Lopi Declaration in a 1600sq ft house?

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dlatheman

dlatheman

Member
Dec 7, 2009
8
East TN
Hello Everyone,
This is by far the best forum on the internet! And you great folks make it that way, THANK YOU!

I found a new Lopi Declaration for $2500 out the door dollars but am concerned about it being too much stove for my well sealed and insulated rancher in east TN. I am currently heating with a 1980's small buck insert(1.6 cu/ft firebox) and it does a good job heating the whole house but overnight burns are non existent and the stove is 20-30% less efficient compared to the new stoves. I want to upgrade so we can enjoy the flames through a clean glass, do less chimney sweeping and save some firewood in the process.

I have a SST lined masonry fireplace in the great room(12' cathedral ceiling) located on the north end with all the bedrooms located on the south end. Just finished installing a 20 x 25 return air filter/grill and 16" R27 flex duct in the peak of the cathedral ceiling to move all the hot air through the duck work system and balance out the temperatures from one end of the house to the other. Temp delta is now 3-4 degrees so I'm happy with the heat distribution even though it was a lot of work.

My greatest concern is having a 2.9 cu. ft. firebox and having to burn a hot fire to get the secondaries to kick in but overheating the house in process. Is the Declaration going to be too much stove?

All replies are greatly appreciated.
 
dlatheman said:
Hello Everyone,

I have a SST lined masonry fireplace in the great room(12' cathedral ceiling) located on the north end with all the bedrooms located on the south end. Just finished installing a 20 x 25 return air filter/grill and 16" R27 flex duct in the peak of the cathedral ceiling to move all the hot air through the duck work system and balance out the temperatures from one end of the house to the other. Temp delta is now 3-4 degrees so I'm happy with the heat distribution even though it was a lot of work.

All replies are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Welcome DTM,

Congrats on your duct install--hard work, but smart and rewarding. Now you're set up for some serious wood heating.

From your lattitude and present stove, I'm guessing that you don't need a high maximum output? I'm also guessing the Lopi is a thermal secondary burner--non cat? If you want the option to burn low and long, consider a cat stove--they excel at that. New ones are easy to operate and efficient. I know Blaze King makes one, and others can chime in with others.

Welcome again, and good luck!
 
If you need a flush insert, perhaps take a look at the Quadrafire Voyager. It has a 1.8 cu ft firebox with a good fire view. If a flush unit is not a prerequisite, there are many other choices in the ~2 cu ft range that should work well.
 
I have a Lopi Freedom Bay in my 1600sq ft house and couldn't be happier. It sets in my family room with cathedral ceiling also. If I load the fire box at say around 10pm, the house is still plenty warm by the time I get up around 6am, with very hot coals to restart the next fire. + i really like the look of the insert.

I use a different approach though to even out the hot air. I cut a few 6" duct returns under my house with a duct fan to move the cool air from the back bed rooms into the family room. It's much easier to move cool air rather than hot air. Drawing out the cool air from the rooms is replaced by the warm air from the family room.

Anyway... good luck with what every you decide.
Dave
 
atvdave said:
I use a different approach though to even out the hot air. I cut a few 6" duct returns under my house with a duct fan to move the cool air from the back bed rooms into the family room. It's much easier to move cool air rather than hot air. Drawing out the cool air from the rooms is replaced by the warm air from the family room.

Dave
Click to expand...

That's so crazy, it just might work!

Sounds like a great idea, actually--others have mentioned variations. Did it make a big difference? Is the fan noisy? You tied them all into one outlet?

Thanks Dave, have a good one.

Now back to your thread, already in progress...
 
The Declaration can put out a serious heat if you load it full. So if you really want to go with it, you may need to feed it with smaller load, may be 3 splits at a time. Also it'll be also difficult to get the extended burn with very low output. The minimum temp to sustain the secondary burn for the full load may be too high in your case.

As other suggested, I'd look into cat stove in your case.


Cheers......Som
 
Many thanks to all who replied.

Really want an insert with double doors but the majority of stoves are singles. After finding the Declaration at $1100 off the regular price I was excited but I want/need a stove that will be efficient at low output.

Looked at the Cats first but it seems most companies don't offer many double door models. I found the Vermont Casting Merrimack but I really want a steel stove because I think they are more durable. The cast iron stoves have a lot of parts and a lot of gaskets to maintain. After reading all the bad press about the VC "neverburn" system and customers losing their warranties I really don't want to do business with them.

ATVDAVE,
Can you get good efficiency when you build smaller fires? What stove temp is necessary to get the secondary burn?

Thanks
 
Freedom Bay would have the same issue if it's always running a small load. The Revere would be a better choice here I think.
 
dlatheman said:
Many thanks to all who replied.

Really want an insert with double doors but the majority of stoves are singles. After finding the Declaration at $1100 off the regular price I was excited but I want/need a stove that will be efficient at low output.

Looked at the Cats first but it seems most companies don't offer many double door models. I found the Vermont Casting Merrimack but I really want a steel stove because I think they are more durable. The cast iron stoves have a lot of parts and a lot of gaskets to maintain. After reading all the bad press about the VC "neverburn" system and customers losing their warranties I really don't want to do business with them.

ATVDAVE,
Can you get good efficiency when you build smaller fires? What stove temp is necessary to get the secondary burn?

Thanks
Click to expand...

How are you getting the stove for that cheap ? I'm looking into one, and they want roughly $3000 for the stove... although there is the floor model (which HAS been burned several times) for closer to $2000.
 
The stove was a display model that was never displayed and they wanted to move it so we made a deal. I wound up getting a PE Super 27 for $1800 out the door. Good luck with your shopping!
 
Congratulations. That's a fine stove, hope you like her. Can you post some pics when it gets up and running?
 
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