Chance to Get a Harman Mark II

Rick1234 · Post by **Rick1234** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 3:55 pm

I have been lurking on this site for over a year taking in all the valuable information. I am looking to purchase a coal stove after burning wood for 28 years. As I read this site I have learned a lot and narrowed it down to a few models, the Harman Mark II, Harman TLC 2000, Hitzer 30-95 or the Reading Swatara.. Then out of the blue I found an ad for a Harman Mark II for $900.00. I have not looked at it yet but she claims it was used only 6 months and is in "like new" condition. My house is a 1176 square foot ranch, well insulated with a full basement, the stove will be in the basement. There will be a 18 X 24 finished room in the basement and this is one of the reasons why I am looking for a coal stove. I now have a relatively small Fisher (remember them) stove and it does pretty good heating the house, even in 0 degree weather but I don't use it as much now because my wife and I are at work during the day. My main source of heat is electric baseboard with digital thermostats for each room, two with timers. I might add that changing over to the new thermostats cut my electric bill in half. I was going to purchase one of these stoves at a dealer and have them install it but at this price I don't think I can pass this up. My question is, is it really that hard to install a coal stove? I live near the top of a hill facing north in North Central PA and I gets cold here and the wind can be brutal. The draft from the chimney can really be severe and at times you can hear the rush of the air moving through the vents on the doors from upstairs!! Sometimes I have to open the clean out door to reduce the draft. Should I do this? I am good with instructions and tools but I do have that fear of doing something wrong.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 4:19 pm

Welcome to the forum!!!
I don't think installing a hand fed coal stove is all that complicated. Some things to consider regarding the installation, some you may already have had to deal with since you were burning wood....

Is the output of the Mark II going to be enough to keep up, or are the extra BTU's of a Mark III necessary?

Will you be using the same chimney as the Fisher stove was using or do you need to build another chimney? IMO the chimney is the biggest part of the installation project.

Do you have easy access to get a supply of coal into the basement? Some build a coal bin and chute the coal at delivery through a window to the bin. Others, like myself would have bulk delivery in outside storage and bring it inside using 5 gallon buckets or something similar. An outside basement entrance makes this less messy.

Try to set up your inside flue pipe so that you have easy access to the horizontal run to the thimble so that you can vacuum out the fly ash a couple times per season.

Plan on getting a baro damper and a manometer as part of your installation.

Of course make sure you have enough strong backs to load and unload the stove. An appliance cart and ramps can be managed with three people. A loader and chain hoist is a great alternative though!

Body Hammer · Post by **Body Hammer** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 4:28 pm

Heres another here in Maine. Might be worth the trip. I'm about eight hrs. from Wilkesbarre.
**Broken Link(s) Removed**

lowfog01 · Post by **lowfog01** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 5:57 pm

I love my Mark II. It does a great job keeping my house warm with very little effort on my part. It's an easy stove to burn. However, while I personally have not had any issues with the stove that required my dealing with their customer service I have heard horrible things about the company if something needs to be replaced. As a owner you can't deal directly with the company so make sure there is a good dealer in your immediate vicinity. This is not true of the Hitzer stove company - everyone seems to love them and the company. Have you done a search of the archives (upper right corner)? Just put in the stove's name and many posts will come up.

The price on the Mark II is a good price for what you described but check the stove out really well - if nothing goes wrong you'd have a great stove for a great price. Here's food for thought, I'll never go with another Harman just because of the Customer service and I love my stove. Good luck

CapeCoaler · Post by **CapeCoaler** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 6:23 pm

Nothing wrong with the Mark II...
and at $900 if it is just barely used a good deal...
You can always resell it if you want to move up to the Hitzer...
The Mark II just has a manual air intake spinner...
The Hitzer has the bi-metalic intake for semi-automatic heat control...
Does the chimney go to the room where the stove will be...
If not the chimney will be a project...

BeerMonley · Post by **BeerMonley** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 6:45 pm

i have a mark III for sale ill sell you for $900, not nearly new but has kinda new fire brick, shaker grates and door seals. This was my first coal stove and it took me a bit to learn it (pretty much learned everything on here) id say if you draft is really high maybe add a baro to it (i didnt have one) so your not wasting coal.

cabinover · Post by **cabinover** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 7:44 pm

Rick1234 wrote: Sometimes I have to open the clean out door to reduce the draft. Should I do this?

Absolutely not if you are referring to the stove clean out door. Get yourself a barometric damper to take care of the draft problem. If you have that much draft I've even heard of folks using more than one baro to control excessive draft.

A barometric damper allows extra, unwanted draft to be pulled from your house's ambient air rather than being pulled through the coal which wastes heat up the chimney. It's a hard concept to figure out for some when you see that damper open, knowing that it's taking warm room air up the chimney. The alternative though is 3-400°F heat from your stove going up the chimney.

After reading your statement a few times though I'm guessing you meant your chimney cleanout door at the base right?

BeerMonley · Post by **BeerMonley** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 7:56 pm

if your talking about the chimney clean out door your actually making a makeshift baro, the difference is the baro does this automaticlly for you.

Chuck_Steak · Post by **Chuck_Steak** » Mon. Oct. 17, 2011 8:05 pm

In a nutshell.

It's a great stove.
It will heat your house.
If your chimney draws like a bear when it's windy,
you may want a baro.
When you get it all figured out, you will wonder
why you didn't go to coal years ago...

Once I got into it, that's how I felt...

Dan

(I think someone misunderstood your 'cleanout door' reference...
You were talking about the cleanout door on your chimney, I presume..
opening the stove cleanout door would have melted your stove burning wood..)