Lopi or Pacific Energy

[Bru71]

All,
I can’t decide between the Lopi Evergreen and the Pacific Energy Super LE. Anyone have one of these stoves? I asked the dealer his thoughts, he said he sells more Lopi than PE plus the Evergreen qualifies for tax deduction.

 

[Split]

I have the PE super classic le. It's fantastic but from my own experience and others on here they burn a little hot. They breath well. Mine is also an ivory with black trim. Looks great.

 

[begreen]

Both are good stoves. I've been burning in the big brother of the Super for 14 yrs now. The Evergreen is relatively new, so we don't have a long history of comments, but it's well-made and of good quality. The main drawback is that the firebox is primarily an E/W loader unless you want to cut the splits to 12". The Super has a square firebox that can be loaded in either direction.

 

[Woody Stover]

The main drawback is that the firebox is primarily an E/W loader

I don't view that as a drawback, really. Actually I kinda like being able to load different woods at different depths front to back, and have them kick it at different stages of the burn (I mostly start my fires in the front of the box, either on coals or top-down.)
If I want to kick off the entire load at once I make a trench in the ash front to back, to get the new load burning back there as well.
If you have limited space and want to minimize the footprint of the stove, E-W might be the way to go. That's what a new-burner friend did at his small place--opted for the PE Vista instead of the Super. Remains to be seen if that's enough output but I think once he tightens the new-to-him house up, and maximizes heat movement throughout the layout, it should be OK.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The PE is a real easy breather. I don’t know how the Lopi breathes. How tall is your chimney?

 

[Highbeam]

After having both, a sideways (E/W) loading stove is a major drawback. Like, I would cross it off the list.

 

[Woody Stover]

After having both, a sideways (E/W) loading stove is a major drawback. Like, I would cross it off the list.

How so?

 

[Woody Stover]

Maybe due to splits rolling into the glass? It's a non-issue for me since the Woodstocks have andirons to prevent that.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I like loading NS over EW, but to each their own.

 

[Highbeam]

Maybe due to splits rolling into the glass? It's a non-issue for me since the Woodstocks have andirons to prevent that.

An e/w stove with a side door is not the same as a front loading sideways loader. Chuck wood in and slam the door shut quick.

I get a vote and my vote is that sideways loaders are dumb.

 

[stoveliker]

It is simply possible to load more in a n/s way. And that equates to longer burn times. Regardless of what stove and technology.

 

[Woody Stover]

An e/w stove with a side door is not the same as a front loading sideways loader. Chuck wood in and slam the door shut quick.

Unless you are reloading early on a lot of coals because you need to keep pumping out the heat in order to maintain house temp, I can see why you'd want to load quick and get out before the fire starts roaring. But you live in a mild climate so I don't see that being a requirement for you.
My stove is big enough for the heat load so that I don't have to reload until the stove is almost out if I don't want to, and yet room temp only varies a couple or three degrees. Now, in cold, windy weather, I sometimes reload with more coals in the stove. But if I pull the coals forward the load still takes off under control and I have plenty of time.
You've run a Princess, a 30 NC and a Heritage, all square loaders, right? How much E-W loading did you do, or did you just default to N-S early and stuck with that? What was the E-W loading stove you said you had?

I like loading NS over EW, but to each their own.

For what reason? Maybe because you can get more wood burning quicker and cruise it in a shorter time?

 

[begreen]

It's 30º here currently and predicted to go down to 22º and it's windy. Where Highbeam lives it will probably be in the teens.

N/S loading means full stove loads. Even with andirons one needs to be aware of the top splits when loading E/W. Neither of the two stoves mentioned has andirons so it's a moot point. A full load provides longer burn time or more heat potential over a longer time. Seeing that you have loaded the Super's firebox on your sister's T5 this should be apparent.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

My EW loader was a small Century. I think it was a great little stove.

I like being able to stuff the firebox full with my NS loading. I remember having to save a wedge to hold rounds from rolling against the glass with the century. When it did happen, I never freaked out. I left it there until it was time to reload. No damage ever came of it. I got a black smudge on the glass. I got over it.

I think I could get the Century cruising much faster than my T5. It was a lot less metal, so it’d heat up fast. The lack of cladding ment it was super radiant.

I think EW loaders look nicer when burning. The ends of the logs just aren’t as aesthetically pleasing to my eye as the long grain is. I can live with this though.

 

[Highbeam]

It's 30º here currently and predicted to go down to 22º and it's windy. Where Highbeam lives it will probably be in the teens.

N/S loading means full stove loads. Even with andirons one needs to be aware of the top splits when loading E/W. Neither of the two stoves mentioned has andirons so it's a moot point. A full load provides longer burn time or more heat potential over a longer time. Seeing that you have loaded the Super's firebox on your sister's T5 this should be apparent.

Teens and howling wind. I find it much more demanding on the heating system than single digits and no wind.

The heritage had doors on the front and on the side. It was an east west stove but from the side it was easier to load full by being careful but obviously not as easy as a north south loader. With The fully east west stove logs can roll into the glass or fall out onto the hearth partially lit. A dumb design.

 

[Wildflush]

No problems here with our E/W PE Vista. No rolling logs on the glass. Fits nicely on a corner pad with tight clearances. No issues heating our 1,900 sq ft cape well. We think it was a smart decision buying it. Also was less expensive than the bigger stoves so we saved some money. There’s a great review online of a guy in Alberta with a Vista heating a larger 2,400 home in temps much lower than we have. His review was spot on.

 

[stoveliker]

I had an e/w loader before, but with a side door. The footprint is an advantage indeed. But even loading sideways one can't get as straight of a wall of wood as close to the door as one does with the butt ends of properly sized splits in a n/s loader. I go within 1/4" of the front brick, and straight up.

I like longer loading intervals, so more fuel is better. So I do not load in 15 seconds; I play some Tetris instead. The splits will catch at the front before I'm done, so gloves are needed. But the burning does not happen everywhere at once; they do light off all over the front, but when dialing down, the middle burns first, and the fire slowly moves sideways, when the middle splits are gone.

 

[stoveliker]

Back to the question though. As begreen said, apart from preferences discussed above, both seem to be solid stoves. Do what pleases the eye. One can get used to things that are only preferences.

 

[Woody Stover]

It's 30º here currently and predicted to go down to 22º and it's windy. Where Highbeam lives it will probably be in the teens.

N/S loading means full stove loads...Neither of the two stoves mentioned has andirons so it's a moot point. A full load provides longer burn time or more heat potential over a longer time. Seeing that you have loaded the Super's firebox on your sister's T5 this should be apparent.

Yeah, tonight it's cold there but how often does that happen when your average low temp for January is 37? How often are you running full loads? Maybe your house, with air infiltration and lots of windows, allows you to run bigger loads a lot of the time, I don't know.
I often see you advising folks that are worried about cooking themselves out with a particular stove that they can just burn smaller loads. I guess with a bigger house and proper measures to distribute the heat, the roast-out isn't as likely to happen.
Cat stove owners like Highbeam, stoveliker and myself have the option of loading full but just running the stove low by cutting the air, yet still burning clean.
I don't know that my SIL has ever run a full load. All I've seen her load is maybe 2/3. The longest she's ever gone is about 8 hrs, so partial loads are fine for her.
I cut all wood for three stoves, two SILs and ours, at 16". That won't fit E-W in the T5, which isn't a true square-loader. Now, I could find enough short splits to try E-W in the T5, but I haven't even started that many fires in her stove, much less loaded it E-W to try that out.

My EW loader was a small Century. I think it was a great little stove.

I like being able to stuff the firebox full with my NS loading. I remember having to save a wedge to hold rounds from rolling against the glass with the century. When it did happen, I never freaked out. I left it there until it was time to reload. No damage ever came of it. I got a black smudge on the glass. I got over it.

I think I could get the Century cruising much faster than my T5. It was a lot less metal, so it’d heat up fast. The lack of cladding ment it was super radiant.

I think EW loaders look nicer when burning. The ends of the logs just aren’t as aesthetically pleasing to my eye as the long grain is. I can live with this though.

Now, that's some refreshing input, amongst all this nay-saying.

With The fully east west stove logs can roll into the glass or fall out onto the hearth partially lit. A dumb design.

How often has anyone posted that a log rolled out on them? Not often, that I'm aware of.
Just put your gloves on, grab the flaming log and throw it back in. Nut up, no one said burning wood was for the faint of heart! 😆
Maybe the design isn't fool-proof, but the dumb operator is probably more of an issue. You split your own wood, right? You could just make some flat splits to put in front, so they couldn't roll into the glass or jump out on the floor. Problem solved.

No problems here with our E/W PE Vista. No rolling logs on the glass. Fits nicely on a corner pad with tight clearances. No issues heating our 1,900 sq ft cape well. We think it was a smart decision buying it. Also was less expensive than the bigger stoves so we saved some money. There’s a great review online of a guy in Alberta with a Vista heating a larger 2,400 home in temps much lower than we have. His review was spot on.

Another non-nay-sayer...I like it! 😏
Yes, I think price was one consideration for my new-burner friend, as was small footprint with the limited room where the stove is located.
The fact that guys like you and the online guy are heating much bigger spaces gives me hope that the Vista will do the job for my friend. He's got some air leaks to address, and 9.5' ceilings, but about half the sq. footage of you guys.
Sounds like logs on the glass isn't a problem for you, or load size either, so maybe this whole N-S vs. E-W business is a bit overblown.

when dialing down, the middle burns first, and the fire slowly moves sideways, when the middle splits are gone.

Yeah, I thought about that after posting about putting different woods at different depths, front to back in the box. Same could happen if you start the fire in the center, as I did with the N-S loading Buck 91 Bay.

Back to the question though. As begreen said, apart from preferences discussed above, both seem to be solid stoves. Do what pleases the eye. One can get used to things that are only preferences.

Right, let's try to give Bru71 some other info to aid in his decision. I saw that he's got 1800 sq.ft, open layout on one floor. So probably not gonna be a super-tall chimney where overdraft would be a concern. Not sure of the insulation/air sealing level of the home.
He's also not too concerned about the appearance of the stove, from what I saw.
One big reason I got the T5 for my SIL was its simplicity. No cat to replace, and very few moving parts with no bypass. I also liked the "floating firebox" concept..made sense to me. It's a quality stove. Hers is a 2019, so not quite the same as the new one...no EBT.
New-burner and I went to the Lopi shop, but I don't recall if they had the Evergreen. We looked at the Endeavor and Answer.
I fell in love with the grated ash-handling after I got the Dutchwest, and so I got it again with the Keystone. It makes the worst maintenance task of burning wood, dealing with ashes, a piece of cake. I got a Fireview for more heat, but then was painfully reminded what a pita is was to shovel ash. I resolved to tighten up the house so that the Keystone could handle cold weather better, and sold the Fireview to my BIL.
The Endeavor has a grate in the floor of the box, did I mention that? 😏 And I think you could cook on the step-top. I've never cooked on a stove, myself.
Quickly, run for your life! I see the ash-grate nay-sayers cresting yonder ridge, pitchforks in hand!

 

[Wildflush]

Woody Stover my family room is not that small and runs north south 26’ deep but we have an open floor plan. Stove in the corner faces the opening of the kitchen. VODA fan does a good job moving the air. The corner setup looks great and does not mess up my game wall. I’m careful how I place logs and which ones so far no rolling logs. Learned how to load correctly since I grew up with two stoves in my childhood home, an old school Franklin stove and a wood/coal stove. Granted if we had a large drafty farmhouse our needs would change. Last night I went to bed at 11:30. Loaded stove, downstairs got to 77. At 8:30 my stove had small number of coals and temp was 71.

 

[Woody Stover]

I think EW loaders look nicer when burning. The ends of the logs just aren’t as aesthetically pleasing to my eye as the long grain is. I can live with this though.

Good observation, and one I hadn't really thought about consciously, just kinda took for granted I guess.
Just now fired a fresh load of Mulberry and BL with one flat, wide slab of White Ash on top. There was a gap between the front bottom Mulberry round and the BL split slightly above and leaning against the back of the round, so I could see back into the bottom of the load a bit.. some flame back in there, fed by the ashpan housing hole, and some coaling establishing itself. Pic isn't great but you get the general idea.

Other times you can create a wall of flame coming off the front bottom split and covering the glass almost completely. Did I mention that I 💘 this stove? 🤗
Thanks, begreen, for suggesting it, those many years ago when I first came here! 👍

 

[Wildflush]

Woody Stover, that’s the Woodstock Keystone? Nice stove with great viewing area! Love the design of the Woodstocks. Saw the fish design one. Maybe down the road if we move someday 😂 Also like how they are made in NH.

 

[Woody Stover]

that’s the Woodstock Keystone? Nice stove with great viewing area!

Yep, that was another reason I sold the Fireview and kept the Keystone... for the fire view. 😏

 

[begreen]

How often are you running full loads?

Almost always. Old house with too much glass.

 

[sneefy]

I have a Lopi Evergreen (Pedestal) and really like it.

Note I don't have much frame of reference as it's the only stove I've owned, but it drafts very well for me, can be closed down to a nice slow burn, and puts out a lot of heat. The big square glass gives a very nice view as well. The ash dump and large ash pan are also really convenient.

First burn: