New Lopi Liberty (2020 NextGen)

[Sealcove]

I replaced my stove this week with a new Lopi Liberty. It takes the place of a well used 2008 Jotul F600, that I may hold onto and rebuild. The Liberty is installed, I did the break in burn last night, but obviously it is much to early to share a full opinion yet. I can say that I am very pleased with the build quality, and I had enough time with the break in to see how well the bypass works for reloading, and generally how well the stove burns (excellent on both counts). I can also say that I am going to appreciate the large front door for ease of loading (rather than trying to get a good load into the side door of the F600). I also love the firebox dimensions in that it can easily handle 18"+ loaded north/south and pretty much anything loaded E/W.

It looks like a bomber stove with some nice updates with the new version. The first burn left me feeling very positive, but will of course see how it performs when we get to winter and report back.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for posting. That's good information on the new Liberty. It continues a long tradition as the flagship big Lopi. I didn't know it could handle an 18" split N/S, thought the limit was around 16". How far in front of the firebrick does an 18" split hang?

Keep us posted on how it heats over the winter and post a review in the Ratings section if you get a chance.

 

[thewoodlands]

I replaced my stove this week with a new Lopi Liberty. It takes the place of a well used 2008 Jotul F600, that I may hold onto and rebuild. The Liberty is installed, I did the break in burn last night, but obviously it is much to early to share a full opinion yet. I can say that I am very pleased with the build quality, and I had enough time with the break in to see how well the bypass works for reloading, and generally how well the stove burns (excellent on both counts). I can also say that I am going to appreciate the large front door for ease of loading (rather than trying to get a good load into the side door of the F600). I also love the firebox dimensions in that it can easily handle 18"+ loaded north/south and pretty much anything loaded E/W.

It looks like a bomber stove with some nice updates with the new version. The first burn left me feeling very positive, but will of course see how it performs when we get to winter and report back.

I'm thinking our Lopi Liberty is a 2008 or 9 with the blower. Our Liberty is in the basement but does a great job if your firewood is seasoned.

We load our firewood what I call north/south or front to back, you won't get the longer burn times they have in the book but you won't worry about a split rolling onto the glass.

 

[Sealcove]

Thanks for posting. That's good information on the new Liberty. It continues a long tradition as the flagship big Lopi. I didn't know it could handle an 18" split N/S, thought the limit was around 16". How far in front of the firebrick does an 18" split hang?

Keep us posted on how it heats over the winter and post a review in the Ratings section if you get a chance.

I will be sure to report back on the stove when I have some meaningful experience, and will post a proper review after winter.

I just measured the N/S dimension. There is 19.25" or a little more from the back of the metal lip on the front bottom and the rear firebrick. So very comfortable room for 18" and that leaves even more room over the lip to the glass. The lip looks to be 1.33" or more, so technically one could load 20" pieces N/S and still not be touching the glass. 18" should be ideal for that orientation.

 

[Sealcove]

I'm thinking our Lopi Liberty is a 2008 or 9 with the blower. Our Liberty is in the basement but does a great job if your firewood is seasoned.

We load our firewood what I call north/south or front to back, you won't get the longer burn times they have in the book but you won't worry about a split rolling onto the glass.

With my F600 I tended to do a bit of both orientations. N/S to get it hot and then E/W when packing for overnight burn. Will see how that works out with this stove.

Thumbs up on good wood. Pure hardwood here, mostly beech, ash and oak. Always seasoned a minimum of 1.5 years after it is split before it hits my stove. Usually it is 2+ with nice low moisture content.

When I first started burning seriously for heat, about 25 years ago, I did one winter with less than optimal wood. It was supposed to be seasoned, but it was unacceptable. Vowed to never be behind on wood again. Had enough from that load to cover the next winter when it was seasoned, and have stayed 2 season or more ahead ever since.

 

[jmb6420]

I replaced my stove this week with a new Lopi Liberty. It takes the place of a well used 2008 Jotul F600, that I may hold onto and rebuild. The Liberty is installed, I did the break in burn last night, but obviously it is much to early to share a full opinion yet. I can say that I am very pleased with the build quality, and I had enough time with the break in to see how well the bypass works for reloading, and generally how well the stove burns (excellent on both counts). I can also say that I am going to appreciate the large front door for ease of loading (rather than trying to get a good load into the side door of the F600). I also love the firebox dimensions in that it can easily handle 18"+ loaded north/south and pretty much anything loaded E/W.

It looks like a bomber stove with some nice updates with the new version. The first burn left me feeling very positive, but will of course see how it performs when we get to winter and report back.

I've got it's little brother, an Endeavor 2020. If the Liberty performs like my Endeavor did last winter you'll enjoy it. It kept my house warm all winter without the heater kicking on even once. My house is a ranch about 1850 ft2 and temps got down to 14 below. It was a workhorse. Good luck with yours and keep us posted.

 

[thewoodlands]

With my F600 I tended to do a bit of both orientations. N/S to get it hot and then E/W when packing for overnight burn. Will see how that works out with this stove.

Thumbs up on good wood. Pure hardwood here, mostly beech, ash and oak. Always seasoned a minimum of 1.5 years after it is split before it hits my stove. Usually it is 2+ with nice low moisture content.

When I first started burning seriously for heat, about 25 years ago, I did one winter with less than optimal wood. It was supposed to be seasoned, but it was unacceptable. Vowed to never be behind on wood again. Had enough from that load to cover the next winter when it was seasoned, and have stayed 2 season or more ahead ever since.

Our Liberty will take 16 inch firewood N/S, did I see in a video on yours that it will take 18?

 

[PaulBunyun]

I got a new 2020 Lopi Liberty this summer and this will be my first burning season with it. Coming from a Quad insert and a fireplace remodel. So far I have about half a dozen fires in it including one right now. I love it! In my opinion It has a nice mix of modern/traditional look, huge viewing window, great sized firebox, and heats my 2500 sq foot house great. It seems like it is a very high quality product. One thing I love is a video on Lopi/Travis industries website mentions there are still some pieces of their stoves that are forged by hand. So far I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[Sealcove]

Our Liberty will take 16 inch firewood N/S, did I see in a video on yours that it will take 18?

Yes and I was pretty happy to find that room in the firebox. Image below is with tape straight back to the rear firebrick. So 19 1/8" in that spot from the lip to the rear and it remains that spacing for the full width. Very comfortable room for 18" N/S.

 

[thewoodlands]

Yes and I was pretty happy to find that room in the firebox. Image below is with tape straight back to the rear firebrick. So 19 1/8" in that spot from the lip to the rear and it remains that spacing for the full width. Very comfortable room for 18" N/S.

View attachment 284620

Nice.

 

[begreen]

Yes and I was pretty happy to find that room in the firebox. Image below is with tape straight back to the rear firebrick. So 19 1/8" in that spot from the lip to the rear and it remains that spacing for the full width. Very comfortable room for 18" N/S.

View attachment 284620

That's a nice gain. This sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Enjoy the warmth of that big beast.

 

[R.C.]

I replaced my stove this week with a new Lopi Liberty. It takes the place of a well used 2008 Jotul F600, that I may hold onto and rebuild. The Liberty is installed, I did the break in burn last night, but obviously it is much to early to share a full opinion yet. I can say that I am very pleased with the build quality, and I had enough time with the break in to see how well the bypass works for reloading, and generally how well the stove burns (excellent on both counts). I can also say that I am going to appreciate the large front door for ease of loading (rather than trying to get a good load into the side door of the F600). I also love the firebox dimensions in that it can easily handle 18"+ loaded north/south and pretty much anything loaded E/W.

It looks like a bomber stove with some nice updates with the new version. The first burn left me feeling very positive, but will of course see how it performs when we get to winter and report back.

Please keep me posted on how it's going as I am considering getting the Lopi Liberty myself.

 

[stickburner]

I replaced my stove this week with a new Lopi Liberty. It takes the place of a well used 2008 Jotul F600, that I may hold onto and rebuild. The Liberty is installed, I did the break in burn last night, but obviously it is much to early to share a full opinion yet. I can say that I am very pleased with the build quality, and I had enough time with the break in to see how well the bypass works for reloading, and generally how well the stove burns (excellent on both counts). I can also say that I am going to appreciate the large front door for ease of loading (rather than trying to get a good load into the side door of the F600). I also love the firebox dimensions in that it can easily handle 18"+ loaded north/south and pretty much anything loaded E/W.

It looks like a bomber stove with some nice updates with the new version. The first burn left me feeling very positive, but will of course see how it performs when we get to winter and report back.

Hello Seoul cove do you have an update for us on the performance of your new Liberty? I'm weighing my options between a Pacific Energy Summit, Lopi liberty and the Jotul F55 V2 Carabasset.

 

[Sealcove]

Hello Seoul cove do you have an update for us on the performance of your new Liberty? I'm weighing my options between a Pacific Energy Summit, Lopi liberty and the Jotul F55 V2 Carabasset.

Sorry for the slow response, I have not been online much the last month.

The new Liberty has been performing very well for me this winter. It has not been a terribly cold one, but we have had enough windows of single digits and some sub zero nights for me to truly see how the stove performs in my space. My house (newer construction) is in the 2100-2200 sq. ft. range and is a very open floor plan, with the stove more or less in the center and a small cathedral ceiling area above directly feeding the upstairs and all bedrooms pretty equally. A ceiling fan upstairs is all that is required for great circulation, and I also use a pedestal fan downstairs to mover air around the entire first floor when it is really cold.

In terms of the stove, it has been reliable and easy to run. Started the season with 2-3 year seasoned beech, and I am now on 2 year seasoned mixed hardwood that is mostly red oak and maple. The firebox is massive, and I rarely have packed it to capacity, but it has been nice to have the room on the coldest nights. The bypass and air intake controls both work very well. The glass stays remarkably clean on this stove, and I only touch it up once or twice a week to keep it perfectly clear.

With the super dry beech, I did run into fire control issues early on. With the stove threatening to over fire even when shut down 100%. That is probably specific to my draft up a straight 30' + Excel system. I ended up adding a damper to allow more control on occasion, though I have only felt the need to use it a few times since adding.

I feel like the only small weakness on the stove so far is the ashpan. The door system is a bit convoluted and it is not the easiest pan to get out when full as a result. The pan itself is only large enough to handle 24hrs of burning (assuming fulltime winter burning). It is perfectly adequate, but it seems like it could have been made a little larger. I do worry about the drawer like system for the door seems like it could be frail over time, though it does look like all of that is replaceable. All in all the system works fine and it does seem to provide a very good door seal the way it all lines up and closes.

Not sure if there is much else to say at this point, but I am happy to answer any specific questions I did not think to comment on.

 

[Hoytman]

Can you tell us approximately how hot you ran it on average? During your coldest temps? Can you relate those how far you had to move the air control or where maybe a low burn, medium, or high burn is in relation to the control? Just wondering.

The new 2020 versions, I believe, have reverse controls than my older 1998 version. Seems I heard they were reversed anyway. Maybe not. I haven’t yet used my stove and at the moment couldn’t tell you the orientation of the controls on mine. I want to say full open air is pushed in all the way on mine, which seems counter intuitive, but I’m not sure if that’s correct or not. I just want to say for some reason the new stoves are reverse of mine. I could be wrong.

 

[Sealcove]

Can you tell us approximately how hot you ran it on average? During your coldest temps? Can you relate those how far you had to move the air control or where maybe a low burn, medium, or high burn is in relation to the control? Just wondering.

The new 2020 versions, I believe, have reverse controls than my older 1998 version. Seems I heard they were reversed anyway. Maybe not. I haven’t yet used my stove and at the moment couldn’t tell you the orientation of the controls on mine. I want to say full open air is pushed in all the way on mine, which seems counter intuitive, but I’m not sure if that’s correct or not. I just want to say for some reason the new stoves are reverse of mine. I could be wrong.

I always get the top temp up to 700F and at that point can fully shut the air intake. With my wood, the stove will perk along in the 650 to 750 range for a 2-3 hours on a good load, and then start the slow decline. I am usually still in the 400-600 range for another few hours and then a predictable steady cooldown as the fuel runs down. For me the air intake stays fully shut for the whole burn once I am around 700. Now and then I will open it up towards the end of the cycle to help burn down coals.

I really have not tried to maximize the burn with a packed firebox, but I can get a good 8 or more hours if useful heating with a casual full load.

The controls are reversed, in is minimal air and out is max air. I think this was a result of adding ash pans.

 

[066logger]

I always get the top temp up to 700F and at that point can fully shut the air intake. With my wood, the stove will perk along in the 650 to 750 range for a 2-3 hours on a good load, and then start the slow decline. I am usually still in the 400-600 range for another few hours and then a predictable steady cooldown as the fuel runs down. For me the air intake stays fully shut for the whole burn once I am around 700. Now and then I will open it up towards the end of the cycle to help burn down coals.

I really have not tried to maximize the burn with a packed firebox, but I can get a good 8 or more hours if useful heating with a casual full load.

The controls are reversed, in is minimal air and out is max air. I think this was a result of adding ash pans.

I am seriously considering the liberty myself, and will also be burning strictly hardwoods. Ash, oak, maybe the occasional hickory. I’m coming from a lifetime of non epa wood stoves and wood boilers. As the good people here are letting me know, I’m in for a rude awakening as far as my choice of wood goes. I have always cut as I burned. Dead standing meant dry enough and if it had fallen over meh, mix it with some “dry” and burn it lol. Well it’s time to update my 40+ year old earth stove. And this Lopi catches my eye and my local dealer carries them. Two questions if you have tried at all. Do you feel that this stove would function at least somewhat with marginally dry firewood while I build up my 2 year supply? And have you tried any extended burns yet? I’m regularly away from my stove 12+ hours. Do you feel there would be enough coals left to start up if the stove had a full load to start with? Thank you in advance for all the information you have already posted.

 

[Sealcove]

I am seriously considering the liberty myself, and will also be burning strictly hardwoods. Ash, oak, maybe the occasional hickory. I’m coming from a lifetime of non epa wood stoves and wood boilers. As the good people here are letting me know, I’m in for a rude awakening as far as my choice of wood goes. I have always cut as I burned. Dead standing meant dry enough and if it had fallen over meh, mix it with some “dry” and burn it lol. Well it’s time to update my 40+ year old earth stove. And this Lopi catches my eye and my local dealer carries them. Two questions if you have tried at all. Do you feel that this stove would function at least somewhat with marginally dry firewood while I build up my 2 year supply? And have you tried any extended burns yet? I’m regularly away from my stove 12+ hours. Do you feel there would be enough coals left to start up if the stove had a full load to start with? Thank you in advance for all the information you have already posted.

I can't speak to performance on less than optimal wood, but I did numerous days where I loaded the stove at 7-8pm and then did not load again for 12-14hrs hours. Granted it is not putting out much heat at that point, but there usually good coals to work with for an easy reload. Sometimes there might be enough to throw in smaller splits and go from there and others I might throw in a little bit of bigger kindling wood to help.

 

[066logger]

I can't speak to performance on less than optimal wood, but I did numerous days where I loaded the stove at 7-8pm and then did not load again for 12-14hrs hours. Granted it is not putting out much heat at that point, but there usually good coals to work with for an easy reload. Sometimes there might be enough to throw in smaller splits and go from there and others I might throw in a little bit of bigger kindling wood to help.

I ended up pulling the trigger on the liberty. We haven’t had any real cold since I put it in but several nights it got down to around freezing. So far I’m very happy with it. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted any smaller of a stove. Even this firebox just doesn’t hold that much fuel. But it is adequate. I too have managed several 12+ hour burns with enough coals to restart in the morning. I haven’t experienced any out of control burning, but I’m burning wood that was dead standing. My stove came with a moisture meter so that was cool. Dead standing post oak on a fresh split at room temperature is in the 16-18 range. I cut some ash tonight that was more like 20 and I can certainly tell the stove doesn’t like it as much. I’ll be filling my wood shed as one of my spring projects to make sure that we are good to go for next year. Overall I’m happy though!

 

[Sealcove]

I don't know how cold your average winter temps are, but for me the Liberty has more than enough capacity for 95% of conditions I am likely to see. We only had a few low single digit to sub zero spells this winter, but the stove had no issues keeping up for 8-10hrs with the normal temp swings of wood heat. Of course fuel quality, house size, insulation, windows etc, make that all very subjective.

Winter is basically over here, but I am very happy with the Liberty after season one. I decided not to deal with rebuilding my 2008 Jotul F600, and instead I am giving it to someone who will take that on and can use a good stove for their house.

 

[Deppizzymo]

I ended up pulling the trigger on the liberty. We haven’t had any real cold since I put it in but several nights it got down to around freezing. So far I’m very happy with it. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted any smaller of a stove. Even this firebox just doesn’t hold that much fuel. But it is adequate. I too have managed several 12+ hour burns with enough coals to restart in the morning. I haven’t experienced any out of control burning, but I’m burning wood that was dead standing. My stove came with a moisture meter so that was cool. Dead standing post oak on a fresh split at room temperature is in the 16-18 range. I cut some ash tonight that was more like 20 and I can certainly tell the stove doesn’t like it as much. I’ll be filling my wood shed as one of my spring projects to make sure that we are good to go for next year. Overall I’m happy though!

I will be in your boat this coming winter. We are in queue for the Lopi Liberty (our local dealer says 16-20 week wait time!) and I have just now started in on the wood piles. I am cutting standing dead red oak/white oak and also have went ahead and cut a few live silver maples/black cherry and even a couple smaller osage orange (only 6 on the entire property). I think I will be in for some ~25% moisture marginal wood by 2022 winter with some of the oak but I am holding out hope this thing will roll with it and then I will have a much better time during winter 2023. Keep me posted on how the marginal wood is working out for you haha.

 

[Prometeo]

hi, would be nice a video of burning!

 

[066logger]

I will be in your boat this coming winter. We are in queue for the Lopi Liberty (our local dealer says 16-20 week wait time!) and I have just now started in on the wood piles. I am cutting standing dead red oak/white oak and also have went ahead and cut a few live silver maples/black cherry and even a couple smaller osage orange (only 6 on the entire property). I think I will be in for some ~25% moisture marginal wood by 2022 winter with some of the oak but I am holding out hope this thing will roll with it and then I will have a much better time during winter 2023. Keep me posted on how the marginal wood is working out for you haha.

I see that you’re in Missouri too, I bought my stove from advanced chimney in Jamestown mo. Great people to deal with, they walked me through everything to get my duravent chimney built. Some places seem to frown upon diy builds but they were great. I think I just got lucky on my stove. I had a heritage Mansfield on order from back in September of 2020. No real known date as to when it would actually come in. And with everything going on in the world I decided now was the time to get a new stove instead of limping my 40 year old earth stove along another year (not that it isn’t a wonderful stove from a completely different era but the old girl has seen her share of hot fires). I called in and talked to Omie about the Mansfield and asked about the liberty, she said you’re in luck! We have one in stock. I was there the following day to pick it up 🤣. I know they have at least one more on display. I don’t know if it’s for sale or not but if you’re desperate I bet they would make a deal. As to your wood situation, yes dry wood would be ideal. And in the perfect world that some seem to live in that would be best. As for me, I’m a realist lol. I do plan to get a full year of wood in the shed drying and hopefully start on the following year but I have burned about a pickup load of wood through this new stove that has been cut just before burning. It loves dead standing post oak, that stuff measures 16-18% on the moisture meter on a fresh split. Red oak can certainly be hit or miss, some of it holds water like a sponge. But some of it if hollow dries nicely dead standing. I’m burning some tonight actually. A little trick to getting a damp load going quickly (I’m sure this isn’t approved by the safety police so use your best judgment) but just crack the ash tray door. That sucker is like a blow torch. Definitely close it as soon as you see your chimney temps coming up but it dries that wet wood right out and keeps your glass from blacking over 😁. Honestly I think this stove is easier to get going than my old stove and that’s saying something because it was always an easy starter.

 

[066logger]

hi, would be nice a video of burning!

I don’t have any luck posting videos Micro but here’s a few pictures from tonight with some red oak that’s probably at 20% or so reloaded on a nice hot bed of coals. First picture is getting everything up to temp and second is when I’m about completely closed on the air control shutting down for the night.

 

[Prometeo]

Thanks very much for posting. When I was looking at cfpub.epa.gov these Lopi products always appeared at the top, respecting the search criteria I preferred: efficiency, good firebox volume, and heat output above all. But here impossible to find and too expensive to import.
Very nice product and photos👍