Used Harman Mark III

I am new to the forum (this is second post) and have been deciding what stove I want to get Stoker, hand fired, furnace ect. Well today a found a used Mark III for sale for $500. I am going to look at it on Sat. Is this a good price? The guy replaced it with a stoker. He has recently given it a coat of paint. Looks in good shape from the pictures. He said the shakers are warped a little but he has had no problems with it. What do you think? I am in central PA and will be using it to heat my basement and main floor. Main floor is 1,000 sq feet.

take and run with it for that price if it looks in good shape!!

cowentz wrote: He said the shakers are warped a little but he has had no problems with it.

That's probably the main point of concern when purchasing any unit. Make sure they still function and aren't really bad. Don't know what they cost for replacement but i'd imagine it can't be much so if the rest of the stove is in good shape $500 sounds like a good deal.

Check the baffle inside the stove to see if it is warped or flaking and thinner at the middle than at the sides.

Ok so I am looking at it tomorrow. I will check the grates and baffle. Anything else to look specifically look at? I checked price on new grate $111 each. They are kind of expensive pieces. He said the current ones are warped but usable. As for warping how much is too much?

If you can still shake the grates so that the fingers or edges on the grates just open up to let ashes fall through to the ash pan, then you should be able to use them. If you can't get very much shake-action, then your may have trouble keeping a fire going because the ash build up will cut down the air flow to the fire.

Just use the shaker handle and watch the grates move by looking through the loading door. Harmans usually have too much shaking action, the gaps open up between the grates too far and the whole pile of coal and fire can slide down into the ash pan. Just watch the action, you want enough to encourage the ashes to fall through the gaps/fingers.

Hope this makes sense. Greg L

BTW: even if you have to buy a grate or two, the price is pretty good if the rest of the stove looks fine. Firebricks, [if any are cracked] are only $1-$2 each.

If it's in any kind of decent shape,$500.00 is a great price. I paid 950.00 for the one i have about 4 weeks ago. Cheapest i saw a used one go for was 680.00.It was gone in a couple hours. I have to say I really like this stove already. Only complaint I have is alot of ashes miss the ash pan.

stanpjrh wrote:If it's in any kind of decent shape,$500.00 is a great price. I paid 950.00 for the one i have about 4 weeks ago. Cheapest i saw a used one go for was 680.00.It was gone in a couple hours. I have to say I really like this stove already. Only complaint I have is alot of ashes miss the ash pan.

Seems that's the issue with the Mark series stoves. Mine's the same way. I use one of those cheap stamped ash shovels you see with the "fireplace tools" in stores to shovel the coal into the stove, I also use it to remove the ash that fell on the sides of the ash pan, it's the perfect tool for both uses, and it was cheap at a garage sale. The only other annoyance is when I'm shoveling coal into the firebox and am not really paying attention to exactly where the end of the shovel is headed and I smack it into the edge of the opening of the stove and dump the coal onto the floor.....

I have to agree with the shovel smacking the stove and the coal flying. My wife stopped at tractor supply today and bought a feed scoop . Its bigger than the coal shovel , holds the coal better. It also has a shorter handle. Thanks for the tip on using the shovel for the ashes by the pan . I have been using the shop vac every second to third day.This stove does throw some heat.

I agree there is a good bit of ash that misses the pan in the Mark III. I picked up a set of fireplace tools (brush, poker and very flat long handle shovel) at a garage sale many years ago for the princely sum of $1! The flat shovel works great to get the ash out and I use the brush to knock the ash into the pan from the ledge in front of the door.

stanpjrh wrote:I have to agree with the shovel smacking the stove and the coal flying. My wife stopped at tractor supply today and bought a feed scoop . Its bigger than the coal shovel , holds the coal better. It also has a shorter handle. Thanks for the tip on using the shovel for the ashes by the pan . I have been using the shop vac every second to third day.This stove does throw some heat.

I will vacuum out the stove from time to time if it's out completely. But since it usually isn't, the shovel is in order, I wouldn't want to set the shop vac on fire!
And yes, even my baby Mark I can produce quite a bit of heat, and eat up a lot of coal will a high burn running.

Well I looked at the stove today and it is now sitting in my garage. These things definatly are not light. The baffle looks fine. One grate is not warped. one is very slightly warped and the third is warped some but should be fine. I will burn it next year and see if it works fine or will eventually need replacing. Thanks for all the info. Now I need a chimney.

Congratulations, Sounds like a good price for a good stove.

Greg L

cowentz wrote:Well I looked at the stove today and it is now sitting in my garage. These things definatly are not light. The baffle looks fine. One grate is not warped. one is very slightly warped and the third is warped some but should be fine. I will burn it next year and see if it works fine or will eventually need replacing. Thanks for all the info. Now I need a chimney.

For the price, you definitely did the right thing in buying it. You won't be disappointed. And no, they aren't light. Only 530 lbs!