Harman Mark II Owners, I Need Advice and Guidence

i love love love coal! but ive been burning in a hotblast for 2 and a half years. swear after learning the learning curves with a hoblast you could burn anything. been looking around casualy for something else, and I might of found a cheap used Harman mark II stove. guy says it is "missing a hopper," what is he talking about is my first question. the hotblast is rated for around 120,000 btu's, and this is rated for (i think) 78k. it would be put in the basement of my 1100 sq ft ranch, block basement with 7 and a half foot ceilings, 2 by 4 ext walls. I have no other heating source. do you feel thats enought to heat my house? also, and this would not be a deal breaker, but how does it burn on wood? yes, love coal and is easier than wood, but I have a lot of woods and I am always clearing down trees in the woods and along the hedge rows of our farm. he also mentioned that there is a crack in the glass door, is that a cheap fix? any input to this manner would be greatly appreciated. stay warm!
John

guy says it is "missing a hopper

The Harman Mark stoves don't have hoppers.

No hopper on a Mark II...
How cheap is the price...
Check for other broken parts...
Grates and bricks, baffle plate, the front brick retainer...
Get a picture of it and post it...
They burn wood ok but it is a coal stove...
The Harman is 60% of the rating of the HB...
I might question the ability to keep the house warm on very cold nights...

I would never down size, unless you knew for a fact from past experience that you had a grossly over-sized stove previously.

In my humble opinion the Mark II will not come close to producing enough heat to warm your house. It is rated for 72K and that's running at full out. As wood n coal said the Mark stoves do not come with hoppers. I'd definitely check the stove out thoroughly for evidence of over firing. Do the grates work, are they warped? The broken class will cost you around $100 to replace. Is the ceiling baffle warped? How do you plan to spread the warmth around? If you were to buy this thinking it will heat your entire house you will be disappointed. There are too many questions for me to even consider it. Good Luck, Lisa

How about each piece of the grate system is $100. The MKII has 3? My MKIII has four I believe. I don't remember now as I haven't seen them since I first fired up back in Oct. hasn't gone out yet and is burning so nice with temps every night down into single digits.

The Mark II has 2 grates, the Mark III has 3.

A couple of questions that no one here can answer, but you can.

Are you working the crap out of your present stove,
or just have it on cruise most of the time?

Do you wish your house was warmer, or are you happy
with what you have?

If you have to work it hard occasionally, or you are not
happy with the heat output,
then you will probably not be real happy with the swap...

As for the wood aspect, compared to a real wood stove, they aren't too good.
Good for putting out a ton of heat real fast, but not for prolonged burns.
Just too small of a box, and they are hard to control.
IMO, of course.

Dan

As for the wood aspect, compared to a real wood stove, they aren't too good.

No over-fire air vents on these stoves. The only over-fire air is through the "air wash" at the top and bottom of the viewing window.

Like Chuck_Steak said, concerning the wood burning. I'll overstuff mine and after 12 hours the fire and wood is completely gone. It works but only when your're talking about 40+ degree days and mine is a Mark III. I also have mine in the cellar and the only way I am able to efficiently spread the heat around the house is with a coil in the stove hooked up to a circulating pump pushing it through my radiant heat in the floors. These are great stoves but if your thinking is to stick it in the cellar, light it, walk away and have the house at a constant 72 then this may not be the right stove without some added ducting or routing such as what I have done.
Tom

Great responses guys, thanks a ton! He is offering $300, but if it don't have enough to heat my house I will stay away. I didn't think it came with hopper, but figured I would ask. Ahh, someday I will replace this with a Clayton lol. Thanks again u guys r the best

$300 is a good price for the stove, providing it is in good condition.

You might consider using the Harman for most of your heating, I personally think you will use less coal than with the Hot Blast as the primary heater.
Then use the Hot Blast to supliment the Harman for the really cold days when the one stove is inadequate.

Just an Idea

Greg L

LsFarm wrote:$300 is a good price for the stove, providing it is in good condition.

You might consider using the Harman for most of your heating, I personally think you will use less coal than with the Hot Blast as the primary heater.
Then use the Hot Blast to supliment the Harman for the really cold days when the one stove is inadequate.

Just an Idea

Greg L

I was thinking the same thing...
Around here, you would have NO problem getting rid of that stove for 300.
I recently saw an old, okay MarkI, go for 400...

It would be a great opportunity to try something, with little to loose
but some time and a little work.....
And as you say, can always use both if needed.
Dan

That's an idea, but I only have one chimney

I went from a 48,000 BTU stove (Mark I) ... that I probably ran at 60,000+ ... to a 92,000 BTU stove (Mark III) & I'll never look back. In this drafty house, the more BTU's the better.

While I'm sure your house is different than mine, I have to agree with this statement:

McGiever wrote:I would never down size, unless you knew for a fact from past experience that you had a grossly over-sized stove previously.