Small area's are the most beneficial. Once the stat is made, The stat shuts the stove down. Auto/Off in the fall/spring and then switch to Hi/Lo in the cold weather.

Do you only plan on heating that living room? You can move some air around with fans to help heat other portions. Or sister in a pellet furnace/boiler to the current system and heat the whole house.
 
I have the little brother of that stove.

My stove heats my 1250 SF place ok. If it gets below say, 18 degrees I have to run it on 4-5/6.

Even on the low setting I think the stove will be too much for you. It will be constantly starting/stopping when hooked to a t-stat.

Unless you are somehow able to move the air around the house in an effective manner, get something smaller.
 
That is about what I thought, too much for the space its in. Problem is, I don't see a lot of pellet stoves that are small AND have reasonable reliability. Maybe they are out there.... Thanks, RT
 
I own an older Lopi FoxFire and I can easily regulate it to the point where is doesn't over heat my living room/kitchen/dining area. It could be because I have a very open floor plan and two ceiling fans in the living room where it's located. I believe the Lopi Pioneer is only slightly larger than my older FoxFire. In fact, I think the Pioneer model basically replaced the FoxFire in the Lopi line-up when it was first introduced. I think you'd be fine depending upon whatever means you have to help spread the heat throughout that level of your home. If you install it and it turns out to be too much for the space, install a ceiling fan and I'd bet that would help mitigate the over heating. If nothing else, talk about your concerns with the dealer and see what they have to say. Beyond that, consider another brand that offers a smaller stove. Harman P-38 or Napoleon NPS40 for example:

http://www.harmanstoves.com/Products/P38-Plus-Pellet-Stove.aspx


http://www.napoleonfireplaces.com/Stoves/stoves_pellet/specs_NPS40.html
 
imacman said:
rwthomas1 said:
.....Problem is, I don't see a lot of pellet stoves that are small AND have reasonable reliability. Maybe they are out there....
Click to expand...

Consider this stove...Enviro Mini.....heats 600 to 1200 sq. ft.....a good friend of mine installed one in his small house, and LOVED it. And it is VERY quiet:

www.enviro.com/fireplace-products/pellet/freestanding-fireplace.html#mini
Click to expand...

Good suggestion.....That's a sharp looking stove too and Enviro seems to be a good quality brand from everything I've read on this site. Lots of Enviro owners on here. Anyone have the Mini?
 
I'm one of them, just make sure you get the latest Mini-A modal. Also there is one disadvantage to this type. Since it's a single auger, fines, and saw dust will build up on the bottom of the bin and will clog up the way it feeds. There are two ways to handle this, wait till the bin is empty and clean the bottom once a week, or I recommend that the pellets are sifted before loading. Other than that it's a great stove.
 
I appreciate the input however the Mini appears to be not so Mini..... Specs for 12K btu on low. The Lopi Pioneer is 8K btu on low, and I still cannot figure out if 8K btu is going to run me out of the room at 300sq/ft.
RT
 
rwthomas1 said:
I appreciate the input however the Mini appears to be not so Mini..... Specs for 12K btu on low. The Lopi Pioneer is 8K btu on low, and I still cannot figure out if 8K btu is going to run me out of the room at 300sq/ft.
RT
Click to expand...

Well, the only other stove I know of that's "smaller" than those is the Thelin Gnome. If that's too much, then try lighting a match in the room. :lol:

www.thelinco.com/stoves.php?Gnome-Pellet-Heater-1
 
rwthomas1 said:
I appreciate the input however the Mini appears to be not so Mini..... Specs for 12K btu on low. The Lopi Pioneer is 8K btu on low, and I still cannot figure out if 8K btu is going to run me out of the room at 300sq/ft.
RT
Click to expand...

This is a very rough estimate/opinion on my part.

My stove (Avalon Newport/Lopi Pioneer) puts out about as much heat on low as a 2000 Watt Space Heater. Most space heaters are 1500 Max so put one in the room and that will get you close.

As long as you can open a door and let the heat spread through the house, the smaller unit should be fine. That Enviro mini looks like a slick little unit. I would give that a serious look. From what I remember, they have better pricing than Avalon/Lopi. Not to mention I think they have a bolt on hearth standard. This greatly simplifies installation.
 
You know I just re-read your post. I was thinking you were asking if the Lopi Yankee, not the pioneer was too big. In that case I have the same stove you are looking at. I think it would be ok in your application but again, you're going to want to be able to open some doors so the heat can spread through the house.

A pellet stove chugging away on the lowest settings is inefficient and would probably end up costing just as much as whatever fuel you happen to be using now.
 
When sizing a stove for output you want to consider the minimum input range...Jamestown makes the smallest output at 7000 BTU per hr. For spacing... Either the Enviro mini or Harman Accentra FS will give you the tightest installation...not sure about Theilin cause I rarely ever see them.
 
rwthomas1 said:
I appreciate the input however the Mini appears to be not so Mini..... Specs for 12K btu on low. The Lopi Pioneer is 8K btu on low, and I still cannot figure out if 8K btu is going to run me out of the room at 300sq/ft.
RT
Click to expand...

If you haven't the capability to move the air throughout your main living area, you may be right. But I'd bet a ceiling fan or even a small portable fan could easily accommodate your needs. As someone mentioned, a pellet stove continually on low isn't as efficient as other forms of heat. However, if you're currently heating with #2 fuel oil, you're still far ahead going with a slightly larger than needed pellet stove. That's assuming your the fuel oil prices in your area are similar to other places in the country.
 
Again, I appreciate the replies thus far. The comment on using an electric space heater to test things out maybe the best idea. The house has electric heat, the living/dining/kitchen are @6500watts of electric baseboard. Based on the online calculators that is @22K btu's. That is the answer I was looking for! Now obviously the electric heat doesn't run continuously, but in the deep winter it is on a lot of the time. Given the Pioneer's range of 8K to 28K btu's that should do it fine.

Given I am used to electric that allows independent control of each room of the house, having a pellet stove running on low throughout the night, keeping the main living space toasty will be new experience. Normally the programmable thermostats drop to 55*F at midnight and then up again around dawn. The couches, etc. are cold even though the air is warm. My wife will like "warm all the time" for sure.

Thanks, RT
 
This is and update:
The Lopi Pioneer is proving to be the correct, if not perfect stove for my application. On the second to lowest setting I can keep the main areas of the house in the low 70's with the moderate temps we have had so far this winter. It finally got colder today and with an expected low of @9*F tonight. So far today running on the "high medium" setting the main areas have stayed 70-71*F and even with all the doors open, upstairs, etc. the furthest rooms are 67-68*F. Not to bad at all. And I can turn up the stove more if needed. I'm quite happy with the results. Thanks for the help along the way. RT
 
Congrats on the new stove and I'm glad it's working out for you. How about some photos? I for one would love to see it in action.
 
Thanks. I just checked it out. It looks great...I posted a couple of questions for you in the other thread.
 
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