New Harman Magnum Owner...General Questions/Comments
Posted: Wed. Nov. 28, 2012 10:32 am
Hi everyone,
I just bought my first house, and just got my first electric bill. It was pretty outrageous (I'm assuming due to the electric heat pump) so I bought a used Harman Magnum, about 5 years old, off a lady down the road who's moving away. I put the Harman in the basement where an old woodstove used to be, and bought the stove pipe from Lowes to pipe the exhaust from the Harman into the existing chimney. The stove pipe goes about 3 feet up from the Harman, then 3 feet back to the chimney, if that matters. On the horizontal part of the stove pipe, I put a tee and installed the 'baro' damper there, coming straight out from the tee at about eye level. I just bought a manometer that I will hook up between the Harman and the baro damper to monitor the draft when I start the stove up later this week or next.
I will install a rheostat controlled outlet next to the Harman, and plug the combustion fan directly to that outlet and run it at about 25% power 24/7 and remove the restrictor plate. The blower fan and pusher motor will be controlled by the onboard controller which I will connect to a thermostat I put in the hallway upstairs. I have a 90* elbow connected to the 6" hole in the top of the Magnum that I have aiming at the stairwell....that's the only good way I can think of right now to get heat upstairs. I have a fan at the bottom of the steps to help push the air upstairs. I may turn my central air fan on just to circulate the air in the house and see if that helps distribute the heat. I'm not sure where to set the adjustment screw on the back of the Harman yet, but I'm sure I'll figure that out soon enough.
I'm looking into the broiler option that CrossLink Conversions offers where I could pipe hot water from the Harman to my air exchanger and heat the house that way. Seems kinda pricey, so unless I find a better alternative I won't be doing that for a while. But I really like the added efficiency of that system. Could the Coal-Trol still be used with that type of converison? I was reading about the Coal-Trol...seemed like a nice upgrade.
The only source for bulk coal I've found is a place in Hagerstown Maryland (I live near Winchester, VA). I haven't called for prices, but someone told me they are almost $300 a ton in bulk (not bagged). Anyone know how I can find more sources of coal in this area? Obviously coal suppliers in NEPA are easy to find on this site, but I haven't had too much luck finding suppliers in my area.
random info...I have 2 CO detectors, one upstairs near the bedrooms and one downstairs about 10 feet from the Harman. Fire extinguisher nearby. Switch in the electric line to disable power when I need to dump the ashes. I still need to find a metal box to dump the ashes in. I have a plastic box I could use, but I'd need a second ashpan so the other could cool before dumping into the plastic box.
Anyway, just wanted to put this out there and see if anyone noticed something obvious that I was missing. I've been doing a ton of reading on these forums in the evenings the past couple days. Lots to learn from this site!
I just bought my first house, and just got my first electric bill. It was pretty outrageous (I'm assuming due to the electric heat pump) so I bought a used Harman Magnum, about 5 years old, off a lady down the road who's moving away. I put the Harman in the basement where an old woodstove used to be, and bought the stove pipe from Lowes to pipe the exhaust from the Harman into the existing chimney. The stove pipe goes about 3 feet up from the Harman, then 3 feet back to the chimney, if that matters. On the horizontal part of the stove pipe, I put a tee and installed the 'baro' damper there, coming straight out from the tee at about eye level. I just bought a manometer that I will hook up between the Harman and the baro damper to monitor the draft when I start the stove up later this week or next.
I will install a rheostat controlled outlet next to the Harman, and plug the combustion fan directly to that outlet and run it at about 25% power 24/7 and remove the restrictor plate. The blower fan and pusher motor will be controlled by the onboard controller which I will connect to a thermostat I put in the hallway upstairs. I have a 90* elbow connected to the 6" hole in the top of the Magnum that I have aiming at the stairwell....that's the only good way I can think of right now to get heat upstairs. I have a fan at the bottom of the steps to help push the air upstairs. I may turn my central air fan on just to circulate the air in the house and see if that helps distribute the heat. I'm not sure where to set the adjustment screw on the back of the Harman yet, but I'm sure I'll figure that out soon enough.
I'm looking into the broiler option that CrossLink Conversions offers where I could pipe hot water from the Harman to my air exchanger and heat the house that way. Seems kinda pricey, so unless I find a better alternative I won't be doing that for a while. But I really like the added efficiency of that system. Could the Coal-Trol still be used with that type of converison? I was reading about the Coal-Trol...seemed like a nice upgrade.
The only source for bulk coal I've found is a place in Hagerstown Maryland (I live near Winchester, VA). I haven't called for prices, but someone told me they are almost $300 a ton in bulk (not bagged). Anyone know how I can find more sources of coal in this area? Obviously coal suppliers in NEPA are easy to find on this site, but I haven't had too much luck finding suppliers in my area.
random info...I have 2 CO detectors, one upstairs near the bedrooms and one downstairs about 10 feet from the Harman. Fire extinguisher nearby. Switch in the electric line to disable power when I need to dump the ashes. I still need to find a metal box to dump the ashes in. I have a plastic box I could use, but I'd need a second ashpan so the other could cool before dumping into the plastic box.
Anyway, just wanted to put this out there and see if anyone noticed something obvious that I was missing. I've been doing a ton of reading on these forums in the evenings the past couple days. Lots to learn from this site!