Looking for a small insert......

[tazz]

Hi All,
New member here and new to the pellet world as many before me. As the title says I'm looking for a small pellet insert to heat my three season porch, it does have a nice fireplace at one end of the room and the other end leads into the kitchen. I was looking for something used like the Lopi Pioneer Bay or the St Croix York although I just started looking and learning. I started looking at new inserts and just about fell over with sticker shock at what I was finding. As I've been browsing the site I know that there is a lot of experience here that can lead me in the right direction.

I was surfing Craigslist and found a Pioneer Bay Insert that was supposedly only used for three months, the asking price is $1,200. I don't know if that is in the right price range or not for one of these used. I'm open to suggestions on all others that will fit the bill for me as I really don't know what's out there, I know some of the major brands but they all seem to be out of my price range. Heck I don't even know if this is the right time of year to be looking but I just moved into my house so I guess it is. Please help guide and educate me.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[smwilliamson]

Lopi pioneer is a great stove. If it needs nothing, 1200 ain't so bad. Perhaps one of the best built bay view stoves ever made.

 

[tazz]

Is there any other inserts that I should be looking at that might be a little bit less in price. These days every penny counts when you have 2 young ones.. Maybe a refurbished unit?

 

[smwilliamson]

Check this one out. Great little stove. Could put it in front of the fireplace. This is the smallest well made pellet stove going.

http://worcester.craigslist.org/for/3970657284.html

 

[smwilliamson]

$1000

http://worcester.craigslist.org/hsh/3965678434.html

 

[smwilliamson]

Wants $1500 but its too much, $800 tops. One of the best ever made

http://hartford.craigslist.org/gms/3932310052.html

 

[tazz]

I was also looking at that Lopi listed in Sterling but I wasn't sure of it because of its age, 1999, now I know that age doesn't matter on wood stoves, I had a Vermont Casting Vigilant 1975 vintage, best stove I ever owned.

 

[smwilliamson]

The 1990's was the golden era of pellet stoves, everyone was making stoves with great American made parts,then they all went to war with each other for market share and most parts started coming from off shore, metal thicknesses became less to save on shipping, electronics all went digital to cut cost on parts...you get the idea

 

[tazz]

So what you are saying is that between the two Lopi's that I mentioned the older one would be the better buy, as long as they both check out and run well, etc.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

The Lopi is a good stove, I rebuilt one and upgraded the control panel to a new digital control panel which works well with a T-stat!
New control panel is only $200 retail

 

[smwilliamson]

You don't need the digital board provided the analog one it has works. When buyi g a stove used you want to watch it start up, run, have the blowers kick on and watch it shut down.

 

[smwilliamson]

So what you are saying is that between the two Lopi's that I mentioned the older one would be the better buy, as long as they both check out and run well, etc.

Without seeing either I can't really say which is the better buy but if the older one checks out ok, I'd go for that.

 

[Don2222]

You don't need the digital board provided the analog one it has works. When buyi g a stove used you want to watch it start up, run, have the blowers kick on and watch it shut down.

You do not need the digital board IF the old analog board works well. The stove I rebuilt worked much better on the low heat settings with the new digital board with the updates they found! Also the potentiometers (knobs) can develop flat spots which mean they do not work on some dial settings. If you want to check for flat spots you can remove the panel and put a Ohm meter on the potentiometer. Then turn the dial and make sure the meter does not go to zero or infinity as the knob turns.

 

[smwilliamson]

Or the board works just fine....I have found in all my years that the stoves often don't need parts or upgrades but love and understanding. If they do need a board, it's $168 which is a good price.

 

[tazz]

So I ended up getting the Lopi that was $1200,although I didn't pay that for it. The other Lopi was already sold by the time I had called on it. I spent about an hour or so checkingit out and it seems to run fine but it is kind of hard to test it in this heat. I don't know if I believed him about only using it for 3 months though, looks well used but then again I really don't know anything about pellet stoves so........ I know, you don't have to tell me, if there are no pictures it didn't happen, as soon as I get it cleaned up and a little touch up paint on it I'll snap a few. Now all I have to do is everything else, get a chimney liner and a whole lot of pellets.

 

[Don2222]

So I ended up getting the Lopi that was $1200,although I didn't pay that for it. The other Lopi was already sold by the time I had called on it. I spent about an hour or so checkingit out and it seems to run fine but it is kind of hard to test it in this heat. I don't know if I believed him about only using it for 3 months though, looks well used but then again I really don't know anything about pellet stoves so........ I know, you don't have to tell me, if there are no pictures it didn't happen, as soon as I get it cleaned up and a little touch up paint on it I'll snap a few. Now all I have to do is everything else, get a chimney liner and a whole lot of pellets.

We like pics before the clean and touch up paint for comparison too.

 

[DexterDay]

Pics...... Or it never happened.

Congrats..

 

[tazz]

Now for a liner, I have been doing some research on them and have studied the Lopi manual. I see some of the recommendations from where to buy from so that should be ok but what I'm curious about is if I can run a flexible liner all the way to the top, my chimney is standard height, maybe 15 feet. I haven't actually measured it yet, I still have to dig my ladder out. I'll try to get some pictures posted up tonight as I'm at work right now.

 

[tazz]

Oh yeah, what should I be using for paint for this?

 

[DexterDay]

Stove Bright makes many different colors. You can paint to match the room.

I like Satin Black. I've used metallic black too, but like satin better

 

[tazz]

So I finally got some time the other day to get the stove out of the back of my Blazer and install it. I still have to paint but that's OK, all the parts that need paint come off without moving the stove. Here are some pictures, so yes it did happen.

 

[bill3rail]

Best of luck to you!
You will enjoy it, and shortly, you will start leaving your kitchen door and any windows on the porch open to allow the heat into the house.

Bill

 

[tazz]

So I have been runningt he stove for a week now and all I have to say is wow what a great little unit. I had a little learning curve with it but no problem. I am going to have to take apart the air control mechanism because it is really difficult to move and I am going to put in a CAI to help push air up to my second floor.
I tried a bag of the Ace pellets and I really didn't like them, a bit more of ash than I think there should have been. Then
I went to Lowes and got 4 bags of the Somerset, I used one and a half bags and had so much ash that I had to clean the stove. I know that they work well in some stoves but definitely not this one. I ended up taking my buddies advice and went and got a ton of Turmans and I couldn't be happier, 5 bags in and there is a lot less ash than bag and a half of the Somersets, actually about half of the ash.