Storm wrote:Nice looking stove, but I still think with a barometric damper and closing off rooms that are not being used the Harman 2 would be just fine on the main floor. How long do you think the payback will be after spending the $ on this stove? Me and others on this forum would like to know. George
The Mark II was very effective at keeping the house warm regardless if the doors are opened or closed. If the rooms weren't being used, the doors to that room were closed.......that's not my problem. I would even go so far to say that if the stove was installed in the first floor of my house instead of the basement, I would've maybe had a chance. I can't speculate whether or not a barometric damper could have made a significant enough impact on burn time but I very highly doubt it. There are some that swear by them and others that hate them. The same goes for a MPD. Aside from the fact I was instructed by other Harman dealers not to install one, maybe I was given bad advice by the dealers I spoke to. I honestly don't know. I told the Harman dealer what stove I had and even HE said it was way too small for my house. I haven't received any PM's or posts from any other members regarding why I didn't have a baro on the Mark II. I have yet to read a post where a new member asks for advice from other members and they recommend he get a smaller stove than they know he truly needs.........but just go ahead and throw a barometric damper on it and that'll work. If I knew of this forum prior to getting the Mark II I would have NEVER bought it: barometric damper installed or not. And I also feel comfortable saying that NO ONE would've recommended a Mark II for my house. A Mark III, yes that would be a recommended stove along with the other competitive stoves in its class/BTU rating.
I don't want to beat a dead horse here but I thought my 1995 Dodge Neon reference from a previous thread cleared that up but apparently not. I'm sorry man but I don't know any other way to explain it to you that I bought an undersized stove and no matter how you look at it, that's the bottom line. A barometric damper is not a miracle worker, is not the 8th wonder of the world and cannot feed starving children in Ethiopia. A barometric damper, although effective in certain applications, can only do so much (again, WITHIN THE LIMITATIONS OF THAT PARTICULAR STOVE) to help solve burn time. Your living space is smaller than mine but yet you're heating it with a Mark III and expecting me to have the same results as you do with a bigger house, a smaller stove and a baro. Your stove works well for your application and again you're operating it within the limitations and expectations of it. I'm operating a Mark II way beyond the limitations and/or expectations of it; barometric damper or not. If you and I swapped stoves for the winter, would you be willing to bet the warmth that your Mark III provides against a -5* windy day, a barometric damper and a Mark II.............. unmodified for 12 hours? I think not. Unless you like coming home to a 55* house. Every ounce of heat in my house is generated from coal. I do have secondary but I refuse to use it.
At this point the discussion as to why I didn't or don't have a baro in my Mark II is pointless because that stove is no longer in service. The DS is already hooked up and running.
"How long do you think the payback will be after spending the $ on this stove? Me and others on this forum would like to know." I'm not sure what "others" you mean. I haven't received any messages regarding this. As long as I'm not burning oil, I could really care less. I paid less than $1900 for the DS1600 and that's after taxes, an extra ash pan, delivery and install. Call it what you want, I call it a wise investment. If you think about it, the stove IS the return on my investment. What works for one guy may not always work for the next.
. I'm very impressed with the build and amount of heat this thing produces. As expected, the bi metal regulator needs periodic adjustments until broken in I'm learning. I didn't have a chance to get a MPD installed but after shutdown and spring cleanout, I may have one installed for next year. I guess I wanna see how it runs without one first. I'm also wondering if it might interfere with the bi-metal controls. For example if I dampen it on a windy day, will the regulator make adjustments on its own that contradict with the dampened pipe? I'm not sure about that yet. Sometimes things operate better in a "Keep it Simple" process I think.
I've included a couple pics of the 1600 installed and burning. I also included a picture of my coal bin. It's made of precast foundation that juts out into a 4X4X9 bilco covered bin. I can fit roughly 4 ton in it give or take. The driver backs up to the doors, I open them and he shoots in 4 ton. I'm heating 3500 sq. ft. (1750 in the basement, 1750 first floor) and couldn't be happier. Thanks to all the members and MarkV for your help!! Stay warm.
