Harmon Mark I Questions

vulcan · Post by **vulcan** » Sun. Mar. 17, 2013 2:01 am

I have been looking for a smaller hand fired unit to put in a 1000sf shop and have found an older Harman that I believe to be a mark I sitting outside. I was wondering if there is anything special that I should look for other than being sure the grates are intact. The unit needs some work including new gaskets, new window, and a good cleaning but appears to be complete and could be aquired for a cheap price. I just thought I would throw it out there to the Harman users, I have seen all the posts about poor customer service but I do have a dealer nearby that should be able to get the parts I would need.

thanks in advance for your help

lowfog01 · Post by **lowfog01** » Sun. Mar. 17, 2013 6:57 am

Hi,
I just picked up a used Mark I and it had a crack in the rear baffle that my repair guy thought may have been a flaw in the manufacturing process. There is no sign of any over firing or other misuse. I’d take a look for a crack on the lower portion of the baffle both from the fire box side and the rear exit; use a flashlight. My main stove is a Mark II and I’ve never had any problems with it and think the quality is very good. So good in fact that I don’t worry about the company’s bad customer service reputation. Any company may let a lemon slip by once in a while but is it the norm - nope, not with a Harman. Good luck, Lisa

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Sun. Mar. 17, 2013 6:59 am

Sounds like you got it covered vulcan--she should do 1000 sq nicely:) I could state the obvious & just say check for cracks LOL

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Sun. Mar. 17, 2013 7:57 am

check the condition of the baffle over the firebox. the fly ash tends to accumulate there and if not cleaned before summer storage it would really corrode that plate.

loxety · Post by **loxety** » Sun. Mar. 17, 2013 11:32 pm

titleist1 wrote:check the condition of the baffle over the firebox. the fly ash tends to accumulate there and if not cleaned before summer storage it would really corrode that plate.

Whats the proper way to clean that area?

SMITTY · Post by **SMITTY** » Sun. Mar. 17, 2013 11:38 pm

I tape a smaller 1.5" vacuum cleaner hose to the 3" hose on my Ryobi vac. That fits up inside there from the firebox and the exhaust to get the majority of it out. You'll never get it all, so don't bother trying.

vulcan · Post by **vulcan** » Mon. Mar. 18, 2013 7:43 am

thanks for the info and the tip on the baffle I will check it out.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Mon. Mar. 18, 2013 9:58 am

loxety wrote:
titleist1 wrote:check the condition of the baffle over the firebox. the fly ash tends to accumulate there and if not cleaned before summer storage it would really corrode that plate.
Whats the proper way to clean that area?

Same strategy as Smitty...I have a 1-1/2" flex hose from an old small shop vac that has a 2" adapter to fit on my bigger shop vac. I would snake that smaller hose up in that area from the front and reach what I could, swishing it around in there. I would then go in from the exhaust port on the back getting the fly ash that accumulates on either side of the port and then snaking that hose on top of the baffle from the back side. Like Smitty said you're not going to get every last bit of it but you will get 95% of it if the hose is flexible enough and you can move it around once on top of the baffle.

I would usually do this about 1/2 way through the heating season also. It would help with the heat transfer to the tubes over that baffle that the distribution blower uses.

I use the drywall dust bags in my shop vac to catch the fly ash before it hits the canister filter. I go through about 2 bags per season.

jpete · Post by **jpete** » Mon. Mar. 18, 2013 11:15 am

I rigged up a similar "adapter" for my shop vac that uses a length of 1/2" Pex I had leftover from a plumbing job, some pipe insulation and a fair amount of duct tape.

Good call on the drywall bags. I'll have to see if I can get some.