Coalpail.com Forum

morrison250r wrote:I dicided that I could squeez a rear vent in and picked up a used hyfireii for $1800

Hyfire is a BEAST and if that don't put out the heat needed nothing else short of a full blown boiler/furnace would have (yet if its to much you will be able to step back to use as a single burner stove if needed )! Ive never been an advocate of buying "used" stokers (just to many variables, blowers, fans, electronics, censors, etc. that "could" need replacing or at the very least serious cleaning, oiling and reassembling)...If their was ever a stove type that warrants a warranty its a coal stoker stove! BUT... on a good note for you is the fact that #1 the company Leisure line Stoves is hands down the best in terms of fairness, kindness and sincere help to ALL its customers (even those who buy their used units) and they don't "gouge" customers on spare part prices, their business model is based on simply, quality, functional heat cost & money savings via a quality USA built product line... (NOT "gouging" for spare part orders to a million stove owners and discontinuing product lines to reduce overhead while making profits off spare parts of previous customers) #2 plenty of people on this forum have a ton of experience with this stove, its parts, its routine and its maintenance so even if you have to do a few things to get her up and running you will have plenty of help, ideas & assistance here to do it!

Please make a new thread with photo's of the stove, your set up area and the questions you will surly have... called "my new/used Hyfire II getting started" , also I suggest you send Leisure Line Stove Company your name, address, model #, email and make them aware you purchased this stove from Mr. XYZ so they can place you in their database.

I think it's unseemly and inappropriate for a manufacturers rep member of this forum (brown screen name) to be on here constantly bashing another manufacturer. A manufacturer (Harman) who does not happen to be represented on this forum in an official way. It's only represented here by forum members who happen to own a stove, boiler or furnace made by them. It's kinda like going on the flame suit central and attacking a member who is not participating in the FSC forum. It's also tiresome and makes me not want to read a particular topic cause I know you are going to start one of the notorious rants you've become known for against Harman. I ask you please as a fellow forum member to knock it off. Others in an offiical capacity here may have a different perspective and could consider my post "off topic." But you have made topics such as this your mission to inject what I'm sure you think is constructive criticism. I think it's bashing and wrong for the reasons I've stated. And I know many others share my view because I've heard from them in PM's.

As far as the topic here, both stoves are very good stoves. I have experience with mag stokers and know them to be a very robust and dependable stove. I know one of the owners of LL owned and used that particular stove before he became one of the owners of LL. I've heard good things said on this forum by this same owner about Harman stoves. Although I would bet the farm this owner also knows all of the shortcomings of his competitor, he has too much class to come on here and bash them.

it did need a cleaning. I had to take it apart to get it out of the basement anyway. its like two stoves in one. Two combustion blowers, fans, and feeders. I will likely only use one side anyway so if I have problems I can switch to the other side while im waiting for parts. It was a killer deal.....three years old and it came with stove pipe, the draft controller and 1500 lbs of coal for $1800

morrison250r wrote:it did need a cleaning. I had to take it apart to get it out of the basement anyway. its like two stoves in one. Two combustion blowers, fans, and feeders. I will likely only use one side anyway so if I have problems I can switch to the other side while im waiting for parts. It was a killer deal.....three years old and it came with stove pipe, the draft controller and 1500 lbs of coal for $1800

absolute Bargain! and your right... the Hyfire is like buying 2 stoves and having the power and heat of two stoves (yet ability to use it as one stove if thats all you need). best of luck and post up some photos after the install for us

dcrane wrote:If you LIKE to support China & Mexico and you DONT mind paying $4,000 for spare parts in years to come and you CARE LESS about having any customer support than you should definitely go with Harmon!

If however you wish to support USA, you want extremely reasonable priced spare parts & honorable warranties, and you appreciate a company that gives A++ customer support & service than you should go with Leisure Line!

that is a lot of baloney, I have a Harman I and it's been heating my house with only 40 lbs. of coal per day, for the past 12 years. A good stove won't need any service. The only thing changed on my Harman was door gaskets, and that was done as gratis by the guy that installed a new flue and chimney pipe system- it didn't even really need the seals. Every time I hear people complain about "service" for Harman or any other coal stoves, I wonder what planet they are from. I've fired 9 different coal and wood stoves, in 4 different homes, over the past several decades, and some of them were stoves made by companies out of business for 50 years, what's this big deal about service ? Figure it out and fix the darn thing yourself if need be- everyone has this "car warranty" hands-off mindset on every single thing they purchase today. Lack of mechanical skill to fix something doesn't mean it's the manufacturer's fault and they have to wipe your chin for life, because you bought stove from them. A Harman is the best built stove I've looked at new, yes they are pricey but they are built a LOT better than the cheaper stoves, and get a lot more mileage out of the coal batch. This one heats my house for $4 a day. One draft control, internally baffled so there's no need for a baro or manual flue pipe damper, adequate but not oversized firepot capacity, excellent beefy raking grate system, much thicker doors, glass, door handles, rake handle than competing designs. Putting down a Harman I is like putting down a Ferrari or Cadillac, it makes no sense.

dcrane wrote:If you LIKE to support China & Mexico and you DONT mind paying $4,000 for spare parts in years to come and you CARE LESS about having any customer support than you should definitely go with Harmon!

If however you wish to support USA, you want extremely reasonable priced spare parts & honorable warranties, and you appreciate a company that gives A++ customer support & service than you should go with Leisure Line!

While I don't care for bashing companies,i do like to support the country I live in even if it is going downhill rapidly with the current political climate,and the current stupidity so rampant among so many people who don't give a crap where things are made. If you are buying an old,used unit then less worry about where its made,buying new ,buy MADE IN AMERICA or move to china !!!!!

Good to hear your Harman works well.. also I see this page shows Harman usa made http://www.americansworking.com/woodstoves.html If it's made it China I congratulate them on finally producing quality stuff instead of all the junk they produce. And alot of Americans love poor quality stuff.

coalcracker wrote:

dcrane wrote:If you LIKE to support China & Mexico and you DONT mind paying $4,000 for spare parts in years to come and you CARE LESS about having any customer support than you should definitely go with Harmon!

If however you wish to support USA, you want extremely reasonable priced spare parts & honorable warranties, and you appreciate a company that gives A++ customer support & service than you should go with Leisure Line!

that is a lot of baloney, I have a Harman I and it's been heating my house with only 40 lbs. of coal per day, for the past 12 years. A good stove won't need any service. The only thing changed on my Harman was door gaskets, and that was done as gratis by the guy that installed a new flue and chimney pipe system- it didn't even really need the seals. Every time I hear people complain about "service" for Harman or any other coal stoves, I wonder what planet they are from. I've fired 9 different coal and wood stoves, in 4 different homes, over the past several decades, and some of them were stoves made by companies out of business for 50 years, what's this big deal about service ? Figure it out and fix the darn thing yourself if need be- everyone has this "car warranty" hands-off mindset on every single thing they purchase today. Lack of mechanical skill to fix something doesn't mean it's the manufacturer's fault and they have to wipe your chin for life, because you bought stove from them. A Harman is the best built stove I've looked at new, yes they are pricey but they are built a LOT better than the cheaper stoves, and get a lot more mileage out of the coal batch. This one heats my house for $4 a day. One draft control, internally baffled so there's no need for a baro or manual flue pipe damper, adequate but not oversized firepot capacity, excellent beefy raking grate system, much thicker doors, glass, door handles, rake handle than competing designs. Putting down a Harman I is like putting down a Ferrari or Cadillac, it makes no sense.

very verbose... glad to see someone with passion (it what makes a public forum succeed )

anyways... you clearly missed the threads and info discussing the "money trail" from Harman, to Hearth & Home to Parent companies based in China as well as the admission of using Mexico. but im done trying to explain.... Harman was a good stove and nobody can deny that fact, I simply chose not to buy one.

You are correct that a good hand fed stove has little to deal with in terms of maintenance (Harmon is better known for their stokers, their hand feds are not as special) and when it comes to stokers my friend.... parts & maintenance & cost & future costs mean a great deal when it comes to stokers!

as far as your theory that the internal baffle on a Harman replaces the benefits of an MPD or BARO (your wildly off base!), almost all stoves have internal baffles to place the flow of heat to the stoves outer surfaces and stove top... that flow of heat is still going right up and out your chimney and thats what an MPD does so well (it holds that heat where you want it to remain), I always wished they left the heat exchanger to the sides to keep the top for cooking but thats neither here nor their. These attributes can be drastically different from install to install and you cannot say just because you don't believe an MPD or BARO wont do anything for you that its not needed for someone else. I know Harmans manuals all say NEVER USE a MPD or you will DIE (that only tells me how amiss they are and its not Dane who wrote that and its not Dane who wrote that foolish silly warranty that says nothing is warrantied if we say so).

hope this helps explain a few things, Harman is a good stove and its great to have someone here with a lil' passion for them!

My Harman was made in 1988 and has the original manual and it states DO NOT USE A MANUAL PIPE DAMPER. Im thinkin the original owner had the company back then . Im not against using a MPD just know what your doin and keep an eye on it

anthony7812 wrote:My Harman was made in 1988 and has the original manual and it states DO NOT USE A MANUAL PIPE DAMPER. Im thinkin the original owner had the company back then . Im not against using a MPD just know what your doin and keep an eye on it

I have to agree... In 88' I guess Dane would have wrote that, Baro's were certainly widely used then as well does it say NEVER use those out of curiosity? It baffles me these would be forbidden They would only have ability to make the stove preform so much better (or at the very least equal). Even in the best designed baseburners ever made with baffles and the path of exhaust goes through chambers downward under & around the stove and then back up through 12 feet of channels to the flu they used manual dampers to aid in holding the heat back from flying out the chimney during high draft days.
I don't see any other well known coal burning experts ever say "NEVER USE A MPD or BARO or DEATH may OCCUR"... Peter Horton, Larry Trainer, Crane and even the frenchies had them built in most their lines like Godin or Chappee and most likely every pro manual coal burner on this forum (who in all likelihood are as good and better then anyone).

dcrane wrote: Baro's were certainly widely used then as well does it say NEVER use those out of curiosity?

The Harman manual says that baros may be used to prevent excessive or erratic draft.

titleist1 wrote:

dcrane wrote: Baro's were certainly widely used then as well does it say NEVER use those out of curiosity?

The Harman manual says that baros may be used to prevent excessive or erratic draft.

OK... well at least they got that right do you happen to have the warranty from back then also? Im now wondering if that ridiculous "non-warranty warranty" was different before Hearth and Home bought out Harmon?

Keep in mind that Liability Attorneys are employed to have a big say in what gets printed in all manuals now days.