Warning for Lopi AGP Pellet stove's

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LOPI AGP

New Member
Jan 28, 2013
18
Orange county NY
Hi everyone. I just signed up to this forum. I have been reading it for the past few days and wanted to give my opinion on my LOPI AGP stove.

First I have to say that I have been burning wood for over 10 years. I have a LOPI Answer stove that is used as an insert. The build quality is great and all I have every had to replace are crack bricks and the door gasket. That being said. The LOPI AGP stove is just as beautiful as my ANSWER. I love the look of the bay door and the ash lip/tray. The AVALON is the same exact stove with out the fancy door and ash lip/tray. Even though the LOPI was a few dollars more, the look did it for me. It is extremely similar in look to my wood burning stove.

So due to a car accident at work I had to have my neck fused and no longer can split wood. With the way prices are now for home heating I went out to the store I brought my ANSWER and had them install the AGP.

The unit is beautiful and in a few hours I had great heat coming out of the unit. The hopper holds almost 80 LBS. They advertise that it holds 80 LBS but its just not true. I would say its more along the lines of 65-70 LBS.

So two hours later after the installer left, I started to get cold. I went down stairs to where I had the unit installed and saw that the unit had gone out. I went to the instruction manual and went through the shut down start up process. The hopper was full, the unit internal fan was running just no fire.

I called the company I brought it from. The owner walked me through all of the same things that I had did. He asked me to remove all the pellets. Not fun. Had me the hopper door switch and do the start processes. I did. The feeder motor wasn't working. He told me that he would order the part and have it delivered and repaired. I asked him for a new unit. He stated that LOPI doesn't do that and that they would have a repair man at my house on Thursday. This happen on a Monday.

In my head I thought of a returning the stove, stop payment on the check.

I wrote an email to the company who makes the stove, Travis industries. Got a response the next morning saying that the owner of the location that sold me the stove had been in contact with him and that they will fix the problem. Not happy.

Thursday comes and early in the morning the repair man comes. True to what was being said, the feeding motor/auger was seized. The repairman said a few things that really made me mad. He showed me the new feeder/auger motor. It was double the size. This is the statement that made me mad. He said, "This is the motor that is NOW IN PRODUCTION IN THE NEW STOVES BEING MADE." He also stated that the snap disk on these units are defective and he also replaced that. He left and the stove was running beautifully.

When he left I felt like crap. I wrote an email to Travis industries again stating that I was not happy and that I wanted a new "NOW" stove explaining that I just brought the stove and didn't want old stock especially since the knew there was a problem. I left my phone number.

I got a call a few hours later. They explained to me that they have stop production of the AGP stove due to those motors starting to fail. Also explained to me that as soon as they noticed the problem they fired to company that made the motors. He said that they will continue making the stoves and are waiting for the motors to come in. They have a "Hand full of them" for repair and that they had fedex next day for my repair. He informed me that I was the first one that had the motor die in two hours. He said that it was happening in weeks and months or not at all.

He asked me what would make me happy. I informed him that I wanted double the warranty on the moving parts. They come with a two year. He agreed and sent me an email stating so. So at this point I am happy.

As of today my stove has been running for four days straight and it is working great. I have a split level ranch house. Total of 4 levels. I had the stove installed in my family room. An area of about 30 feet by 20 feet. It keeps that level at 78. I had them install the external thermostat option and it is set to 80. The main level is at about 72. The bedroom level is at 68-70.

I have loved my LOPI ANSWER. I really believe the company is a great company. I just wanted to warn everyone who has or is buying one to call and make sure they get the upgraded motor. I am telling you, I saw them both. The new motor is double the size. Good luck and I look forward to being a member on this fourm.

Robert
 
Oh and also. What are the best pellets to use? I brought a ton of NEW ENGLAND wood pellets. They are doing well but in the show room a big selling point was the low ash. They told me that they haven't even cleaned it in a week. When they pulled it out the ash pan it was a very light dusting. I have cleaned it out already in 4 days. It wasn't full but around 1/4 full. Not the little ash they had in the show room. Thanks for the advice.
 
Hi

Got any pics of the old motor or the new motor you can post here?
 
Oh and also. What are the best pellets to use? I brought a ton of NEW ENGLAND wood pellets. They are doing well but in the show room a big selling point was the low ash. They told me that they haven't even cleaned it in a week. When they pulled it out the ash pan it was a very light dusting. I have cleaned it out already in 4 days. It wasn't full but around 1/4 full. Not the little ash they had in the show room. Thanks for the advice.
Hello fellow Orange Cty pellet burner.

I'm pretty sure I know where you bought the stove, and will remain mum about them. I have my doubts that their stove "mysteriously" has less ash (using the same pellets in the exact same stove). Somehow that sounds suspiciously like a "sales pitch" for NEWP pellets, which have been below average for the last 2-3 years.

I don't know what they charged you for the NEWP's, but you'd be much better off with some Greene Team or Somersets from Lowes, or Stove Chow available at HD (at least the stores near me in Newburgh had them....not sure where you are). Do NOT buy the Green Supreme....they are the same NEWP pellets in a different bag.

I used to have an Astoria, and LOVED it. IMO, Travis is a stand-up company and they did the best they could for you. The dealer MUST have known about the defective/undersized auger motors, based on the statement they made while replacing it. They should have replaced it during the install, IMO.
 
I just bought a Lopi AGP a few weeks ago and have had a similar problem. I've had the disk at the bottom of the hopper get stuck 3 times, however, one of the heat shields inside the stove was not seated properly, so it's possible that the hopper was getting too hot causing an issue with the pellets. Since I re-adjusted the shield the stove has been running fine. I've got one of the newer high torque motors on order through my installer and it should be replaced soon.
 
You know 73 Charger, I think one of the inside heat shields wasn't installed properly also. The top one wasn't seated in the locking slots. It seemed under it instead. I went to the show room and double checked and I was correct. I also corrected that. I love the unit now that it is running properly. Also the place I got it here in orange county NY are very nice people. The only complaint was the whole, "Breaking in two hours" thing. A unit that cost as much as the LOPI should work well out of the box. Now with all the upgrades and the warranty doubled I am very happy.
 
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....The only complaint was the whole, "Breaking in two hours" thing. A unit that cost as much as the LOPI should work well out of the box. ....
It has nothing to do with the stove "working better" after the 2 hrs. That is simply to burn off any manufacturing oils/coatings. The stove should (if properly installed and all parts are good & in proper locations) burn the same as after 2 hrs.
 
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Imac I think you misread my post. My stove broke in two hours after install. I know the burn off process. Every wood stove I owned had the same process. It was just that fact that the auger motor died in two hours that drove me nuts.
 
Imac I think you misread my post. My stove broke in two hours after install. I know the burn off process. Every wood stove I owned had the same process. It was just that fact that the auger motor died in two hours that drove me nuts.
OK, gotcha.
 
73Charger, The only complaint I have about the motor is that it is a bit noisy. The stove has been running the way is should, perfectly. With the weather we are having here in upstate NY. It's in the 40's and the unit is keeping my whole house at 72 with the thermostat at 76 down stairs. I have a split level ranch and the stove is on the bottom, family room. I burned a bag yesterday all day. Just loaded the hopper right now at 700 AM with a bag and it filled it up. Loving life. It cost me about $3.50 to heat my house for a day. Good luck with the new motor.

Robert.

PS if you can. take pics of the two motors to show the difference. I didn't and people were asking. All kidding aside you will see, the electric motor part is double the size.
 
This is why warranties exist. It sounds like you were taken care of as best I could imagine, only thing better would have been if your dealer had the motor in stock...
 
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I love the dealers that I got my stove from. I got the LOPI ANSWER wood stove from them 10 years ago. I get treated very well every time I go in there. I have referred at least 4 work buddies to them. I have no complaints.
 
You know 73 Charger, I think one of the inside heat shields wasn't installed properly also. The top one wasn't seated in the locking slots. It seemed under it instead. I went to the show room and double checked and I was correct. I also corrected that. I love the unit now that it is running properly. Also the place I got it here in orange county NY are very nice people. The only complaint was the whole, "Braking in two hours" thing. A unit that cost as much as the LOPI should work well out of the box. Now with all the upgrades and the warranty doubled I am very happy.
That Warranty, though now "good" for double the years still must be executed from the same dealer.
 
Yes. Lopi's/Travis Scott Abele, who was a gentleman, did it. The location did note the account and I got an email as a back up. Mr. Abele stated that they are the kind of company that if my name came across his desk, even if it was 5 years from now, that he would cover it under warranty after dealing with what I just dealt with. I told him that I could appreciate that but due to my job, I would like it in writing. So he sent it to me in an email. Very nice people, but understand that we pay a price for that. This stove was $5400 installed. One would not expect a stove of that caliber to give up in two hours. So I was treated very well and have no complaints and I am very happy.
 
I just stumbled on this post after firing up a friend's new Lopi AGP insert and had the same problem.
They installed the unit themselves but had me come over to install the wireless thermostat. After loading the hopper with pellets, (no way this holds 40lbs), starting the stove, in no time it dropped it's pellets and lit. With a really nice fire, I was impressed. While the fire burned for about 10min. the fire died down and burned out. No more pellet feed. Tried restarting the stove, no feed. This stove was manufactured in 10/2013. Called the dealer and they never heard of the problem and want to blame it on the install. Don't really know if this unit is different from the model you folks are referring to, but it's eerily similar.
 
Bartman did they send a new feeder motor? Also my lopi agp must be different because the hopper holds almost 80 lbs. I would say 70 to be on the safe side.
 
Just had a APG pellet stove installed 31 Jan.2014. I hit the start button and it starts feeding the pellets, nice flame but it only runs for approx. 20 minutes and it stops feeding the pellets. The exhaust fan continues then shuts down. I called the service tech. said to unplug it for 15 minutes and try it again and still the same problem. The Tech. will be coming out next week to see what's the problem.
 
That is the snap disk. It is very problematic. They replaced it when they did the motor. Those are the two thing that go wrong with lopi agp. You can change it but if they are coming out to fix it let them. Easy fix when out of warranty. Take left side off. Right in the inside. You can also look to see if the snap disk is connected. Take apart the inside stainless steel and there is a small flap cover on the back right to the right of the fire pot. That round little thing is the snap disk. Then open the right side when you are looking at it. Left side if your standing behind the unit. There is a panel and take that off. You will see the disk and see if they plugged it in.
 
That is the snap disk. It is very problematic. They replaced it when they did the motor. Those are the two thing that go wrong with lopi agp. You can change it but if they are coming out to fix it let them. Easy fix when out of warranty. Take left side off. Right in the inside. You can also look to see if the snap disk is connected. Take apart the inside stainless steel and there is a small flap cover on the back right to the right of the fire pot. That round little thing is the snap disk. Then open the right side when you are looking at it. Left side if your standing behind the unit. There is a panel and take that off. You will see the disk and see if they plugged it in.
It sure was, defective snap disk, the Tech. replaced it and up and running, first time I've heard the heat blower kick in, nice heat. Thanks for the info.
 
Oh and also. What are the best pellets to use? I brought a ton of NEW ENGLAND wood pellets. They are doing well but in the show room a big selling point was the low ash. They told me that they haven't even cleaned it in a week. When they pulled it out the ash pan it was a very light dusting. I have cleaned it out already in 4 days. It wasn't full but around 1/4 full. Not the little ash they had in the show room. Thanks for the advice.
I burn barefoot in my Lopi and very happy with the results.
 
updating Bartmans thread (It was our Lopi AGP insert he was assisting with). The dealer sent a technician out to our house within 3 days (believing it was something we did wrong during installation...). It was an auger screw that became loose during shipping, absolutely nothing to do with us! The technician knew right away what it could be, pulled out the unit, tightened everything...and it worked perfectly. He also extended the hopper for us, now we can fit appx 50 lbs of pellets.
 
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