Pricing on Harman DVC-500?

nomoreoil · Post by **nomoreoil** » Thu. Mar. 20, 2008 8:44 pm

After much thought I am considering a Harman DVC-500. This will be my normal heating source for my 1700 sq. ft. home. I am currently running an oil burner with cast-iron radiators which will act as backup.

One thing I've noticed is that none of the dealer websites contain pricing... what should I expect to pay for the DVC-500?

Oh, one other question... being direct-vent, I can just exit horizontally thru the wall, without having to install any vertical chimney, correct?

Mark (PA) · Post by **Mark (PA)** » Thu. Mar. 20, 2008 8:53 pm

NoMoreOil

I can't speak to you much about what stove to buy, or what is best. But I would suggest something coming from someone in a somewhat similar situation!

I will make the assumption you have a hot water boiler based on you mentioning the cast iron radiators.

I also have hot water baseboard heat. Also have an oil boiler.

2 years ago I made the decision to buy a corn/pellet freestanding stove. This stove has more than paid for itself. But with the rising cost of corn I am looking into coal myself... Coal Boiler that is.

Don't get me wrong. I can get lots of heat out of my corn stove (not as much as out of a coal stove but...) But a freestanding stove in your living room / basement etc will not come close to heating your house as evenly as hot water radiator/baseboard heat.

So my advice is at least consider a boiler. THis is of course assuming you have room for one or have the setup for one. But you can get some very reasonable deals on used/refurbished stoker boilers and get a much nicer even heat in your home. THe DVC is an expensive little bugger as I remember also...

Just my 2 cents.

There is no right or wrong way to save money on heating and the DVC will also save you money! That really is the bottom line.. This is just my observation after doing something somewhat similar to what you are thinking of doing... just burning different types of solid fuels.

Good luck!

nomoreoil · Post by **nomoreoil** » Thu. Mar. 20, 2008 9:05 pm

Thanks... I have plenty of room, in the basement in fact I could pipe up a coal boiler in parallel with the oil burner... hadn't thought about the heat distribution, but you are probably right about a standalone stove -vs- a central boiler.

CoalBin · Post by **CoalBin** » Thu. Mar. 20, 2008 10:24 pm

I think I paid $2800-$3000 for the basic stove 2 yrs ago - there was not much leeway in Harman dealer pricing. I searched the net high & low & had people in other states check for me as well. It is what it is & you do get what you paid for.

The vent pipe does go right through the wall, basically you place the stove, vent it through your outside wall & plug it in & off you go. I heat 3600 sq feet of ranch & basement, stove is in basement. Once the stove is burning for the season, I do not use my oil burner any more. Could not be happier/warmer. ( standard coal burning happy face - no matter what stove you wind up getting

)

Your heat distribution depends on your homes configuration and your stove placement. Mine is in the middle of my ranch, in the basement. Works great.

TCOAL · Post by **TCOAL** » Fri. Mar. 21, 2008 6:21 am

Installed a dvc-500 at Thanksgiving 2007. My gas heat bills are $ 75.00 a month. Heat has been on twice during the winter and thats because I turned it on. Heating a two story fairly open house, 2300 square feet. My dvc keeps my first floor at 72 degees and the upstairs at 70. I have a great air flow as you can see. Burned about 4 ton of coal for the season.
I am extremely happy with dvc, easy to operate and it throws tremendous heat.
Have nothing negative to say about stove. Paid $4100.00 installed. Stove was $3200.00.
Stove is installed in my family room on my first floor.

coalkirk · Post by **coalkirk** » Fri. Mar. 21, 2008 6:24 am

I second the boiler option. Better comfort results and free domestic hot water too.

noknokman · Post by **noknokman** » Mon. Mar. 24, 2008 3:56 pm

I paid $2900 last spring for my dvc-500. There was a $300 "early buy" discount. Took delivery in August and installed myself. The stove is in the living room and it heats the whole house no problem (only 1000sq ft.). In fact I wish I could idle it at a lower temp sometimes. I usually need 200+ gallons of fuel oil between nov. and feb. This year? 60 gallons! (boiler heats my water).

nsyman · Post by **nsyman** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2008 6:13 pm

armon DVC500 Coal Stoker Stove - $1100
Reply to: **Broken Link(S) Removed**
Date: 2008-03-22, 12:08PM EDT

For Sale a Harman DVC500 Coal Stoker Stove with Pipes.

Direct Vent

75,000 BTU
93 Pound Hopper
Automatic Feed
Rice Coal
2200 Square foot heating capacity
4" flu size

$1,100 or best offer... Please email if interested.

Jack Magnum · Post by **Jack Magnum** » Fri. May. 16, 2008 4:37 am

TCOAL wrote:Installed a dvc-500 at Thanksgiving 2007. My gas heat bills are $ 75.00 a month. Heat has been on twice during the winter and thats because I turned it on. Heating a two story fairly open house, 2300 square feet. My dvc keeps my first floor at 72 degees and the upstairs at 70. I have a great air flow as you can see. Burned about 4 ton of coal for the season.
I am extremely happy with dvc, easy to operate and it throws tremendous heat.
Have nothing negative to say about stove. Paid $4100.00 installed. Stove was $3200.00.
Stove is installed in my family room on my first floor.

We just bought a 500dvc today and I would appreciate any information about the unit. We have never used coal before so we can use all the help you can muster. Also what negatives or any problems you might have encountered. Thanks. We paid 4700 and that covered a gold door a floor tile,all piping from stove to outside and a tee outside with a 4 ft riser that will look like a candy cane plus installation.
Jack

TCOAL · Post by **TCOAL** » Fri. May. 16, 2008 5:48 am

Dvc-500 heated my entire house. Burning on stove temperature of between 65-70 all winter stove kept my first floor around 70-72 degrees while the second floor was 68. No problems at all. My monthly gas bill was $74.00 per month. Burned 4 ton of coal. Never had any problems with stove. Shut down stove second week of April. Cleaning of stove for summer was very easy.

Jack Magnum · Post by **Jack Magnum** » Fri. May. 16, 2008 12:02 pm

TCOAL wrote:Dvc-500 heated my entire house. Burning on stove temperature of between 65-70 all winter stove kept my first floor around 70-72 degrees while the second floor was 68. No problems at all. My monthly gas bill was $74.00 per month. Burned 4 ton of coal. Never had any problems with stove. Shut down stove second week of April. Cleaning of stove for summer was very easy.

Hey TCOAL,
What's envolved with the cleaning process, Cleaners etc.? I am a novice so I'd like to learn from you guys. Thanks
Jack