Gary is COLD in Pennsylvania!! The Harman is DOWN!!!!

Whulp - I'm heating my home with electric baseboard right now....DAMN!

Remember how I told ya that I had a cracked firebrick? Well, since then, my firebox has also spawned a "leaning fire brick of Pisa" wannabe. By box in 3 1/2 bricks deep by 5 bricks wide. The left front brick somehow shimmied loosed from behind the steel retain tang and started to lean in. Each time I shook the bed, it'd lean more. I couldn't push it back in cuz fly ash found that behind the brick was a splendid resting place to pack itself into.

SO I starved the fire late last night. By this morning she was cold. I had also turned off the blower fan (it runs 24/7 - since October).

Well I get 'er all cleaned out. I get a nice hot scrap lumber fire roaring and chuck in a bucket of coal. All is going well. The coal catches. The box is ticking away nicely giving me audible cues that she's warming up.
When I’m finally satisfied that she's good, I go and flip the switch to the blower......with no results.
Bottom line? The Fasco 50752-D500 blower is shot! I did a quick field-expedient disassembly of it and I could only spin the blower wheel if I gave it some effort. It is all bound/gummed up. CLP didn't help or nuthin'.
If you recall, I had a problem with the blower on the first night I fired it up and thought I had to buy a new one then. I guess I was lucky to get as much out of it as I did.

So, $94.00 says a replacement will be at my doorstep by midweek.

This is a great forum with a fantastic, supportive, and thoughtful group of members......
....I ask that each and every one of you show some consideration and respect for a fellow coal-burner in trouble and give your fires an extra shake for me this evening.
As I lie in bed tonight I will try my best to, over the awful dull sound the electric baseboard makes, hear my distant brothers and sisters offering a shake up for me!


I'll keep you posted!

Gary, get a duct fan of some kind and hook it to the Harman. Find some way to move that hot air.

Can you hear that noise in the background?? It sounds sort of like an electric motor?? That is the electric meter whizzing around like it is going to over-rev!! Sorry, had to give you some motivation..

Can't you use the Harman as a radiant only stove?? Add a box fan and blow air over the surface of the stove to wash the heat off the stove?.

Take care, Wednesday will be here soon.

Greg L.

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LsFarm wrote:Gary.....Can't you use the Harman as a radiant only stove?? Add a box fan and blow air over the surface of the stove to wash the heat off the stove?.
Greg L.

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No...for a few reasons.
1.) The Manual says 'no' since a large portions of the available radiant surface is shrouded, heat doesn't dissipate evenly. The air jacket and blower are apparently important to keep the Yin & Yang of the coal in karma balance or something.

2.) The heat output SUCKS as radiant only! Or maybe I'm just spoiled by the air jacket and blower. When the Harman is really crankin', we're talking t-shirts and skivvies when downstairs (EASILY 85+ degrees) while the upstairs living area (dining room, kitchen, living room, etc...) is a toasty 79+ degrees! Crankin' a coal stove WITHOUT a jacket and blower is like owning a Porsche but never taking it out of first gear!

Gary--

How comes you doesn't have an image of ur set up under the pictures thread?
how comes?

What kinda Harman?

Cuz I'm a knucklehead and posted it here...
http://www.nepadigital.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1095

Sorry!

Tat there one heck of a swel lookin cooker ma. How many shelfs on ur old platform you all heat with tat da cooker ma?