Attn: Lopi Experts: Inserts

[CJRages]

Here's a question for you.

Are there differences between the Lopi Revere insert and the Lopi Republic 1750 insert? The specs appear to be nearly the same - firebox size, weight, efficiency etc.

Tomorrow my wife and I are planning to check out dealers for Lopi, Pacific Energy, and Regency in Kansas City.

Here are a few local price quotes for the insert stove only, black, no accessories.
Lopi Revere - $2,700
Regency 2400I - $2,460
PE - Super - $2,267

At the moment leaning towards PE...

 

[3dogsrule]

My dealer had told me practically no difference other than the Revere had a "thicker" door, and you could get the different colored doors whereas the Republic was black-only. He quoted the Revere to be about $500 more expensive than the Republic.

Karen

 

[Pagey]

I think that 1750 is hard to beat, personally.

 

[CJRages]

He quoted the Revere to be about $500 more expensive than the Republic.

Karen

That is a little odd to me. I'm not sure a thicker door is worth $500.

Karen - how do those price quotes compare to what you've seen in Arkansas?

 

[3dogsrule]

Of the ones you mentioned I've only gotten quotes on the Revere and the 1750i, stove only, black, no fan, no nothing else: Revere was $2191 and 1750i was $1691. That includes the door, it's priced seperately. As if it's an option.

Karen

 

[CJRages]

Of the ones you mentioned I've only gotten quotes on the Revere and the 1750i, stove only, black, no fan, no nothing else: Revere was $2191 and 1750i was $1691. That includes the door, it's priced seperately. As if it's an option.

Karen

I'm sure someone could build and assemble their own door. All you need is some aluminum foil and hi temp adhesive (a.k.a. duct tape!).


I'll have to ask my Lopi dealer tomorrow about the 1750i. I'm wondering if the lady on the phone quoted me more than the stove only for the Revere insert at $2,700.

 

[3dogsrule]

One benefit that Pagey pointed out to me about the Lopi is its bypass damper; I don't know how the other two you mentioned are set up, but the Lopis have the bypass damper that you can pull open come chimney-sweeping time so that you don't have to remove the baffles and such. I'm torn between the Quadrafire 4100 and the 1750i (anybody see my current thread? help!!), but I think the Lopi is going to win just because of the bypass. Good luck shopping, hope the salesmen don't confuse and underwhelm you with little information like mine have thus far!!

Karen

 

[Fsappo]

Make sure to ask your Regency dealer if that price includes the free blower promotion that has been extended till 11/22

 

[CJRages]

I'm torn between the Quadrafire 4100 and the 1750i (anybody see my current thread? help!!), but I think the Lopi is going to win just because of the bypass

Karen

If you can fit the Quad in there, that would be pretty nice. That beast would pump out the heat! NOTE: Make sure your fireplace is large enough. My Majestic Zero Clearance FP wasn't large enough to accommodate the 3100i let alone the 4100i. You probably have already done this, but I thought I would mention just in case you hadn't. As of yesterday I thought for sure the Quad 3100i would fit until I checked the size requirements.

 

[CSCPeter]

The ashlip on the revere is straight with a trim piece added on that will match your door (brass, black, or pewter), and when you put the panels on the insert the revere have a cleaner finish around the unit with an angled stamped steel to cover up the gap on the side of the unit and the panels.
The 1750i's ashlip is just a bent piece of steel, it still does the job, just not the nice looks of a trim piece.
I just installed a revere the other day and I so enjoy the new rollers on the back of the insert to allow for it to roll into place.

 

[tickbitty]

I have been looking a lot at the Lopis too and as to the differences I take them at their word, which is that the Republic is more the "Econoline" type - retaining their Lopi quality but with a lower price point, therefore they don't get the signature Lopi door and not so many options on the trim and etc. If you read the specs it weighs a little less and I guess that could be just due to the door, but could be other components too. The Republic seems like a really nice stove though. The "round about" quotes I got for the Revere was about $2600 and the Republic about $2000.

 

[btuser]

I bought the large Lopi insert, and a friend bought the mid sized Regency insert. He saved about $300, plus I think the Regency came with a "free" blower (an absolute must with an insert). My stove is too big for the room, often overheating the area around it, where as he has a more forgiving floor plan, and can burn his stove hotter/more efficiently. I'm constantly cleaning my glass.

I like the Lopi, but for the money I can't see that much of a difference, and being the tightwad that I am would've/shouldve saved the $300 bucks. However, now that I hear there's a bypass damper maybe that's something.

 

[tickbitty]

Any other reviews yet on the Lopi 1750i (Republic) insert? I've come full circle in my search and this is looking really good to me right now but I haven't seen a lot of folks who have them yet (I understand it's a newer model so there may not be that many out there yet.) Looks like some differences between the Republic and Revere are

1) door (Republic gets a plain arched door instead of the signature Lopi door with color options)

2) Paint (Republic is flat black instead of what appears to be a sort of metallic charcoal black finish which is probably more durable

3) The simpler plain ashlip on the Repubic that someone listed above

4) Fewer options all around, I think the surround is a standard size too.

If anyone has anything else to mention about seeing one of these in person I would be happy to hear it. Are the firebricks the same, I wonder?
Both stoves have the rollers for inserting them and the clearances are pretty much the same etc. I hope the blower is the same. This stove would work with my flush hearth and has no particular R requirement for the hearth other than it being non combustible and wide enough. (Although I think I am having the flush hearth rebuilt and extended anyway.) I am still so bummed that I missed out on a perfect used Revere which was $1000 a month or two ago. Sigh.

 

[Dirtgrain]

I'm close to getting a 1750i. I've looked at both the 1750i and the Revere (not side-by-side, unfortunately). In my recall, the fireboxes look the same on the inside (excepting the ash lip as you noted). I just looked at the diagram of dimensions in both of the manuals for both inserts: (broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/TravisDocs/100-01165.pdf) and (broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/TravisDocs/100-01234_000.pdf). It appears that the Revere has something else different, on the exterior, on the side--right by the dashed line on the diagram that reads, "Fireplace Opening"--it looks like a thin sheet of metal with holes punched in it, covering the gap in what I think is the convection chamber up the side. Dimensions are exactly the same, though.

 

[Dirtgrain]

Of course, I just looked again and noticed the Revere diagram doesn't show the hood/lever for the bypass. Who knows how accurate the diagrams are, visually. And farther down in the Republic manual, side views of a diagram of it in the chimney show the sheet of metal with holes in it (but not diagrams even farther down). Last edit: at the bottom of the Republic manual, where it shows how to mount the surround panels, it shows the side convection front covers with the note "Revere only" in parentheses. I'm thinking those covers are mostly cosmetic--but I don't know.

 

[drdoct]

I have not seen the 1750i in person, but you are right dirtgrain. The Revere does have openings on the sides that does exhaust air when the blower is on. Not sure about the 1750. I love my Revere. I can't imagine not using a bypass when loading the stove. Maybe other stoves without them don't dump smoke into the room, but the Revere does when the bypass isn't open. Go ahead and get the blower though because it's a billion times better with it.

 

[kmmuellr]

I had a 1750i installed the weekend before Thanksgiving. This is my first stove. Prior I had just burned campfires, and ambience fires in the fireplace.

My dealer pointed out the differences in the door and lip, but stated that other than that, it was the same as the Revere. The installer even said that he liked the Republic better, as the thicker door on the Revere was just an add on piece.

Side by side w/ a Revere in the show room, the only differences that I saw were the door and ash lip.

K

 

[tickbitty]

Now that I have one of these (the 1750i) I can elaborate slightly on the door. Lopi now has some videos up on their website about various aspects of their stoves. On one of them the narrator describes the signature Lopi door, and calls it "the over engineered door" meaning it is extra strong and extra everything. He points out that instead of clips holding the glass in, they have a cast iron interior piece that fits all the way around the glass on the inside of the door. The Republic does indeed have just clips (or long steel pieces rather) holding the glass in. The regular Lopi doors are indeed very nice but I stuck with the econoline Republic version. Still an extremely well made stove.