Choice of 4 top loaders, which is best?

[rkymtnoffgrid]

Ok, I'm in final investagation stages before purchasing my next woodburner. I want a top-loader (tired of the the ash mess) and looking for a "beautiful" victorian type cast-iron enameled stove. Here at the choices, The Harmon Oakwood enameled (have not heard any negatives, I think its a good stove, but might be little on the small size for me.)
VC Defiant 1610 enameled (Used to love VCs, but am now concerned with quality, my medium dutchwest beltches and smokes so much when the damper is closed (effeciency mode w/ secondary combustion chamber) that I simply run it all the time now with the damper open, and no, its not a draft problem)
Quadra-fire Isle Royal enameled (I like the way the preheated air still comes in from the top despite the top load-- seams efficient, but do the dampers and tube take away from the firebox size?)
Lopi Leyden enameled(the fire box looks huge the for the size of the stove!, does that "cross-fire" work well.
Thanks for the input!!
Burning Aspen (gofer wood... always going for more)

 

[begreen]

The Quad is the biggest of the listed stoves. So if more heat is desired, go for big. Based on what folks report back, we hear very little complaints about the IR. It's a different, more conventional updraft design then the rest of the group. As for the other 3, they are downdraft stoves which can be draft fussy with some flue setups. The Harman has the least complaints of the three and has a spiffy grille option. As for the other two, look at reports of these stoves after 3 years. Repair costs can be high and occur regularly as the refractory breaks down.

 

[Todd]

Don't forget the Harman TL-300, it has a larger firebox than the Oakwood with the same features, but isn't cast iron.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Friend of mine has a lopi, but he likes my Harman -tl-300 better. he don,t like the shape of the lopi firebox as its smaller in the back than in the front, and he says the front window glass gets covered with soot often.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Don't forget the Harman TL-300, it has a larger firebox than the Oakwood with the same features, but isn't cast iron.

Isn't cast iron more prone to cracking ?The AB package is all ceramic so no problem there.

 

[rkymtnoffgrid]

Does the Lopi Leyden have an Air Wash for the glass? And does anyone have any expericence with the way the ash is handeled on the Leyden, with that funky drawer does it drop ashes under the stove when you access it? From the pictures its hard to tell how the ash pan is sealed on the Leyden. I'm also worried about the leaks as the stove ages. Also, my sales guy said the Harmon Oakwood doen't come in enameled, that the soves are painted, is that true?

 

[rkymtnoffgrid]

The TL300 is a pretty stove but it doesnt have that victorian look like some of the cast models. Unfortunately for me, it seams that with alot of the companys, the cast models don't share the depth of product development or options that the plate steel models have. I like the enameled idea because besides looks, they seem easy to clean. Are there any draw backs to cast, like cracking?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Does the Lopi Leyden have an Air Wash for the glass? And does anyone have any expericence with the way the ash is handeled on the Leyden, with that funky drawer does it drop ashes under the stove when you access it? From the pictures its hard to tell how the ash pan is sealed on the Leyden. I'm also worried about the leaks as the stove ages. Also, my sales guy said the Harmon Oakwood doen't come in enameled, that the soves are painted, is that true?

I know the Lopi has a tendency to soot up the glass , as per a friend of mine who hasa new one,and no i do not believe harman enamels their stove they just offer decorative trim kits which do a good job if its ion your living room,but they(harmans) are a good looking stove in my opinion.

 

[Jags]

Do yourself a favor and research Down Draft stove here. You might find some very interesting stuff.

The quad is NOT fussy in any way (other than needing dry wood), the ash pan works, the air wash works and the "classic" air intake for the re-burn tubes work. I'll bet more welds break/crack than cast iron parts do.

If you got any specific Q's - ask away.

 

[Fsappo]

I've used the Quadrafire in my showroom and have sold many on Long Island. Also had happy customers with that stove

 

[rkymtnoffgrid]

I think I'm leaning towards the Isle Royal, the fire that the top tubes create on thoes quads is beautifull, and it seems to have more mass to it than the others. Also, it sounds like the downdraft models will act similar to my Dutchwest stove, which appearantly is of the same nature. I've not been so happy with the way that stove "puffs" with the slightest breeze when the upper damper is closed, even with a 25' chimney through my vaulted celing. Does high elevation (10,000ft) have more of an effect on that occurance? With the isle royal, and the mechanics of how thoes tubes fold out of the way, any problems with that over time? Is there a cences on what stove is actually more efficient, the downdraft type or the overhead air type? Thanks for all the great info!

 

[begreen]

They are all pretty efficient. The difference would be minor. Reliability for the IR appears to be very good. We hear very little complaints from their owners. It was on a very short list of stoves for our place.

 

[Jags]

I really should look up my bill of sale on mine so I can get the facts straight, but I think this is season 7 or 8 on mine. The only problem I have had with mine was....naa that wasn't it...Oh, I remember.....nope, wrong again.....uhhhhh the stuff in the....nope,wrong stove. Awww never mind. I guess I have never had a problem. :cheese:

In all honesty I have heard some complain about the firebrick degrading, but it must be an issue that raised its head sometime after the production of mine, cuz I still have the original and they are in fine shape.

 

[dedgar]

I am fairly new here (a quite lurker for many months before my purchase) but I purchased a Lopi Leyden a couple of months ago and have been building small fires and 24 hour burning the past few days and I have been extremely pleased with its performance. The stove looks great and although it does not get hot fast but I have a good draft - once it starts cruisin it cranks out the heat. You do have to get a good coal bed going but I have had long fires during work and nights and can drop some wood on and a few minutes later it is burning nice.

I will say that my only disappointment with the stove is the glass does get dirty but once I get a hot fire going it will mostly disappear after about 30 minutes. The stove definitely has great looks, puts out some heat and I believe is easy to use.

 

[mikepinto65]

I cast my vote for the Royal

 

[begreen]

Isle Royale ... Jags, time to get that sig corrected. :coolsmile:

 

[Jags]

Isle Ro ... Jags, time to get that sig corrected. :coolsmile:

I just can't make myself pronounce "roy-YALE" - roy-yale - roy-yale. My tongue gets all stuck to me teeth and stuff trying to regurgitate those french kind of words.

Roy-ale - roy-ale......I'm trying man.

even the spell checker doesn't like it. ;-P

 

[begreen]

LOL. Are you pronouncing Isle - Izlee, instead of 'aisle'? Come to think of it, Izlee Royal has a pretty funny ring to it.

 

[Jags]

Nope - it starts out as "I'll", but then gets all twitterpaeted after that.

 

[karri0n]

Yeah, the IR is the way to go unless you like the grill on the Harman.

My IR has been run HARD by renters and really just has some firebrick deterioration. I couldn't tell you when it was purchased, but I've been using it 3 years with no problems.


I know nothing about the Lopi.

If that VC you're talking about is a non-cat "NeverBurn" model, it's probably better to do some reading up on the VC everburn models here on the forum before making that decision.

 

[jdinspector]

Is that a Royale with cheese? I've heard that "it's one tasty burger"!

 

[Pagey]

Is that a Royale with cheese? I've heard that "it's one tasty burger"!

English, ****er ****er! Do you speak it?!

 

[mikepinto65]

Isle Royale ... Jags, time to get that sig corrected. :coolsmile:

whoopsy, i knew it was royale but after reading the royal stuck in my brain!

 

[gasavage]

Up north in yooper territory they would call it "eel roy-al". Puts a little different ring to it

 

[begreen]

We call it a bad ass heater locally, but Quad wouldn't go for that for some reason.