I think going over the whole system before making any decisions is wise. You may still end up wanting to replace it but honestly you should have gone over everything before striking the first match. I mean you have no idea how it is installed or how it was maintained. How can you feel comfortable burning in a system like that
I do have a ceiling fan in the middle of the big cathedral portion. I've got a infrared thermometer as well as a camera. Right now I'm not as concerned with the heat output as I am with burn times. I'm not trying to optimize for a comfortable house right now, I'm just trying to get it to burn clean for as many hours as I can. If the heat is insufficient, the gas furnace can take over. My main goal is to just determine what kind of burn time I can get out of it. If I can't get it to go overnight, I'll never be happy with it, and I'll know it's time for a Blaze King.
I confess I am usually a control freak like that, but as part of our purchasing process the wood stove was fully inspected and cleaned by a professional. In light of that, I don't think saying I have "no idea how it was installed or maintained" is completely accurate or relevant. I've also got a lot on my plate here. There's 5 buildings on 3.6 acres with 3 wood stoves. There are some other construction projects in the works that are taking most of my focus at the moment, not to mention the property damage from the wildfire and subsequent rains/erosion/flooding. The house was also vacant for 1.5 years, and I'm dealing with freeze damages to the plumbing systems outdoors and trying to get this place properly prepared for winter. The fire also damaged the water/well systems, and it's been a long road getting "passable" water here that met all the enforced standards.
If you had it inspected you should have a report with answers to all of the questions I asked. But honestly if they didn't pull the baffle and bypass down to clean it I would have to question the quality of their work
Agreed, I won't be calling them again. It was one of those "the realtor has a guy for this" deals. I probably didn't get my money's worth here, but at least we got the house. It's a tough market on the west coast, so you gotta get everything done FAST around here. Our old house sold in 5 days with 6 offers over asking price.
How long did you say you were getting for burn times? We used to get enough coals in our 2.2 cubic foot Lopi Revere for a relight in the morning, but our basement temp (where the insert was located) had dropped. Now with our 2.5 cubic foot Enviro Kodiak, we get very easy overnight burns. It seems like we gained more than .3 cubic feet. Last night for instance (lows in mid thirties), I loaded two big cedar splits and three small (as in less than 3 inch diameter) oak branch wood pieces at about 9:30. There was a nice bed of coals at that time, too, so I was able to shut it down pretty soon with a nice secondary burn. At 6:30 this morning there were deep glowing coals, and the blower was still running.
If I'm trying to keep a steady heating cycle going, I'm pretty much loading every four hours. I've gotten coals to stretch out to the 6 hour mark that I could've done a relight with. Even that would only get me 5 hours of unattended time though. I think you're right about all the geometric challenges between my wood and my firebox. They don't seem like they were a match made in heaven. I'm gonna bring the axe up onto the back porch so I can start customizing some splits and get better at playing Tetris here. I'll see if that makes it better. Still, I lack confidence that this Lopi will ever be hassle-free enough for me, compared to the BK I'm used to. It's funny, since so many people tend to think that catalytic stoves are a hassle. I'm squarely on the other side of that fence.
Your gas furnace data was very interesting. I think it's also telling that even though you've historically been happy with woodburning, you're not really doing it now because it's too much of a hassle. When you say that you don't want to/can't "start new fires twice a day," do you really mean doing cold starts because your previous load has burned out, or do you mean that you don't even want to reload on hot coals twice a day? If it's the latter, you'd better save up for a Princess Insert because you really won't be happy without that thermostatic control to extend the burn.
Thanks for the insights. I don't mind simply loading a stove twice a day, but right now with the Lopi, if we wanted 24/7 operation we'd probably have to load it 4-6 times a day, or start new fires twice a day. If I'm really careful about the loading and getting the air set just right (big challenge with an open loop control system) I can rekindle after 6 hours. I think I'd be looking at a really cold firebox at the 8 hour mark.
You will never be happy until you replace the setup with your beloved BK.
My buddy's princess insert needs loaded more often than my freestanding Ashford did, but it was still pretty decent. He also had an older, draftier home that he's heating from the basement, and he's not as concerned about moisture content as I am. Being dependent on a blower pretty much shortens the burn times by default. I used to hassle him about his burn times, but now the shoe is on the other foot and I'm sure he's living every minute of it.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a knowledgeable Lopi employee on this forum, as we have from BK...
The lopi is a very simple stove we are perfectly capable of helping but we need lots more info
