Lopi Liberty Wood stove Poor Heat Output

[LAndrim]

Hi All, Been a woodstove burner for 30 years, new to Lopi, however. My new Lopi Liberty stove is a BIG disappointment in terms of heat output. Any suggestions? I only used seasoned hardwood, let the cat thermometer get to about 800 before closing the damper, but even then the output is just not that good! No leaks at door, piping is perfect...I'm scratching my head. Had a Lennox Country Canyon for years and it would heat the room in less than an hour! Any help would be very much appreciated!

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Just because everyone else is going to want to know. How do you know your wood is seasoned? How do you measure MC content and/or when was your wood cut, split, and stacked?

 

[LAndrim]

Three yrs old, stacked with plenty of air around. 9% on moisture meter

 

[Sealcove]

Hi All, Been a woodstove burner for 30 years, new to Lopi, however. My new Lopi Liberty stove is a BIG disappointment in terms of heat output. Any suggestions? I only used seasoned hardwood, let the cat thermometer get to about 800 before closing the damper, but even then the output is just not that good! No leaks at door, piping is perfect...I'm scratching my head. Had a Lennox Country Canyon for years and it would heat the room in less than an hour! Any help would be very much appreciated!

Cat thermometer? The Liberty isn’t a catalytic stove, or is there a new version that is? I run a Liberty NexGen here in Maine that was new in fall of 2021 and I am heating a little less that 2200 square feet. 100% of my house heat is off the liberty unless I am away. I have a very open floor plan and a pretty modern house, but the Liberty will easily overheat my entire house until it is windy temps are single digits or colder. Zero issues getting it to pump out copious amount of heat. Most of the time unless it is at the tail end of a burn cycle, I run the stove top temp around 600-650F. Right now in the shoulder season I am heating the whole house on small softwood fires without issue, but it’s only around freezing at night with highs around 40.

The first question is about the cat reference. Also what is the stove top temp looking like through your burn? On my stove, I go to about half throttle on the air control just as soon as the fire is burning well and he chimney is clearly pulling. Then I keep inching it to fully closed about the time the top hits 650F. I have a chimney damper, but rarely use it unless it is windy and I have a very hot load that needs extra help slowing down.

 

[weee123]

Three yrs old, stacked with plenty of air around. 9% on moisture meter

On a fresh room temperature split or on the outside? I live in the same area as you and my wood after 3 years is no where near that dry

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Three yrs old, stacked with plenty of air around. 9% on moisture meter

That reading is suspect but 3 years split should fix about anything. How are you operating and loading the stove? Packing it to the gills and doing a top down fire?

 

[LAndrim]

Cat thermometer? The Liberty isn’t a catalytic stove, or is there a new version that is? I run a Liberty NexGen here in Maine that was new in fall of 2021 and I am heating a little less that 2200 square feet. 100% of my house heat is off the liberty unless I am away. I have a very open floor plan and a pretty modern house, but the Liberty will easily overheat my entire house until it is windy temps are single digits or colder. Zero issues getting it to pump out copious amount of heat. Most of the time unless it is at the tail end of a burn cycle, I run the stove top temp around 600-650F. Right now in the shoulder season I am heating the whole house on small softwood fires without issue, but it’s only around freezing at night with highs around 40.

The first question is about the cat reference. Also what is the stove top temp looking like through your burn? On my stove, I go to about half throttle on the air control just as soon as the fire is burning well and he chimney is clearly pulling. Then I keep inching it to fully closed about the time the top hits 650F. I have a chimney damper, but rarely use it unless it is windy and I have a very hot load that needs extra help slowing down.

Hi Sealcove, Yes, it is a Liberty catalytic combustor stove. Per Travis Industries instructions, I get the temps anywhere up to 800 to1200 on the cat thermometer , then close the damper, let things settle a bit and close the air intake bit by bit as you do. I can see the secondary burn from the cat, but in terms of temperatures in the room, not so good.

 

[LAndrim]

Cat thermometer? The Liberty isn’t a catalytic stove, or is there a new version that is? I run a Liberty NexGen here in Maine that was new in fall of 2021 and I am heating a little less that 2200 square feet. 100% of my house heat is off the liberty unless I am away. I have a very open floor plan and a pretty modern house, but the Liberty will easily overheat my entire house until it is windy temps are single digits or colder. Zero issues getting it to pump out copious amount of heat. Most of the time unless it is at the tail end of a burn cycle, I run the stove top temp around 600-650F. Right now in the shoulder season I am heating the whole house on small softwood fires without issue, but it’s only around freezing at night with highs around 40.

The first question is about the cat reference. Also what is the stove top temp looking like through your burn? On my stove, I go to about half throttle on the air control just as soon as the fire is burning well and he chimney is clearly pulling. Then I keep inching it to fully closed about the time the top hits 650F. I have a chimney damper, but rarely use it unless it is windy and I have a very hot load that needs extra help slowing down.

On a fresh room temperature split or on the outside? I live in the same area as you and my wood after 3 years is no where near that dry

Hi Weee123, I have a guy who I buy wood from who dries it in a huge barn for year; I then keep it outside for 3 years, and I consistently get about 8-10 on my moisture meter. It is VERY dry

 

[LAndrim]

That reading is suspect but 3 years split should fix about anything. How are you operating and loading the stove? Packing it to the gills and doing a top down fire?

Pretty much operating per Travis Industries instructions. I start off slow, get a good draft going, then build up to a full firebox, and yes, top down. When temps reach 800-1000 on the cat thermometer, I close the damper and the cat kicks in. Just don't understand why I'm not getting the heat output that was advertised and that I see on other Lopi users. I'm stumped.

 

[EbS-P]

Pretty much operating per Travis Industries instructions. I start off slow, get a good draft going, then build up to a full firebox, and yes, top down. When temps reach 800-1000 on the cat thermometer, I close the damper and the cat kicks in. Just don't understand why I'm not getting the heat output that was advertised and that I see on other Lopi users. I'm stumped.

Describe the venting system total length and any elbows. How long is a fully loaded stove burning? What is cat temp while cruising? Do you have stove top temp?