Lopi APG Pellet Stove

[The Maine Stove Guy]

I'm interested to know what people think of the Lopi APG Pellet Stove. We have sold a few but not enough to get a consensus about likes and dislikes of the model. I have a few thoughts about it myself but I don't want to contaminate any opinions so I'll hold my thoughts back to see what feedback I get.

READY...SET....GO!!

 

[Don2222]

Hello

My service tech said there were initial problems with the top auger that runs the horizontal discs jamming and not cutting thru the pellets. There is a stronger updated auger motor now. I also heard sharpening those discs helps too. Other than that they put out really good heat and the air wash system works very well as the window can stay clean for a week easily!

How about the service bulletins? Anything new there on the Travis site?

 

[The Maine Stove Guy]

There's nothing new on the Travis site. We did the new Auger upgrade on our showroom stove which kept jamming, we'll see how it does this season. I'm hopeful with this stove, I really want to love it.

The heat exchange tubes work great, but it seems to be a very narrow width. I've had to lead customers hands in front of the center of the stove after comments that they don't feel where the heat is coming out. I have suggested they expand the area a bit or perhaps change the angle of the tubes so you can feel heat coming from a larger area in front of the stove.

I agree on the air wash...works great.

 

[Don2222]

There's nothing new on the Travis site. We did the new Auger upgrade on our showroom stove which kept jamming, we'll see how it does this season. I'm hopeful with this stove, I really want to love it.

The heat exchange tubes work great, but it seems to be a very narrow width. I've had to lead customers hands in front of the center of the stove after comments that they don't feel where the heat is coming out. I have suggested they expand the area a bit or perhaps change the angle of the tubes so you can feel heat coming from a larger area in front of the stove.

I agree on the air wash...works great.

The other point I have is that the stove is very boxy looking. Many people want an attractive stove for the living room. I had a 2009 Avalon Astoria which is very attractive. However when I removed the auger for cleaning, I found that if I tightened the auger backing plate down too much the auger would bind! I checked with the service manager and he confirmed that happens! Maybe the sheet metal is too thin now. I worked on an 8 year old ST Croix Prescott EXL and had no problems tighening down the auger backing plate bolts! So I upgraded my 4 year old Travis to a 10 y/o Harman P61 and put in the auto ignition upgrade kit! Now I have a stove built like a tank with all the bugs out by installing a brand new auto lite control board included in the kit. I also added a new door and the nickel trim kit.

The P61a is a little more boxy than the Astoria but I do like the ash pan door ceramic tile of a grist mill on the water. Travis needs to get more decorative if they keep their boxy look. The customers like to decorate their homes so something special they can do like a tile makes it more fun and pleasing to their eyes. Yes, I know customers can change the panels on the AGP to different colors but they can be painted cheaper and easier. A gold, steel or nickel trim kit is more classy and something a stove dealer can sell and make money on, more than just a different color side panel. Just my 2 cents.

 

[The Maine Stove Guy]

The other point I have is that the stove is very boxy looking. Many people want an attractive stove for the living room.

Agreed!

 

[smwilliamson]

I don't know. I have yet to really get into that stove. Same with Hearthstone, haven't had the pleasure or tearing either apart. What concerns me is that I think Travis is punting here. The Yankee Bay and Pioneer Bay were some of the finest bay windows stoves ever made IMHO. Simple. The electrical components were engineered very well and balanced near perfect for the duty and load. The simplicity of these machines was artful and very well constructed. Then they dump 'em. Looks like they put a lot of time and thought in to the AGP but I hope they didn't jump the shark. Seems like they went after a problem such as inconsistent pellet length, and waxed poetic a system that solved the issue...but pellet length isn't really such an issue that is deserves a stove design. Perhaps the horizontal feed and pellet cutter is a design diversion or a prelude of new designs to come, not sure. That stove doesn't really look comtemporary and it doesn't look traditional. While it may have some new and nifty functions I think this design was entirely hidden from the marketing dept. I just hope it sells so it can be vetted and expanded on....all of these words and what I'm trying to say is, ...it's a good try but may be totally off the mark from where technology is going and what consumers want.

 

[The Maine Stove Guy]

I don't know. I have yet to really get into that stove. Same with Hearthstone, haven't had the pleasure or tearing either apart. What concerns me is that I think Travis is punting here. The Yankee Bay and Pioneer Bay were some of the finest bay windows stoves ever made IMHO. Simple. The electrical components were engineered very well and balanced near perfect for the duty and load. The simplicity of these machines was artful and very well constructed. Then they dump 'em. Looks like they put a lot of time and thought in to the AGP but I hope they didn't jump the shark. Seems like they went after a problem such as inconsistent pellet length, and waxed poetic a system that solved the issue...but pellet length isn't really such an issue that is deserves a stove design. Perhaps the horizontal feed and pellet cutter is a design diversion or a prelude of new designs to come, not sure. That stove doesn't really look comtemporary and it doesn't look traditional. While it may have some new and nifty functions I think this design was entirely hidden from the marketing dept. I just hope it sells so it can be vetted and expanded on....all of these words and what I'm trying to say is, ...it's a good try but may be totally off the mark from where technology is going and what consumers want.

I agree. I like that they are trying to move forward with a feed system design that is more hardy and requires less frequent cleaning times but they should have run this past a consumer group or something on the appearance. Perhaps a new feed system in the Leyden would have been a better approach.

 

[smwilliamson]

What I don't understand is why they cancel one line to introduce another, maybe see how the latter is received first, THEN drop the other model.