New to Inserts looking for advice

With the lopi you don't have to necessarily remove the firebrick for flue cleaning just open the bypass and let the soot fall into the firebox. You certainly don't have to remove the air tubes to clean the flue either. When we clean the liberty's flue we just open the bypass and let in fall into the firebox and then take the shop vac and suck around the top of the bypass opening. If we have alot of soot I will remove the front three firebrick and the front angle iron and stick the vacuum up there and get what didn't fall through the bypass, but have never had to remove the air tubes. Hope this make sense.

For chimney sweeping I just open the bypass and let it fall into the firebox then scoop out same as I do ashes. For the more serious annual cleaning, getting the underside of the top plate clean wasn't bad either but you get dirty. Simply lift out the top firebrick that rest on removable steel braces, then lift out the braces, no screws to mess with. I brushed all that area up there (very messy) then put everything back together. I've never seen a reason to remove any of the secondary tubes but it looks easy. I just brushed them off too and made sure all the holes where open. We do not run it with the door open. The hearth store I purchased at said that most who buy the screen door seldom use it. You get so much radiant heat through the glass that you won't set next to it very long if running hard. For those that do want the smell, sound and feel you mentioned, the heat loss up the stack doesn't matter especially if the house is full of people and already plenty warm. Door open operation drops efficiency, probably still better than a fireplace though. I burn a lot of mulberry which sparks/pops too much so I'm not comfortable with the screen thought. The bypass lets you open the door anytime you want to reload without worry of smoke mixing with airwash air and coming into the room. You can open the door with a really ripping hot fire (and/or a cool smoldering one) and not get smoke. But if you forget to open the bypass, she blows smoke out. Bottom line: You will spend a lot more time just watching the fire (probably more time than watching a TV) so I recommend you install which ever brand is the most pleasing to look at for you and your wife. Both brands are good machines. As for box size. This 3.1 does fine in our 1,300 sq ft 1960's ranch with average insulation. There are times I've overloaded things and got the three main rooms too hot. Our solution is to just turn on the furnace fan a little while to circulate air to our unheated basement.

QuadORLopi said:

Does the LOPI Freedom (both) load N/S. It looks like the box is made for E/W loading?

I would like NS to make sure logs don't fall out.


Anyone burning a LOPI Revere ?
Does this stove compare to the freedom or the republic 1750i

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Mine does

Holy crap if I loaded my liberty with 10 splits it would probably melt!

I run N/S 15 inch splits for faster/hotter burns but one must be careful because you can get more heat than you know what to do with. For long burns I run E/W up to 24 inches. Often we load a couple big pieces E/W towards the back then put others N/S across the top. This gets us a lot of heat quick, then still leaves plenty of fuel for the longer burn.

lopiliberty said:

Holy crap if I loaded my liberty with 10 splits it would probably melt!

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You need a recount, there's 11 and that's my overnite, that will give me a good 8 hours.

ironworker said:

lopiliberty said:

Holy crap if I loaded my liberty with 10 splits it would probably melt!

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You need a recount, there's 11 and that's my overnite, that will give me a good 8 hours.

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Ok I didn't see the little one on top

QuadORLopi said:

Man that's a ton of wood.

How does the freedom do without running the blower
What size room you have it in?

I'm starting to lean more to lopi.
I can find alot on lopi. The quad doesn't seam to be a really popular insert.

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I have it in a masonry fireplace and don't use the blower when in the upper 30's and it heats fine.
I keep it in the living room which is small but has 2 large openings 1 is 6' and the other is 40" and is right next to the stairs leading upstairs , sending the heat right up and that room does not get too hot.

For our Freedom Bay in this house, the blower runs whenever the automatic thermostat wants it on. It can be shut off but why? On low you can hardly tell its running except for feeling the heat it pushes out. We had 21 degrees overnight. The house was 70 when my feet hit the floor this morning. The blower did it's magic all night still running when I got up. Partially refilled the tank with more good, dry solid fuel, once the stove top got back over 600 degrees I turned up the blower to half throttle for an hour then back down to low when the hallway around the corner from the living room/stove hit 75 degrees. If concerned about the blower cost, don't worry. Last winter I had a dedicated electric meter on just the blower. Over two months it cost about $2.20/month average at our 10 cent per Kwhr rates.

I suppose you'd get along okay without running the blower with any of these stoves that stick out from the original fireplace opening. The more metal out front, the more heat it can dissipate. If we ever had a lengthy power outage, I'd remove two bolts and pop the blower unit off because it gets very hot when not running. I have heard, (maybe others can confirm this), that a blower motor gets very hot without the fresh air going through it to cool the coils and bearings. I was told this shortens the life of the motor.

Not sure if you have any specific questions regarding the 4100i, but if so, ask away...

I've had my 4100i for 3 seasons now and I could not be happier. I have a 1948 brick house (1700 sqft) with very little insulation (other than kitchen and attic) and I'm able to keep my house a nice and warm 70-72 during the winter months. If I load it up around 9:30-10:30, I wake up to a very warm stove (around 300'ish) with plenty of coals to get it going again with little effort.

To answer your earlier question about cleaning the chimney, its very simple on the quad....4 allen bolts, remove the burn tubes, then the baffle comes out - giving you full access to your chimney. Like I said, I've had mine for 3 full seasons (this year being the 4th) and never had an issue removing the bolts or tubes to clean the chimney.

QuadORLopi said:

What's the longest piece you can get for n/s load in a freedom?

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17" will fit but right up against door, I cut mine 15".

QuadORLopi said:

FHS

Does the 4100i have smoke issues when you open the door. ?
whats the max split log length?
Any fire brick issues?
Any issues with this rockwool blanket that has to be removed when cleaning?
What do you think about the construction of the insert Door, box, welds, etc,

Any info you could pass on about the 4100i that (Any quad owner) you can think of would be great!

My original plan was to get this insert, I think it looks good. Started looking around and reading a bunch and im still not sure.
Lopi Quad almost the same thing.

Any idea what this ACT vs ACC is all about on quads?? Does anyone know how the ACC works.
(To ANY QUAD owner )

Thanks to all that have helped with info. I never thought this would be so dam hard to decide.

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I'll try to answer them in order.

- No, as long as you open the door slowly and have a good draft.

- Max log length is 18"

- I have one cracked brick in the back (3 years of use) and I'm sure the few splits I've "thrown" in did not help.

- No issue with burn tubes, blanket...etc, especially when it comes to cleaning - fairly simple process.

- Overall quality seems to be top notch - welds are very high quality. Each year I give the insert a good inspection and its holding up great.

- ACT = Advanced Combustion Technology. Basically 4 area's of re-burn...

- ACC = kinda like a thermostat...automatically controls your airflow (I have no experience with this as my 4100i does not have the option).

QuadORLopi said:

FHS,

What room size do you have your quad in?

Im putting this in the basement, center part is my fire P. So im hoping that some heat will make it up-stairs in a 1200 sq foot ranch.


Thanks
chris

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I'm assuming your talking to me...FHS?

Its on our first floor in the living room (18'ish x 28'ish). I can heat the bathroom and 2 bedrooms that are upstairs - heat travels right up the stairway and we have ceiling fans up there to move the air around.

I do have a basement, but it is obviously not heated by the insert. Not sure how much heat you'll get - all depends on your insulation values (especially the basement) and overall layout (good path for heat to move around).

QuadORLopi said:

YES FHS... Sorry I did not see mofog23

Yes the basement I have is all cement. Im in the process of redoing the basement . I have it broken up- to a laundry room, Bedroom and a main family room which is half of the 1198 sq foot basement.

All I have between the walls is drywall, so I will have heat loss someone said.

Im thinking I could go up a notch on the size of the insert or hoping a 4100 will be good enough?

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Personally, if I was putting it in my basement, I would be buying the largest insert I could get....sticking with Quad's, that would be the 5100i.

As long as the basement ceiling is not insulated I think you would get a lot of heat radiating up through the floor. You should have warm floors in you kitchen

I don't think the ACC is an option on the inserts.

I have not measured mine n/s but I swear If it won't fit e/w it WILL fit n/s. Maybe I am crazy. I will check once I get the new furnace up and running and I can let the stove cool down for a bit.

I have not seen the Lopi up close but one thing that is very unique to the 4100i is the door shape and width...the thing is huge.

5100i not a bad idea if price is not an issue. I think BenchWrench just put one in https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/78553/ a nice looking unit. Try a pm is he doesn't chime in.

If I could build I would go with a 7100. You can duct it into the furnace! Maybe someday

Tony

QuadORLopi said:

MOfo,


So you think i can loose that much heat ?
The 5100i will fit too. I was thinking i would over heat the room.
I'll have to see how that insert is I did'nt look it.

Anyone running a 5100i?

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I can't really say how much heat you'll loose...too many variables.

If you have any questions about loading the stove up, I posted some pictures in another thread.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/89659/P22/

QuadORLopi said:

MOfo,


So you think i can loose that much heat ?
The 5100i will fit too. I was thinking i would over heat the room.
I'll have to see how that insert is I did'nt look it.

Anyone running a 5100i?

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I am.
Heating a large open 2 story.
IMO It's just barely enough stove.