nestor martin (harmony III) coal stove

I am looking for a coal/wood combination. I have found that a nestor martin (harmony III) coal stove is made to burn both wood and coal. It is sold in Canada as a duel fuel but in the U.S. as a coal stove. Does anyone know anything about this stove, does it burn coal well? Does Reading sell a quality shaker? Any info. to help make a decision will be appreciated. Thanks, rick U.

Please post a photo or two of the stove, or supply a link to a site with a photo or two.. It may be a renamed product we are familiar with. But the name doesn't ring a bell with me.

Greg L

Evolution Trade Group distributes these in the U>S> their web address for these stoves is
http://www.evolutiontradegroup.com/Nest ... _coal.html
The stove sill has the removable coal hopper so burning wood if needed would seem easy enough once I built up some ash.
Any comments would be appreciated. We were also looking at a Vermont Castings vigilant II , both of them I can get at about the same price.
Would either one be better? thanks Rick U.

I like the Nestor Marten. I haven't seen it in person but I think that if someone offered to trade me one for my Vigilant I would take them up on the deal.
The VC and NM look like two very comparable stoves. The Nestor marten has the advantage of a side load door for wood in addition to the top load and front door,
You can also order the Nestor Martin with a back boiler, which is a nice feature.
The VC has the ability to have the flue exit out the top or rear by reversing the flue piece, if that is a benefit to you.
I also like the way the VC routs the exhaust gasses from the top of the sides to the bottom, around to the back, then up and out the flue. A long exhaust path to extract as much heat as possible. You can also open the damper and rout the exhaust straight up the flue.
It is also rated to be able to burn bituminous coal.
The swing out ash pan is also a nice feature on the VC.
The shaker grates on the VC are not very aggressive, and the ash needs to be raked with a poker tool from below the grates in addition to shaking to effectively remove the ash, which is not a big deal, although it is I think the stoves weakest link.
I don't know the exhaust path of the Nestor marten, but it has a good efficiency rating of 80.5%
The only thing I cant find on the Nestor martin is the shaker grate configuration which I would have to know before deciding to buy. Does it shake? Does it cover the entire bottom? If not don't buy!!!
I don't think you could go wrong with either stove. They are two of the nicest looking coal stoves on the market.

After looking everywhere on the web to no avail I finally called the main distributed of the Nestor martin stoves for shaker grate specs.
They have a round grate in the center of the bottom connected to a rod that slides it back and forth.
It does not cover the entire bottom and it does not rock back and forth.
On second thought the stove no longer looks desirable to use as a coal burner. I guess I spoke too soon. I can't see how a design like that would clear enough ash for a good burn. Just the 1/2 in. lip on the sides of the baker stove create ash buildup and dead spots in the fire, necessitating vigorous poking and scraping to clear the ash every few days.
I would stay away from it for coal burning, unless convinced otherwise by someone who ran the stove and tout me something I don't know.

I bought the nestor martin a few weeks ago ( A price that I could not pass up). It burns wood well, but it does dirty up the glass after two days of burning. Has not been super cold out yet, but the wood heats the house fairly well (2800 Sq. ft.). I am waiting on a few friends to get together for a coal run so I will comment on that later. There is a rectangular shaker grate, takes up about 80% of the bottom. Rick

These stoves are very similar to the Saey stoves.
Should burn coal very well.

http://www.bierlygroup.com/saey/index.htm

Tom

It looks similar to a Harman Mark III. Because I heard so many horror stories from people trying to burn coal with a combo stove. Read about them years ago. I'd stay away from it if you want to be safe if you intend to burn mostly coal. My Harman burns wood o.k. when I burn it just to let you know that.
A Harmon Mark I II or III is certified for coal only and it does a excellent job at burning it,shaking,etc. Efficient as well