Anyone familiar with the innards of Lopi stoves?

[pscot]

My stove is starved for air. It's not the stack, because it draws fine with the door slightly ajar. The problem has to be in the air intake, but I don't see how to get at it.

[Warpy]

1. The air intake is the Achilles heel on those things

if all the complaint pages I read are any indication.

I would call the service people who installed it and have them explain step by step what they do to regulate the sucker. It seems to change on its own from time to time, one day open wide giving a pellet blast furnace and the next barely allowing enough air to keep an anemic and cold flame going, producing pellet charcoal.

Most people on the complaint pages cite numerous service calls with no relief after the first few hours of correct burn. The relief would lie in having the customer service person show you exactly what needs to be done when the air intake decides to reset itself.

Warpy, who is glad she installed a cheap and dirty wood box heater instead of the pellet stove she originally wanted but couldn't afford.

[pscot]

2. This thing has been in use for 15 years

It's been working fine up 'til now. It's not a pellet stove, just the basic woodburning model. The only moving part is the damper mechanism. But there are some internal air passages that seem to be blocked. I just can't figure out how to get at them. I think some of the complaints I've seen are based on unrealistic expectations. Stoves are most efficient with a hot fire. If you let them smolder all night, you're just making charcoal. Creosote build-up and incomplete burning are inevitable.

[mike_c]

3. off topic but I bought a cord of desert juniper to round out my woodpile...

...this year and that stuff is GREAT. Burns hot and you can damn nearly light fat half logs with a match.

[Po_d Mainiac]

4. is the baffle plate warped??

Stick your head in and look.....not smart to do if you have a fire in it...YMMV.....the plate will unbolt...since your Cat converter probably cooked off 5 years ago, just remove it, and the plate