Jotul 550 vs. Lopi Declaration/FPX 33 elite/Avalon Perfect-fit; Need some advice from owners.

bonedoc said:

Lopi dealer insists "I used to sell Jotul and the Lopi Declaration is far better; there is no comparison" He states that the plate-steel Lopi/Avalon/FPX is designed to reflect the heat forward resulting in much better heat output; His point was that the cast iron faceplate on the Jotul was "irrelevant".

On the other hand.....the Jotul dealer is equally dogmatic about how Jotul "Owns their own foundry, has been making stoves for 6,000 years, are the bench-mark buy which all other stoves must be measured, etc...etc..."

Click to expand...

Needless to say I am partial...here goes anyway.

Cast iron surround on Jotul is not irrelevant. It heats up and stays warm for hours radiating that heat out into the room. Cast iron holds heat longer than steel. Steel will heat up faster but looses heat faster too.


Jotul has been around for ages and is very solid. Steel firebox construction covered in cast iron. Gets it's name from it's weight = 550 pounds.

It is flush and a pleasure to look at but you do loose radiant heat by it being flush. Our old insert sat about 5" out of the fireplace and heat radiated off of those 5" which added to the overall temp. in the room.

Jotul heats remarkably well. Room it sits in stays in mid-70's and adjoining rooms stay in the 70's as well. THat area is about 900sq.ft. I think the 550 is rated for 1800 sq.ft. Can't remember. Some other owners here do heat with larger overall space than I do.

Lots of Lopi owners here too and I am sure they will pipe in. Most of what I have read is very positive with that brand too.

Keep reading here. It is free. Sales people are not always to be trusted and can be biased based on what they want to sell due to over stocking. Just wait until you feel comfortable with your decision.

Can't see how you can go wrong with either of these inserts.

Happy hunting. ;-)

I love my Jotul 550 it is in my family room right off of my kitchen, so it has to look good, per the wife. Boy does it look good. I have it installed with a 25' SS liner. It burns and drafts like a dream. It is very easy to control and it likes to burn hot. Will do a good job heating your room convectivily, not so much radiantly, as it is a flush insert. A great choice which I own one. I was very high on purchasing an Avalon this year. Thought it was a good looking stove. Good luck

I love my Jotul 550 it is in my family room right off of my kitchen, so it has to look good, per the wife. Boy does it look good. I have it installed with a 25' SS liner. It burns and drafts like a dream. It is very easy to control and it likes to burn hot. Will do a good job heating your room convectivily, not so much radiantly, as it is a flush insert. A great choice which I own one. I was very high on purchasing an Avalon this year. Thought it was a good looking stove. Good luck

Hi doc,
Yep, I'm a Lopi Declaration owner here in southern CT and have been very happy with the unit. My wife insisted on a flush mount and as it turned out, that was probably the best choice given the clearances, room layout etc... I posted some first impressions here a while back https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/25135/ that still hold true. As the weather has gotten colder it seems burn times have decreased a little... I think I can get about 6 hours of good heat out of it, with good hot coals left to get it going again, after 8 hours the stove has cooled considerably and while there are still coals for a restart, it does take a little more work. I'd like thse 8-10 hour burn times you read about, but it doesn't seem to be in the cards.

I like the look of the Declaration it fits quite well in our room. The Jotul is also a VERY nice stove. We had looked at both at the same dealer and while the 550 is a bit more ornate and I really liked the case iron face, the Declaration was a better fit (size-wise) and also with the decor of our family room. The kids like it, I love it and my wife even admitted recently that she was growing fond of it. (never had a woodstove growing up and she really didn't know what to expect).

Anyhow, from what I read, I don't think you can go wrong with either of these units.... Good luck and let us know what you decide!! Any specific questions, feel free to drop me a PM.