Hearthstone Vs Lopi

[Awd79]

Hello gang,

New member here. I’ve had old non cat VC stoves. I am trying to buy a stove before end of year due to credits expiring. So unfortunately I need to pick something quick.

The vendor I like stocks Hearthstone and Lopi and the stoves that fit my space that I’ve narrowed it down to are

Mansfield, Shelburne, GM60

Or

Rockport or Evergreen

New home to me = Historic home 200 years old probably 2,000 or less ft2. Primary heat is cast iron radiators fired by oil boiler. When that goes which is 40 years old and at end of life I will replace with gas most likely. Drafty and haven’t found them all. Vinyl replacement windows. Blowing cellulose in attic, spray is out of budget. Will likely spray foam rim joists however. Burn currently 8 gallons a day or $500 approx a month. During winter and it’s running almost non stop.

I understand cat vs not as well as soapstone style heat vs not.

This is going in the main cooking hearth of the home. Central chimney with 4 flue and I will of course have it professionally installed. I did it myself in my 30s all set.

zone 6a southern CT and hardwood is a plenty around me.

Having an aesthetic is important. I want to see the fire 🔥 at times. I also want to consider the antique nature of my home. A super modern design is a no.

I would consider other brands but time is an issue and this is a big reputable outfit that can it done.

Thoughts?

 

[Awd79]

I should add. The above stoves meet the tax credit. Also I work from home most of the week so I can keep the stove going if need be.

 

[John Lehet]

I've never personally had any of those stoves, but I have lived in 200 year old houses in northern New England. I think you'll want the biggest heat capacity and biggest firebox you can get. The Mansfield has the biggest firebox. That will give you more heat output over a longer cycle. People do put big heat demands on Mansfields. A good chimney draw is important with modern Hearthstone stoves, is my impression, as I have seen some online complaints about smoke if the draft is not good enough. A tall-ish lined chimney. If you can't get dry firewood, it's too late to burn this winter.

I don't know much about Lopi, but they are well regarded. The ones you mention have more like a 2 cubic foot firebox while the Mansfield has 3+ cubic feet.

 

[bigealta]

If you want good looking stoves Jotul f500 could be a good fit.

 

[Awd79]

Thank you. Was leaning heavy on Mansfield for reasons you mention. I have 2 cord dry now and can get 2 more. It’s a two story chimney I would line. Is taller better for draft?

 

[John Lehet]

Taller is better for draft.
Hopefully someone with a modern Mansfield (now with cat) will chime in. There’s a frequent poster in r/woodstoving on Reddit with a hybrid Mansfield who puts a whole lot of wood through his, heating a huge house in someplace like Montana. He is u/Accomplished_fun something or other. He knows quite a bit about stoves, and of course especially the modern Mansfield. The Mansfield is good looking too.

Hearthstones though: there are complaints you can find online. They are mostly about the previous generation stoves but also the newer stoves when there are draft problems. You can also find the other camp, where everything is working beautifully and they love the stove.

 

[stovelark]

I too would lean towards the Mansfield. Its been around a long time, has went through changes over the years, but still a beautiful stove. LOPI seems to have few complaints too, the biggest one being cost, they have really went up over the past 10 years but are still good performing stoves. You'd probably be happy with either, as long as you have your dry wood. Good luck. Its really cold here in SE CT this morning.

 

[John Lehet]

While I was deciding on switching up stoves this fall I went to all the local shops. One of them settled on trying to sell me a Lopi. It seemed OK, but I was also looking at the Woodstock Progress Hybrid, hadn't bought it yet. The Lopi Answer was close-ish (can't remember specifics) to the same price as the Progress and seemed to be a lot less stove for the money. So, yeah, expensive.

 

[AsylumResident]

If you want good looking stoves Jotul f500 could be a good fit.

Is it a catalyst stove? I started looking at it and it talks a little bit about the Jotul Fusion Technology but not in great detail. How does that stove work?

 

[John Lehet]

It has a catalyst now which has no bypass. The catalyst is quite expensive if I remember right, like double or triple most other cats, but the stove comes with a very long cat warranty. If I were set on a Jotul Oslo I would find a used pre-cat version. I thought about an Oslo in this switchover, but the current model seems a bit worse than the older ones.

 

[Awd79]

I would consider the progress hybrid. I would need to find an installer. I’m going to call them the factory is a few hours from my house.

 

[AsylumResident]

I see that it is 'always' engaged. That could be an interesting stove to operate.

 

[John Lehet]

I’m getting my Progress Hybrid installed in one hour! I am so excited!

 

[Pinesmoke]

I've been running a Mansfield for 3 winters now and it's doing well. About 25' of dvl/ class A inside the house and it pulls well. If you go this way definitely put a key damper in. I'd had a couple of times I needed it too calm things down after a hot reload.

The stove can be a little cold blooded to light, I don't light top down because I don't want the thermal shock on the soapstone. During the day I will regulate heat output by fire size rather than full loads. Once the rock is hot and the cats are running it's very easy to do. They will put out heat. We went a week I single digits for highs with a furnace that wouldn't run and the girl heated the place nicely. 2000 square foot place with 10.5 ft ceilings.

If you go with one I would suggest getting a IR thermometer so you can learn the stove. When pushing hard the hottest spots are not on the stove top and can be 100-150 degree hotter than the top. You can easily over temp the stones in these spots when running hard.

We love ours. Very smooth heat and a real focal point in the room.