New Yorkers, Make Yourself Known

Hello,
I'm new to both wood or coal, but I'm considering the Tarm Solo 30 or the Harman SF-260, so why the switch, and why do you like the Harman better?

I'm a total newbie to all of this , and trying to make my oil boiler with tankless coil a backup, so any information about your system would be much appreciated.

Thanks for sharing,
1D

Welcome my friend. Where in NY?? Be patient, you'll get all the info you need.

Cassadaga, NY (Western NY, midway between Buffalo, NY and Erie, PA. My first year with coal in an antique Germer parlor stove. Been playing with both coal and wood and both do well. Picked up a half ton of nut anthracite today in St. Marys, PA. Use it in basement as a supplement so far.

1Dtml wrote:Hello,
I'm new to both wood or coal, but I'm considering the Tarm Solo 30 or the Harman SF-260, so why the switch, and why do you like the Harman better?

I'm a total newbie to all of this , and trying to make my oil boiler with tankless coil a backup, so any information about your system would be much appreciated.

Thanks for sharing,
1D

I had a Tarm (Scandtec) Solo Plus 40 and it was a great unit. I have tons of wood all free aside from my labor and fuel. After a motorcycle accident my wood cutting days are over so I switched to the SF-260. I spent $1300 on a 5.6 ton load of coal which sits outside my walkout basement door in my dump trailer with a coal chute. I was using about 6 full cord of wood per year with the tarm. Coal doesn't make any more mess in my basement then the wood, no bugs to worry about and it is much less work and much more stable. When I had the wood stacked outside in the same spot the mice found their way into my AC units and destroyed the wiring no mice in the coal. I regret not going with coal in the first place, the amount of time the wood takes to prepare and retrieve when needed is not worth the effort. Plus you can always supplement coal with wood in the SF260. It won't be as efficient as the tarm (which was amazing to watch when it was gasifying) but it will still cut down on the amount of coal you need.

I have my Harman hooked up to my buderus oil boiler with an indirect for hot water. I just piped the outlet on the harman into the return on the buderus and then the outlet on the buderus feeds the zones then loops back into the return on the harman with a taco 007 circulator which runs all the time circulating hot water between the boilers. So far it has been working great (after a small learning curve) and I have plenty of coal to threaten my kids with if they don't behave..."Santa is watching do you want coal in your stocking? I have plenty to give him" haha

Good luck in whatever you choose I was and am very happy with both boilers.

PS-the Tarm was $2,000 more which is almost two years worth of coal .

Thank you so much for the reply!
As I said I'm a newbie to either source as far as a boiler set up, and I must admit somewhat overwhelmed by the choices, and the learning curve that you mentioned.

My biggest concerns with either is the amount of time needed to keep the fire tended, and the restart as far coal is concerned.

The Harman does seem to have a simpler install, but does it need a dump zone in-case of power outage like the Tarm?

It has also come to my attention that the Harman hand load system has more attending to than a wood burner, and the a stoker is preferred in the coal world, but the bottom line here is I like to keep things as simple as possible, and have now even thought of going back to the idea of a wood stove because I don't have to worry about what happens if the fire goes out.

But having said that, my goal is still to get off the oil as much as possible, so any advise will be considered.

Thanks,

1D

Well if the boilers either wood or coal scare you away from them for what ever reason go with a good hand fired stove. Tending is 10 minutes twice a day when it decides to get cold then you just forget about it for at least 12 hours or so. In this warmer weather tending is down to 24 hours and still only 10 minutes and forget it. Wood on the other hand will be alot more tending and alot more restarts with the warm weather.

Now this sounds like a good idea, so do you have any coal stove recommendations, I know my trusted dealer sells Harman, but I'll consider others if there is a far better option

Thanks,
1D

My dealer/installer actually sells Keystoker as well if this is a better option to consider?

Thanks again,
1D

1Dtml wrote:My dealer/installer actually sells Keystoker as well if this is a better option to consider?

Thanks again,
1D

In my opinion, a Keystoker stoker boiler would be a huge upgrade compared to a hand-fed boiler like a Tarm or Harman SF260. You are on the right track by considering adding a coal boiler to your hot water system, but I recommend you skip the hand-fired equipment. I have been down the hand-fired road...you can read the rest of my story in this thread if you want: Stoves or Central heat? Boilers vs. Furnaces

Why, you young girly-girl

Hi Everybody,

Live in Wadhams up near lake Champlain. Been running the Vigilant II since two months now. I am enjoying the warmth of the stove! So are the kids...

Matt

Matt, welcome to the FORUM my friend. Enjoy a warm & healthy New Year.

Welcome Matt and happy new year

Thanks Fred and Baddawg!

Hey Matt, where are you getting your coal? Lake Champlain Coal?