Hello, all. Posting this for my dad. He purchased a new Lopi Evergreen. He has not been satisfied with the starting process. It takes quite awhile with the door open to get a fire going. He has decent draft, dry wood, etc. We are not new to burning wood, it’s the only heat we had all of my growing up years. That was an old Wonder Coal that we burned wood in, later dad put in a Napoleon, which I also had after I got married. Now I use a Switzer wood fired batch burner boiler. Anyway , enough back ground. He does not have the starting mechanism that they offer for that stove. We burn Osage Orange wood.
Starting a Lopi Evergreen
- Thread starter Tonty
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New stoves meeting stringent EPA requirements are super sensitive to moisture content of the fuel. Much more so than older stove designs. How long has your wood been seasoning after it was split and stacked? 1, 2, 3 years? By chance do you have/use a moisture meter? If not you may want to consider grabbing one to really see what the M/C of dad's fuel is.
You are lucky to have O.O. for wood. Top notch stuff.
The startup mechanism seems like an unnecessary gimmick to me. No offense to those who like it. Unlikely the startup issue has anything to do with that.
You will get plenty of help if you can describe in detail the entire install setup. Most importantly the entire venting system from stove collar to cap. Pictures can grease the wheels nicely here also.
You are lucky to have O.O. for wood. Top notch stuff.
The startup mechanism seems like an unnecessary gimmick to me. No offense to those who like it. Unlikely the startup issue has anything to do with that.
You will get plenty of help if you can describe in detail the entire install setup. Most importantly the entire venting system from stove collar to cap. Pictures can grease the wheels nicely here also.
Some small splits/kindling of some softwood (pine or other) or resinous fatwood should help it start faster.
Otherwise, moresnow's questions will help diagnosis.
Otherwise, moresnow's questions will help diagnosis.
I’ll see if I can get some answers to those questions. I have a moisture meter, and I think he does, also. I’ll also see if I can get some pictures.
How is he loading the firebox, E/W or N/S? If E/W, have him put a couple 1-2" sleepers down first, oriented N/S, about 4-6" apart. That will let air get under the fire. A 2x4 split in half works good for this.
Osage orange is very hard wood and harder to get going. Once it's burning it's great firewood. I have the same issue when starting a fire with locust. The solution for me is to start with smaller splits, usually of an easy to light wood in the middle (top down lighting) and the locust on the sides. Once a hot coal bed is well established, reloading with the hardwood is ok.
Tell us a bit more about the flue system on the stove. What diameter chimney is this on and how tall?
Osage orange is very hard wood and harder to get going. Once it's burning it's great firewood. I have the same issue when starting a fire with locust. The solution for me is to start with smaller splits, usually of an easy to light wood in the middle (top down lighting) and the locust on the sides. Once a hot coal bed is well established, reloading with the hardwood is ok.
Tell us a bit more about the flue system on the stove. What diameter chimney is this on and how tall?
Did your dad ever figure this out? I'm also considering the Lopi Evergreen. By the way, was the bypass damper opened when starting the fire?
Sorry I didn’t see your question. He’s got it figured out to make it work fairly decent. Yes, he would have the bypass damper open. He just has to start with shavings, kindling, and very small splits to get it up to temp, and then throw on the bigger stuff. Part of the deal is probably is that we (me in my boiler, he in his stove) burn pretty much exclusively hedge wood. It’s a great wood, really dense with a lot of btu’s, but it likes to burn hot. That makes it a little more difficult when you just want a small fire.
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