Lopi Leyden

[chad]

Hi, all!
I am looking at buying a Lopi Leyden, and am wondering if anyone has any comments on it. It is the only top loader they make, which I like but I'm not sure about top loading vs. front loading.
Thanks a lot, everyone.

 

[Shane]

I sold stoves until May of this year. Last season I installed a Lopi Leyden in the office. Top loading is really convenient and I find it to be less messy than front loading (though everyone has their own opinion). This was a brand new model last year and the three problems we had were as follows: 1.) the first stove shipped to us had something wrong with the air supply and did not operate properly. We returned the stove to the distributor and a replacement was shipped immediately. 2.) The top loading door hinge system makes noise until broken in. If you've seen the stove you know what I'm talking about. 3.) The bypass damper would not stay shut after a couple months of use. This only required a quick turn of the adjustment screw to fix. It heated quite well, good burn times as well, but be leary of the burn time claims as I did not experience the full 18 hrs or whatever the brochure says. I will qualify that statement by saying that I was burning pine splits. The stove was easy to bring up to temperature and the air controls were easy to set at different burn rates as well. Among other top loaders you may want to look at the VC Defiant and Encore catalytic or non-catalytic. Both are good stoves and the non cat can have a fan added (like the leyden)

 

[Vermontster]

Hi Chad,
I just posted to someone else asking about the Leyden. I am going to go ahead and "cut and paste" my earlier response.

I just bought a leyden, and have burned 5 fires/nights. I cannot really give a “real” review as 5 nights is not really enough to say for sure.
First, I would not want to run the stove with a screen, The fire box is tall but not deep, as you might have read by one reviewer, “ the top load is the only way to load this stove” I do not open the doors once I get the coals going.

The first 3 nights I burned the glass went black, like BLACK. the next two, it seemed to stay pretty clean.
I am hoping that drafting in the winter will help, I like to see the fire too.

Doors sticking? not yet, I hadn’t read that one. Though, the top loading door seems to have a “catch” half way during closing, I think it is supposed to do that.

My biggest concern with the stove is when I got it home, and pulled out the EPA card from inside the stove and it reads 10,700 to 34,000 btu/hr
One of the reasons for buying the stove was a rating of 73,100 btu/hr ((broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/productuide/detail.aspx?id=240#Specs)) , I sat down in shock, thinking oh boy, what have I done?
I continued going through the stoves paper work and saw a brochure for all Lopi stoves and the BTU/hr rating? try 64,300 !
I may never know the truth or what these numbers mean, though at the end of March I’ll be able to tell you if the stove can heat my house, and I guess thats all I really need to know.

I do think that the stove will have a good burn time.
I got the fan unit for the rig, I can’t imagine a stove without one now.

Hope this helps.

 

[chad]

Thank you so much for your help! We really appreciate it! Man, your place in Vermont looks cozy!

Chad and Michelle