I am looking to purchase my first insert and I am trying to decide between the Regency I2500 Catalytic Hybird and the Lopi Evergreen non-catalitic insert. Does any one have any experience with either of these inserts? I am looking to supplement heat. House size is approx 2400 Sqft, but not trying to heat that entire area. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Regency i2500 or Lopi Evergreen
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I am really not a fan of the regency cascade line. Between those two I would probably do the lopi.
The moving cat and the fact that the heat from the cat just goes out the flue. I am a regency dealer as well btw
Could you explain the Moving Cat comment. Also if I understand what you are saying, it sounds like Regency added the cat to increase its efficiency rating versus additional heat. --- Some of the other comments I have read about the non-cat inserts surrounds controlling the heat. This is a concern for us as the room with the fireplace is where we spend our evenings and we don't want it to be too warm. Then again I read that Cat inserts need to get to a minimum temperature before engaging the converter. From your experience would you gravitate to a Cat or non-cat unit?
In the cascades you slide the cat forward and back to act as the bypass.
And cat vs noncat really depends on the situation. For some I prefer cat others noncat
Ok. I appreciate the input. I am gravitating towards the Lopi based on the fewer things to go wrong aspects and your input that most of the cat heat is lost up the flue. For either stove, would you recommend a block plate be installed?
For any stove or insert in a fireplace a block off plate should be used for best performance. Also an insulated liner
I just had the i2500 installed in my 2100 sq ft 2 story house this March, and I used it today for the first time (besides break-in fires). I chose this stove bc the price wasn't much more than the i2450 (the non-cat version of the i2500) but included the tax rebate, so the cat stove will end up being cheaper. Like others have said, due to the cat placement, it may not provide much additional heat (if any lol) , but it is still worth it to me because of the price. So even if u never engage the cat, or it doesn't provide extra heat, you can still run the stove and get identical performance as the i2450 but for less money in the end, and if you do get longer burns/ more heat then it's just icing on the cake, plus the i2500 has a digital thermometer for the nerd in us all lol. As far as Lopis go, I've never heard a bad thing about Lopi, so if you go that route I'm sure you'll be happy also. I have to say so far I am loving heating my house with wood, it's a wonderful sense of satisfaction. This is my 1st wood burning insert/stove so I have nothing to compare it to, but I am happy with my choice so far.
I would also think that those Regency cats would be more likely to plug up being right under the flue? Not sure how easy they are to access for maintenance.
They are fairly easy to access. But between the potential physical damage caused by having the cat move and the fact that all the heat from the cat goes up the flue I just don't like the design
The evergreen is a rocksolid design that’s well proven to be durable. One of the prettiest fires to watch too!
I ended up getting the I2500. It was a little more expensive than the Lopi, but the Lopi can only take an 18" log side to side. So to reload the stove you are going to be reaching into the firebox. Also, I have some small round logs and when they are side to side they could roll against the door, so I prefer to be able to load front to back. Additionally, I got a better vibe from the Regency dealer.
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