Lopi Endeavor/compared to down draft stove

I happen to be considering an Endeavor, among other stoves. Could you tell me the size and type of house you are heating? Is it tightly insulated or drafty, etc?

Glad to hear that because im about to buy a endeavor... i have 600 sq ft room with small hall to kitchen & dining room, the intrepid is going on craigs list very soon

murry said:

The two previous years I burned with a down draft stove. After driving myself insane in my efforts to get the stove to operate correctly I decided to purchase a new stove.

After reading reviews and information provided from people on the board I chose the lopi endeavor. To say the least, what a great stove. Its ease of operation and the warmth it provides makes it a great stove

I will write a review at a later time..

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Yep, it sure is a great mid sized heater! I've been very happy with the performance of my Endeavor, also makes a beautiful fire!

homebrewz said:

I happen to be considering an Endeavor, among other stoves. Could you tell me the size and type of house you are heating? Is it tightly insulated or drafty, etc?

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I'm heating just under 2K with mine, 2 story house built in 1980 so I'm sure wall insulation is lacking, attic is pretty good and windows were replaced in 2005. The house isn't drafty but I'm sure it could be tightened up a bit.

rdust said:

I'm heating just under 2K with mine, 2 story house built in 1980 so I'm sure wall insulation is lacking, attic is pretty good and windows were replaced in 2005. The house isn't drafty but I'm sure it could be tightened up a bit.

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How is that working out for you?

homebrewz said:

How is that working out for you?

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It's exceeded my expectations that I had when I decided on the stove. We wanted to supplement our propane bill, didn't want a stove that had a large foot print and wanted a close clearance to combustibles. The stove fits this bill perfectly. Of course the supplemental expectation was quickly tossed out(week tops!) the window and we burn the stove 24/7.

My wife worked from home when I bought it so I was only concerned with a large enough stove for an overnight burn. Now my wife works in an office again so the stove has to go 11-12 hours during the day without reloading. I load at 7am and get home about 6pm on most nights. When I load in the morning the house is usually in the upper 60's or low 70's when I get home the house is usually 62-64 when we have teens or single digit daytime highs with plenty of coals for an easy reload. Overnight we do pretty good , it's a little tough when we have zero/sub zero temps. the number of nights we see like that during the average winter I can count on my hands.

With that said I've been looking at larger stoves that will replace this one in the future. The biggest goal is finding a firebox that I feel has a usable shape. I'd like to see an 18" deep, 22/23" wide and 13 or so inches tall. Stoves deeper than 18"inches are a waste in my eyes since most of the air comes in the front and burning wood that deep into the box completely doesn't seem to happen too well.

Ok, that was long winded, I'm done now! :lol:

Rdust are you able to control the fire to a slower burn with the endeavor, after secondary burn can you slow the rate of burn very well with the air control...

Thanks rdust! I'm looking to heat a drafty old place of about 1600 to 1800 square feet. Been looking for the big Englander, the 30, but despite the Endeavor having a smaller firebox (2.2 vs 3.5 cubic feet), it seems to have a similar peak BTU rating. Glad you have some positive comments on the Endeavor.

homebrewz said:

Thanks rdust! I'm looking to heat a drafty old place of about 1600 to 1800 square feet. Been looking for the big Englander, the 30, but despite the Endeavor having a smaller firebox (2.2 vs 3.5 cubic feet), it seems to have a similar peak BTU rating. Glad you have some positive comments on the Endeavor.

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Don't get caught up on the peak BTU, that number has little meaning in the real world imo. I think size of the firebox is a better indication of the type of heat you can expect. A draft house just slightly smaller than mine may be a bit much for the Endeavor, I really like the stove but I'm not sure if it's up to that task. I think I'd be looking at something in the 3 cubic foot range in an old drafty house if the floor plan allowed it.

jetmech said:

Rdust are you able to control the fire to a slower burn with the endeavor, after secondary burn can you slow the rate of burn very well with the air control...

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I won't lie, it likes to run hot. It's tough/impossible to keep it under 650* with a fresh/full load of wood. To be fair my chimney is 30' tall with a strong draft so I think most non cat stove would act in a similar fashion.

Thanks for reply, my chimney is 15 ft straight up, i need to see one of these babys burning somewhere...

rdust said:

Don't get caught up on the peak BTU, that number has little meaning in the real world imo. I think size of the firebox is a better indication of the type of heat you can expect. A draft house just slightly smaller than mine may be a bit much for the Endeavor, I really like the stove but I'm not sure if it's up to that task. I think I'd be looking at something in the 3 cubic foot range in an old drafty house if the floor plan allowed it.

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Yep.. when looking at BTU ratings, the phrase "achieved under lab conditions" comes to mind. Though, I think my VC is about 1.5 cf, if that, so the Endeavor would at least be an improvement. Looking for Englanders, but the local big boxes haven't marked them down yet.

I am glad I got the Endeavor over the Leydon (a top loader). They pushed the Leydon very hard on me. It is my first year and my wood could be better but the stove has run great. I just checked my chimney at that is very clean as well.

We often have 3 fires a day during colder weather here, 2 when it is milder. I am heating 1600 SF home built in 97 so it holds it's heat pretty good. I can run my stove in the 450 to 550 range but it really likes to run in the 650 range. I have had it on the bitter edge of 800 before and boy does that put out some heat. When it is really cold (teens and single digits) here, I open the air control wide open after the stove has "peaked" during it's cycle to burn the coals down. If it is warm I just leave it shut down somewhat when it reaches the coaling stage and restarts out past 12 hours have been pretty eady.

I wish they made my stove in a prettier color but other than that it has been a great choice for our family.