Harmon Mark 111 help

I am new to coal burning and need help. I just purchased a Harmon Mark 111 which is going to be installed Wednesday, 11/28/2007. I was told it will burn both wood and coal. I have no idea what type of coal to burn as well as what I should be paying a ton! I also need to know the easy way of starting and banking at night. Other words, I am a newbie at this! All help will be appreciated. Also, I am located in Franklin County Pennsylvania and would like to know where to purchase coal from. The brochure says the stove will burn pea, nut or stove coal. What is the average ton price for each brand, and what is the best value for the price.

Hello Chap and welcome to the forum.

We were all new at one time and we all learn from each other and from our particular stoves.

Your Harman is a great stove. I have the smaller Mark I. You should really get some heat out of it.

Pea, nut, and stove are not brands but merely sizes of coal. Pea being about the size of a nickel or a quarter, nut being a bit larger and stove being even larger. Stick with pea or nut for now. Its all the same coal just different sizes.

Just get yourself a small hardwood fire going and once you have some nice coals from the wood start adding some coal. Continue adding slowly when each batch catches and burns until you fill up that firebox. You'll soon learn as to what draft is right for you and when you have to shake down the coals.

As for your area I do not know and I'm sure other members can help you with prices etc.

Hi Chap. I'm new here but have been burning (successfully) for about five years. I would recommend pea coal to start with. The smaller nugget seems like it's a little easier to start a fire with. I started with chestnut and I could never keep the tempurature DOWN to a comfortable temperature. If you have a larger area to heat, this may be better for you but I can keep 1200sf at 70* all winter with pea coal in a Harman Mk I. The chestnut coal would need to run at 90*-100*(room temp!) or it wouldn't have enough heat to keep itself going.

Can't help you on banking, I typically don't do it. Just an easy shake, and add more on top. Empty the ashes once a day, load it up, and enjoy!

My biggest hurdle was the layout of my house. Not really ideal for a stove. My house is single level on a concrete slab. I installed 6" flexible duct in the attic with an inline fan to move the air down to the other end of the house. As long as the bedroom doors are open, I get good circulation and at most a 10* temp difference from where the stove is to every other room, maybe less.

Here are the basics. You have an excellent unit, you should enjoy it.

http://www.homewarmth.com/pdffiles/coalburningtips.pdf