Star rating based on experience with Lopi "Answer" wood stove, purchased from Monroe Fireplace in 2018. Have had no interaction with local Travis folks.
The stove has proved to be an excellent source of heat, sized right for the north end of our 1500 sq. ft. main floor. Once I got the hang of it, fires are easy to start and the outside cold air feed keeps interior air from being used for combustion. Perfect!
Disappointed. I ve contacted customer service once with a question about my stove, which was expensive btw. Assuming American made would also give better customer service! Not so. The first time I was rudely treated on the phone, made to feel like my question was dumb. The second, absolutely NO callback related to a technical question after leaving a VM. I guess this is why Americans prefer Chinese-made products! Better service, equal quality.
Best place to work if you like building fire places
Best made fireplaces in the World, dreamed built and assembled in America
Purchased an Evergreen stove Sept. of 2017. Had nothing but issue, stove did not have a secondary burn. I found that the metal frame for the door seal was installed incorrectly which let air into the stove like the door was cracked open. After I replacing the gasket I found two cracks in the lower door opening, left and right. The stove burned excellent after replacing the gasket but was cracked. Travis Industries replaced my stove on Jan. 2020 but the seconded stove was way worst then the first. It had missing welds, slag all over the floor bottom where the bricks lay, and I could not control the fire do to so much air coming from the secondary tubes. I had the a technician from the company that replaced my stove out that he said Travis Industries has to look at the my stove. What are the chances that I get two stoves in a row that have to go back to the factor. POOR WORKMANSHIP! NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM TRAVIS INDUSTRIES.
I purchased the Large Flush Wood Hybrid-Fyre insert a month ago. The stove itself seems to be of great construction and I like the catalytic burn of the Hybrid option for efficiency and extra heat. The stove heats up fast with that option.
One flaw: the thermal disc located under the firebox on the right side of the stove needs to be moved. From the factory the disc had about an 1/8" gap between it and the bottom of the stove. For the disc to heat up and turn the fan on the stove must become extra hot. Then when the fan does start it cools the disc off enough to shut the fans off again. Change the disc to a magnetic mounted disc and place it under the firebox again but away from the fans and not where ash build-up will insulate the disc and prevent the fans to run.
andrewwest2003 you wrote your review a year ago so you have probably replaced your stove by now. But maybe my review will help someone with the same issue. My installer has noticed this problem on many stoves but mostly gas inserts. (read previous paragraph)
Also if you really want to heat your entire home go with a stove and not an insert. They heat the space without any fans running and having outside air for combustion makes a huge difference to not create cold drafts from the rest of the house leaking air into the home to provide combustion air to the insert. Also it seams that the majority of my heat is still going up the chimney due to no insulation around the flue liner and the fact that the old damper must be removed to properly install an insert in an existing fireplace.
Travis products are great, I used a Lopi 1750 stove for two years prior to moving and buying an insert. To do it completely over again though, I'd go back to a wood stove and forget about an insert.
I had a Travis Industries fireplace Extrordinair 44 Elite installed when we had our house rebuilt about 5 years ago. We use it to heat or supplement the house furnace. A few comments for prospective buyers . .
1. Construction. The fireplace seems engineered and built well. It s gone through probably 20 or 25 cords of firewood over 5 years.
2. Customer service. Shortly after installation I asked the dealer what would happen if the blower failed during a burn . . Does the fireplace fail-safe? The dealer did not know . . So I asked them to find out from Travis BC I would like to know if there was anything I was suppose to do. After several weeks of trying to get an answer the dealer said it must be OK. Travis won t talk to end users directly (as of 5 years ago). So, I d have to give Travis a zero on customer service. That seems consistent with other comments I ve read.
3. Maintenance. The fireplace came with very few instructions. Eg1. No explanation of how the combustion air gets into the firebox so as to be sure the air flow doesn t get impeded by ash or tar and if it does, how to clean it. Eg2. No explanation of how often to clean the catalytic converter, or for that matter how to do so, and that in order to get it out and replace it you will need some fireproof firebox packing rope (3/4 ). Eventually one figures all this stuff out, but some guidance would have been helpful.
Keeping the glass doors clean (I don t think they are actually made out of glass). When running the fireplace in a oxygen throttled state, and especially if using less seasoned wood, the glass doors will tar up in a few hours. There are several effective ways to clean them. 3 or 4 scrapers work, but are not as effective as a good quality single edge razor blade scraper (I ve found that to work best). I buy the blades in bulk (100s - GEM seems to be a good brand, and I didn t know this, but the blades seem to have an up side and down side. Install the blades with the embossed/stamped name side facing upward, away from the glass ). Also, to really clean the glass, once the firebox is cool, one can use water and ashes. Dip a crumpled newspaper in a cup of water and then dip it in ashes. Then rub the glass and the tar will melt off . . If it s not too thick.
4. Use. It performs as well as I had expected, putting out enough BTU to keep 1200 sf of our home with a lot of windows and skylights comfortable down to about 20 degF. If comes with a wire mesh screen so one could theoretically have a fire with the glass doors open. The fireplace does not draw well enough to do that without getting smoke in the house.
Overall I like the fireplace
Don Fry
Travis Industries has the worst customer service on this planet.
I purchased on of their pellet stoves that came with too many issues to list. It was a new model that cost $4,000 installed. Since it was a new product, it malfunctioned many times. Igniters were burning out every 6 months. blower motors had lasted a year.
ALL due to a design problem. They didn't stand behind their product. I spent hundreds of dollars repairing the stove AFTER the warranty expired.
Turns out that so many people had the same problems, Travis Garski the owner of the company had someone investigate the issues, and all it was is Travis Industries didn't drill the proper size hole in the burn pot.
I begged and pleaded with them for a new burn pot with the proper size hole, Their answer was NO, DRILL THE HOLE YOURSELF. OMG really.
So I went to the seller, and they were kind enough to help a Disabled Veteran with a new Burn pot from Travis.
I've had it now almost 2 years, and all the WELDS are coming apart. AGAIN another malfunction from Travis Industries.That they won't stand behind. I now went back to the seller, and Travis. Both said no replacement, but the burn pot has a 5 year warranty from the manufacture. Even thou I've had the new design for only 2 years.
Travis Industries is the worst company in the states. I would never buy another product manufactured by them.
people if your looking to buy a pellet stove STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY
Travis Garski is a BAD PERSON all he's in it for is the money. Once a stove is sold you are on your own.
How do welds fail ?
BUYER BEWARE: I bought a Lopi AGP 18 months ago. It has been in various states of malfunction for the majority of the time I have owned it. This stove is so poorly built I almost had to call the fire department when it filled my house with smoke due to an issue service still cannot figure out. The paint has come complete off the front part of the stove. The quality of this product is no where near worth the price tag.
One of our best customers, and one we are proud to recommend! EXCELLENT STAFF! Perfect communication, quality work, and fast service! We are steel experts and happy to recommend Travis to others.
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