New to Inserts looking for advice

I've never had an insert, but in my experiance with two Lopi DV units and my Republic, they are optimistic for an older drafty house.

The Republic is rated for 1200-2000 sq ft and unless it's over 45/50 we don't overheat ourselves (unless we don't feed the stove right)-the Cottage is just under 700 sq ft and has minimal insulation and some original windows.

The Hampton Bay was rated for like 1200-1500ish I think, and it's in the lower half of a 2 story 800 Sq Ft house and it has to work HARD when it's below 25 outside (and it doesn't really feel WARM in the house, just ok, with the stove on 24/7). That one has a blower too. It's a 1920's era house with new windows but NOT new insulation (older blown in), somewhat choppy layout, no other heat source except the two stoves in my signature and no basement. I imagine if we had a newer, better insulated house, the numbers would be more in line.

QorL,
My setup mirrors yours. My staircase is at one end of my basement, and makes heating my entire upstairs difficult. Also, my stove room does get hot when my stove is running. Fans do help, but I can't run them most of the time because I have a toddler at my house. Ideally, I would have a small insert in the basement and a freestanding upstairs. That being said, I went with the biggest stove I could fit in my basement and I'm happy with it.

Also, Begreen's post is dead on. If you could get those walls insulated, you will be able to send more BTU's up the stairs. Also, I find that keeping my basement warm is much easier than bringing it up from a cold temp. This means that if it's below 50, I'm burning. Even if it's a small fire.

I have a Lopi and am very pleased with it. Heats 3200sq. ft. just fine

ironworker said:

I have a Lopi and am very pleased with it. Heats 3200sq. ft. just fine

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It heats 3200 sqft just fine? That's amazing, the manufacturer says it heats "up to 2250 sqft."

Woodrow said:

ironworker said:

I have a Lopi and am very pleased with it. Heats 3200sq. ft. just fine

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It heats 3200 sqft just fine? That's amazing, the manufacturer says it heats "up to 2250 sqft."

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What's your point?

I don't have the freedom or freedom bay but I have the liberty free standing stove which is the same thing as the freedom minus the tapered firebox in the back and I can tell you it is a heating machine. It will heat the living room to 85 to 90 degrees without the blower on with no problems at all. Keep in mind you are going to have to run the blower 24/7 if you want the maximum amount of heat out of your insert. With good dry wood you can't go wrong with a lopi stove. Second year with my liberty and not a problem to speak of except it puts out to much heat sometimes and has a tendency to have run away fires if I'm not careful

I have the Freedom Bay, very well made, love the bypass damper for loading wood and easy starts. Heating 1300 sq ft ranch easily including rear bedrooms about 6° cooler than livingroom when only 10° outside. Living/dining rooms and kitchen fairly open space. Lopi is a solid unit, check out the heavy door and hinges. Did I mention the bypass damper is awesome? Twin blower is standard, no extra fee, continuously variable speed. On low you don't know it's running, on high it nearly blows you away. We run the blower all the time but usually at slow speeds. To quote my wife, it's a great looking stove without looking like a stove is just stuck in there. Large viewing window and fire box.

ironworker said:

Woodrow said:

ironworker said:

I have a Lopi and am very pleased with it. Heats 3200sq. ft. just fine

Click to expand...

It heats 3200 sqft just fine? That's amazing, the manufacturer says it heats "up to 2250 sqft."

Click to expand...

What's your point?

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My point is that every post I've read so far about stove/fireplace insert size is that the maximum manufacturer claimed heating area is usually exaggerative (as is max burn time). My point is that every post I've read so far says take what the manufacturer says with "a grain of salt" when it comes to their advertised maximum performance criteria. Those numbers are only possible with optimal, perfectly dry wood under ideal laboratory conditions with skilled operators constantly adjusting for maximum performance. So when I see someone claim that not only does their firewood heating unit achieve the maximum possible performance advertised by the manufacturer, they actually exceed it by a whopping 42%? The words "that's amazing" come to mind, because it is amazing. That's all.

Well put Woodrow!

I have the Lopi Republic 1750i. In my 1800 sf townhouse it heats the place fine. The Republic is installed in a ZC fireplace, main floor with a lot of windows and open floorplan. In NC it has kept us comfortable if not hot on some of the more mild nights we've had. I considered getting the smaller 1250i but the way I looked at it was, it's a steel box. The BTUs or square foot rating, plus burn time, is a function of how much fuel you can stuff in that box. I see you're in Michigan so you have a lot colder conditions to contend with.

Now, I've found my stove runs more efficient when it's packed full of wood. But I surmise the heat output is going to vary based on the type of wood you burn, how properly seasoned that wood is, etc. My decision to get the 1750i was, I would rather have too big that too small a stove, considering the investment required. You can always burn a smaller fire but you can't cram more wood into a smaller box.

Hope my thoughts help

QorL

I forgot to tell you in a post on a different thread my house is 1400 sq ft. 4100i is the perfest size in my book. My uncle has the 3100i and we both agree the firebox is too small in that stove. He is up all the time reloading his insert. I think your sizing is about right. I especially like the angled side lights in the 4100i, but I am kind of partial

Tony

QuadORLopi said:

Has anyone used an insert or stove in the basement. If so, did you get good heat up the stairs to any other rooms, or the room closest to the stairs?

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As I said earlier, my setup is just like yours. With no fans running at all, my kitchen will get good heat. The problem is getting enough heat out of the basement, and moving it throughout the house. Some ceiling fans upstairs and some well placed fans on the floor blowing cold air toward the stove room will help distribute the heat. Unless you size your insert really big, expect your furnace to run later in the burn cycle (unless you have awesome insulation). Your stove room is going to get hot too.

Edit:my stove is 2.5 cuft.

Chris,
For cleaning, the Lopi's with the bypass, which was another factor in my choosing the 1750i, you should be able to clean the chimney without removing the flue adapter. The secondary's still have to be removed, which looks like a pain by the factory literature. You can go to the Lopi website and download the manual for whatever stove you're looking at, and I recommend that.

That bypass is a nice feature, let's you load more wood and start easier.

As far as sitting by the stove with the door open, Lopi does offer a firescreen that you can install. Is it the sound or smell of the wood she enjoys or just the heat of the fire? I've found on mine you get plenty of heat sitting in front of it, and with the door open, even with just a coal bed, you aren't going to sit there long without feeling like you're baking. I would buy that option after you've used the stove a couple weeks if she still wants it.

When I went shopping I also considered a Lopi and reasoned a few things...

1. looks/style (you're going to look at it for a long time to come)
2. efficiency
3. EPA rating (grams of smoke per hour, cleaner is better. my Quad's rated @ 1.9 g./hr.)
4. weight (in my book, the heavier the better when it's a close comparison)
5. overall dimensional size
6. firebox size
7. thickness of top plate (the Quadrafire was a fraction thicker that's why I chose another one)
8. see beyond the brouhaha in the sales brochure w/ fancy pictures.
9. don't look at the price, just pick the stove that has all the correct/ acceptable features & facts
10. buy from the best place in town (this can mean different things to different folks, I chose a respectable ma & pa store it was also the cheapest cash and carry sale I could find, turns out to be THE place in town to buy hearth products.)
11. have fun with your purchase experience.

Cheers,
Bench

Removing the baffle on the Quadrafire is not a big deal. I remove four allen head screws to take out the secondaries and the board just sits on top. You only need to do it once a year. At the same time I vacuum the entire inside spotless.

My first year, the learning curve, I did have a small run in with smoke coming out. You need to load and reload in cycles. That way when you reload you are down to coals with no smoke. You can't just "throw another log on the fire." On the 4100i the smoke goes up the flue near the front, which I believe is part of the airwash system on the glass. All of that being said it is my understanding that most if not all non-cat units share these same principals/issues.

Research away and make an informed decision.

Tony