Not to Happy With My Harmon Mark II

Don't take offense to the wisecracks ........he's just messin' around.

My house is extremely drafty -- and when you factor in my basement (where stove is), I'm heating 2,000 sq.ft. also. It is VERY difficult to get this place to maintain 70°. Most of the time, it's between 66° & 69° .... but only in the 20's to 30's outside. Single digits or below zero, there's no getting above 62° -- and that's with a rip snortin' 600° fire!

Due to the amount of coal I went through last year (and what it cost, along with a tank of oil) we moved our bed to the first floor & completely sealed off the 2nd floor. So far it's working perfect. That's how I've been able to maintain upper 60's in here.

Just an FYI ... if I ran mine at 1/2 turn, it would go out. You have killer draft there!

Sorry whistlenut. Just getting a little cranky in my middle age.

I do have a killer draft due to all the new stuff with almost no turns. This and the higher temps I am running is why I believe a damper will help my situation more than most.

SMITTY wrote:Yeah 600* is a rip-snortin' fire!

I only checked my stove temp once, as I normally have the magnetic temp gauge resting on my 304 stainless (non-magnetic) connector pipe. If I remember right, it was right around 400*. I usually shoot for a stack temp of just a tick under 200* for a decent burn length with adequate heat output.

I hear ya ratdog, on the customer service bit. Found that out when I bought my first new vehicle a couple years ago. Everyone is all over you, but the second you sign the paperwork ...... sayonara!

To hell with them ..... we've gotcha covered!

Oh yeah ... forgot my whole point of posting .... I usually keep my Mark III about 3/4 turns out for a slow burn, but never over 1.5 turns out. At 1.5, the coal consumption is insane. My Mark I was about the same, so I'd figure your II will be too.

That's almost exactly the readings/settings I get with my Mark II. It's wonderful. Just fired it up today and it's cranking out beautiful heat and open about 2/3-3/4 turn. Temp on the stack is 195 and the top of the stove is 300. No red-hot coal burning, nice and even.

cybdav wrote:Lisa,
The something that's not right is trying to use the Mark III as the single source of heat in a 2000 sq. ft. 110 year old drafty house with 12 foot ceilings. The stove is working great at 1/2 turn and I have no issues at that level. What I am trying to do, right or wrong, is get the heat to all the other rooms through these doorways with the door fans I have.

The title of this thread is misleading. I understood you to be unhappy with the heat production of the Mark II but in reality you are unhappy with your inability to disperse that heat. That's always an issue with a hand fired stove. I suggest you look at the various threads already posted about heat dispersion and see if there are any suggestions you can apply to your situation. If not start a new one. Good luck, Lisa

SMITTY wrote:Don't take offense to the wisecracks ........he's just messin' around.

What he said!!

NOW, your dealer is full of $hit or he knows nothing about burning coal.

cybdav wrote:I do have a killer draft due to all the new stuff with almost no turns. This and the higher temps I am running is why I believe a damper will help my situation more than most.

A barometric damper is a draft limiting device. Too much draft is not a good thing. You are heating Tennesee but not your house. Get a barometric damper installed pronto!

The next problem is, and you are trying to heat a whole house with a stove. If you lived in an A frame ski chalet, that would work great. But an old house with a cut up floor plan and 11' (or 12', I don't know, it keeps changing) ceilings, you've got a challange. A coal fired central heater would have been a much better choice. You'd be sitting back sippin' that 'ol Tennesee whiskey in your shorts and T shirt in any room in the house. Instead your roasting your chesnuts in the room with the stove and freezing your a$$ in the other rooms. Ever heard the old saying, "don't take a knife to a gun fight.", don't try to make your stove a furnace. Suck it up the rest of this heating season and plan or installing a coal boiler or furnace for next year. Some pilgrim will buy that mark III and put it in his ski chalet.

Lisa,

Not happy with my Mark II was started by ratdog. I seemed to have hijacked it towards the end. Sorry.

coalkirk,

It is 11ft ceilings. Sorry. My brain is getting warped from the sippin' whiskey. I researched pellet stoves for a year and a half then a dealer convinced me that a Lopi Liberty wood burner would easily heat this house. Then I went to another dealer and they convinced me the Mark III would easily heat this house. I just installed it 6 weeks ago. I am going to try to make it work. I am getting better at it. We had a low of 14 last night and stayed warm at a turn and a half. A little extra shakedown and extra coal before going to bed did the trick. It got into the upper 30's today and I was gone from the stove for 12 1/2 hours and the satellite rooms dropped into the mid 50's. Not great but getting better. Still had good coals and we are warm again now. Still need more insulating. Any kind of furnace installation will need a massive natural gas furnace from the 50's removed and new duct work installed. Like most houses here on old Rocky Top there is no basement. Just a hole dug for the furnace apparently when there was no floor either for there is no way to get it out now. A door and a steep stairway leading down to it. Since it is in the middle of the house it must have been through the floor unless it can be dismantled. Hm...maybe. Still financially this setup needs to work for several years and I think a damper and more insulation will do wonders.

Well it sounds like of the choices you had available to you, you made the best one. That stove can make more than enough heat to heat your home. It's the distribution that's the rub. There is a manometer loaner program through the coal forum that you should look into. Manometer Loaner Program
There's no sense getting a barometric damper if you don't have the instrument to adjust it. The baro will make a big difference. Sealing up your house and insulation willl make a big difference. Using fans to move air will also make a big difference. Glad you found the coal forum. Stick around and you'll get that heat machine dialed in. Good luck.