I am looking for quadra fire 4100i feedback/ pros/cons

[PaulyV]

Just saw a quadra fire 4100i today. I have read about them and understand that they are a quality stove. I would like to know about realistic burn times, air wash for the glass, etc..any information is good information. I am into this about 2 months now...lol..my wife would like me to pull the trigger. I am leaning towards the Lopi Freedom as I have owned one 8 years ago. I enjoy the look of the Quad...its kind of my compromise to my wife as she Loves the Hampton HI300.
Let the comments begin!

 

[Hogwildz]

Just saw a quadra fire 4100i today. I have read about them and understand that they are a quality stove. I would like to know about realistic burn times, air wash for the glass, etc..any information is good information. I am into this about 2 months now...lol..my wife would like me to pull the trigger. I am leaning towards the Lopi Freedom as I have owned one 8 years ago. I enjoy the look of the Quad...its kind of my compromise to my wife as she Loves the Hampton HI300.
Let the comments begin!

Did you look through the reviews. It won't complete your decision, but may help narrow or inform about things your looking for out of your purchase.
try this link, not sure it will work or not. https://www.hearth.com/ratings/all.php
Just scroll down to the Quad section

 

[elkimmeg]

The quad is a quality stove but I would go with what pleases your wife. You are going to own the stove a long time. I have learned when one gets wife approval
thats the one to go with The Hampton too is a quality stove both are quality. Go with the one your wife wants the difference is a toss up in quality. You will not hear years of I told you s thad as the credit card ad proclaims that is priceless

 

[PaulyV]

Hogwildz...not very many good reviews on that site towards the 4100i., alot of 3100i customers complaining about the glass.. The Hampton issue with me is the 2.3 cubic foot fire box. I want to be 2.5 plus. . Freedom is 2.9cuft there fan is noisy as hell tho. Elk...great answer...i bet your wife reads the posts here.... ;-)

 

[elkimmeg]

about fire box size one the total area is not utilized air is needed to circulate around the splits Wood quality and how you stack it can be more inportant.
I think either one can achieve an 8 hour productive burn.

My wife does not read or visit this site. The longer you are married, you will appreciate presonal space. For me that time is past 30 years

 

[Hogwildz]

Hogwildz...not very many good reviews on that site towards the 4100i., alot of 3100i customers complaining about the glass.. The Hampton issue with me is the 2.3 cubic foot fire box. I want to be 2.5 plus. . Freedom is 2.9cuft there fan is noisy as hell tho. Elk...great answer...i bet your wife reads the posts here.... ;-)

" That" site is this site LOL.
I was considering the Quad also, was looking at the 5000i, I read alot about the side windows on the bay not having the air wash and getting sooted up.
When I checked the dealer nearby, well for me nearby is 20 miles. He didn't have in stock. I then looked at the Avalon Olympic, 3.1 cf firebox.
The RegencyI3100: 2.9 cf and the P.E. Summit: 3.0 cf, you already know which I went with.
My problem was, I went to every dealer of any manufacturer in a 30 miles circle of my house, even a coupkle 50+ miles away. None really knew the products they were selling, other than the pellet stoves & such. When it came to the inserts, they had to look through the manual to answer my questions generically. A few were def shysters.
Even the P.E. Summit dealer just didn't know alot. I answered more of my own questions through research and got better answers on here from these guys than from the dealers round here. I was leery of the dealer I purchased my Summit from. But I decided I wanted the P.E. Summit, and If I gotta deal with a dealerthat didn't know alot about certain products they sell, at least I'm going to deal with one closer to me, than one 50+ miles away. So I demanded my Summit and got it. Now I asked for my liner pricing from same dealer, that was 2 weeks ago, no prices ever given. He got my chunk for the Insert and now I'm just a memory. Thats ok, I ordered it online, prolly cheaper and get here sooner anyways. I have no faith in the dealer I bought my Summit from. That is @#$!@#@ sad, but thats the way it is.
In my opinion, not to knock dealers, but both the manufacturers & some, not all dealers need to be more in tune with and better back their products!
Its sad when I can read up about several inserts brand, models etc. And I know more about them then the dealer I am asking for info on them about.
Is it all about the almighty greenback these days? This is not directed towards dealers on this forum. I don't know you guys as far as dealings, therefore don't lump you in with the ones in this area. Anyone that operates like these clowns in my area, I can only wish the karma comes back around onto them.
Wow did I just rant? Sorry bout that.

 

[Hogwildz]

I say compromise with your wife on one you both like. Why bow down to your wife wants or her to what you exclusively want?
There is always a compromise. And surely one you both can agree upon. I just aint one to let my ol lady wear the pants in the family.
I'll compromise, but it can't always be her way. Ut uh not gonna happen, not here anyways.
You keep doing that, and she will always want her way. I would never deal with 30 yrs of that.
I'll be more than fair, but ain't giving in on everything.
But thats just me.
After all as Elk stated, do you want to listen to her about it for the next ?????? years.
And does she want to listen to you about it for the next???? years.
If you both agree, then its mutual enjoyment, or mutual fault LOL.
Good luck on that one bother.
I pay for and do all the work on this house, ain't married. I wanted my Summit and got MY Summit.
If the ol lady don't like it, too bad LOL. She knows where the door is, and is free to leave at any time.

 

[PaulyV]

15 years here..somtimes feels like 30+ Elk. I dont need to get into my life but lemme say, I have plenty of personal space, or else Mr Man gets a bit antsy. Thats fully expected and respected around here, thats how it is. Anyway, the end decision is made by me. ..I'm off to check out one more dealertoday and will make MY decision by Friday. Maybe I'll just blow the dust off the Schrader in the garage and drop it in the hearth... :ahhh:

 

[yukiginger]

Fist-o-Fury,

Where to start? I have a Quad 4100i purchased and installed in March ’05. I also have a Lopi Endeavor in my basement which has just replaced a Lopi Answer (both bought used). Both have their qualities. The 4100 has a 2.47 cu. Ft. box and the Endeavor a 2.2 I believe, but I find that the 4100 holds a lot more wood, and front to back loading for 18” pieces are no problem. I find the Endeavor takes the wood sideways, unless the splits are under 16”. I see that the Lopi Freedom reportedly takes a 24” piece. Is this front to back? That would be important to me.

My house is a bit over 2600 sq. ft. and the Quad insert heats it respectably (western NY) although I wish I had tried to fit the 5100i, which is bigger. I keep two rooms upstairs closed off as they are not currently in use, so my square footage is significantly reduced. Your post does not indicate the size of your house, your layout, or whether you aim for primary heat from the unit, and this all makes a difference.

The brick in the Quads is the lighter, pumice brick. I already need to replace three bricks in mine and just ordered those yesterday. My rheostat is also acting up but that will be replaced under warranty. The ash lip above the blower sometimes vibrates when the insert gets to a certain temperature and therefore makes some annoying noise but this usually goes away after a couple minutes. The service has been very good from my dealer. I happen to think that the 4100i with the cast surround (which I have) is the most aesthetically pleasing unit on the market, but there are others that I like, and of course your opinion (and your wife’s, may vary). One thing is for sure, when spending that kind of money you want to get what you are going to like looking at for a long time.

The airwash on the Quad is very good. I just clean the glass every time I clean out ash. Low fires and when your splits are right up near the glass will cause more sooting. Lopi and Quad both seem really good. I do advise you go with a large unit. If you read enough posts here I think you will see that manufacturers all pad their estimates, so I say step up if you can in terms of the rated heating size of the unit.

Burn times from full load to just enough coals to restart would probably be 6-8 hours, although I have not tried a full load of really dense wood like oak. One nice thing about the air control is that with the main air control all the way closed you will still have a slow burn. I find with the Lopis (older units that I have owned) you need to find the placement of the air control that works best, as when you close it down it chokes off the air completely (which can also have its benefits, I know).

Feel free to ask any more questions.

MarkG

 

[Jay H]

Hmm, I have a 3100 and I haven't had much problems so far with my glass. It is kind of frosted on the sides but I cleaned it once and now that it's somewhat colder and I'm having larger fires, the glass on my 3100 Millenium is clean. Been running my stove as primary heating for my small 1100sf expanded ranch with my 2 small bedrooms upstairs closed off.

Jay

 

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

The 4100i was the insert I fell in love with when I first started insert shopping; it is beautiful. The dealer who carried it though, said it was too large for my 2500 sq ft house and recommended the 3100i which I didn't care for at all and was not sure it would be large enough. They based their recommendations on their knowledge; you know the 'because we know our stuff' which always starts a warning light flashing in my brain. I like reasons behind recommendations, not a bunch of hot air. Another thing I didn't care for was the ceramic baffle, just wasn't sure I wanted to deal with it.

Then I ran into my local Lopi dealer. Had been shopping around for a year, not sure how I missed the guy. Liked him right off the bat; gruff old fellow, used to be a chimney mason, to the point, no messing around, checked out my house and chimney. We ended up with the Lopi Freedom which I have installed as extended as it will go and without a blower. Dealertold me to try the Lopi for a season without the blower, they are built to work without one and in our set up a blower really wouldn't do us much good; just make a bunch of noise. We use an Ecofan on the Freedom instead combined with an almost silent small black corner fan to get air movement. The Lopi stoves are simple and efficient, no frills.

The Freedom is tapered so it fits a 24" log side to side in front or a 16" log front to back. We are on the third season with ours. I researched it, bought it, installed it and run it. I am very happy with my choice and I love my dealer.

Dealer support is really important, so when shopping, check out the dealer as well as the stove.

 

[burntime]

I have the hampton and can tell you that using oak when it was about 5 degrees out in Wisconsin last week that I had no problem packing the stove about 3/4 at 9:30 and the blower still giving off heat at 6:30. I left it on the auto setting to shut down when the stove would get too cool. Still lots of hot ash in the morning, granted it was not the heating inferno when I packed it but it was definitly doing its job. Look at the quad vs the hamton...the hinge, the weight, I went with the hampton and I am rally glad I did

 

[yukiginger]

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier reply was that in the latest literature and website description I saw from Quadrafire on the 4100i they called it a cast iron insert. This is really faulty advertising as the only cast piece there is is the removeable top plate that protrudes at the top front of the insert. If you get the cast iron surround trim then there is a little more cast iron but that doesn't even get warm. Calling the unit cast iron is just false.

Just thought I would point that out in case an interested buyer could not inspect it in person.

MarkG

 

[begreen]

I see a lot of steel stoves described as cast that only have a cast facade or cast wrapper around the steel stove. Bugs me a little too.

 

[burntime]

I think its the best of both worlds...steel bog so nothing to rebuild yet the face has old world craftsmanship of cast. Again, I almost bought the Quad 4100 and ended up with the hampton hi300. Either way I don't think you can go wrong...I seem to remember thtat the btus were the same and the fireboxs were either identical or close. I just really enjoy the porcelien face of the hampton.

 

[PaulyV]

I believe the stove weights are also much different. The quad feels really light and I was aware of only the top above the door being cast. An update to my choices are...Lopi elite 33 or the hampton HI300, really...i'm serious, thats my final answer....yup..I did not know that the elite was an insert...saw one inaction last night...what a burn..my wife an d I were mesmerized at the dancing flames no where near a log.....it was amazing and seeing a flush mount was a nice option, with the hammered surround, very nice. The dealertold me I needed 21" deep back to front opening of fireplace..., he said to measure from the back wall 21" high and from that point 21" to the front opening. My back wall of the fireplace just starts to taper in at this height and I am measuring 21.3/4" from that point to the fireplace opening. You guys still with me on this?? Assuming that the stove aligns with my flue at this point I may be ok, if I need to pull the stove out a bit , there goes my FLUSH MOUNT STOVE! I will be in front of the opening by maybe 1.5"- 2.5" depending on how the stove lines up. The surround is 1.5" thick I may have a gap between the surround and my brick. Aestetically I can perhaps make a new surround , Anyone think this will affect performance if the surround is not flush? I dont believe it will. Suggestions...

 

[jldunn]

I've got a quad 4100i. The airwash works great by me, even the side windows stay clear when I'm burning. I wipe the windows with a damp sponge maybe once a month. If I let it go out it soots up pretty good, but even if I don't clean it a good hot burn usually cleans the windows right off.

I'm able to keep it hot enough to keep the fan turned on for 8 to 10 hours fairly consistently, so I'd say burn times are good. I've got about 2000 square feet poorly insulated, and kind of wish I'd gone for the 5100. I can get only get into the low 70's in the house heating with it, nothing like the 80's I hear on other peoples posts.